For my first blog of the semester, I'm keeping it pretty general, but hope to return to the following theme at later dates.
In Book II of Plato's Republic, Plato uses the allegory of the ring of Gyges as a tool to discuss whether a person would remain virtuous if he did not have to fear the social consequences of his actions. Whoever wears the ring has the power to become invisible at will (think Frodo in The Lord of the Rings). Glaucon, one of Plato's interlocutors, argues that people only act justly because of the social pressure to do so. Given the power the ring grants, "No man would keep his hands off what was not his own when he could safely take what he liked out of the market, or go into houses and lie with any one at his pleasure, or kill or release from prison whom he would, and in all respects be like a god among men."
Now, Plato happens to have a different conception of justice than his character Glaucon. For Plato, justice is an intrinsic good, not a social construction developed on consensus. But, the point for this blog is simply the power of anonymity, and what effect it has on a person's behavior. Chat rooms, message boards, and other online platforms grant users the ability to speak freely, without disclosing the user's name or identity. In other words, every time a person logs on, he activates his ring of Gyges.
The power of anonymity can be a very important political tool. People are able to speak freely, to criticize the government or advocate change, without fear of reprisal. On the other hand, I think many of us have seen how extreme speech can be online when the speaker doesn't have to worry about those words being attached to the speaker in "real life."
First off, Joel, I was extremely excited to see a discussion of Plato's Republic. It took me back to the days of Political Science!
ReplyDeleteI wonder what Plato would think about another ring where you can morph into a completely different person (think of Mystique in X-men). Or what he would think of a ring where you can become a better version of yourself (think of Brad Paisley's song, 'I'm so Much Cooler Online." The internet not only offers someone the ability to be anonymous, it also allows someone to be someone completely different or to be a "better" version of themselves. Do these rings suffer the same fatal flaws as the ring of Gyges has, or does Glaucon have a whole new bag of issues to work on? Food for thought, indeed.