Ethics of Drug Policy and Freedom of Speech

Vocabulary flashcards covering core terms, ethical arguments, and philosophical concepts relating to drug criminalization, paternalism, and freedom of speech.

Drugs

Chemicals that, when introduced into the bloodstream, predictably alter the way an individual feels.

Drug addiction

A chronic disease characterized by drug seeking and use that is compulsive, or difficult to control, despite harmful consequences.

Four broad categories of recreational drugs

The classifications into which recreational drugs fall: depressants, stimulants, opioids, and psychedelics.

Paternalism

The practice of overriding or frustrating an individual's choices, interests, or preferences for their own good, similar to an adult making decisions for another adult in their best interest.

Drug Legalization

The removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale, and possession of large quantities of recreational drugs.

Drug Decriminalization

The removal of criminal penalties for recreational drug use and the possession of small quantities of recreational drugs.

De Marneffe's Thesis

“Don’t Make legal”

The philosophical position that drugs should remain illegal to manufacture and sell, but should be decriminalized for individual use.

Howard Thought Experiment (Huemer)

“heroin”: Drug legalization

An example of a non-drug user who is unmotivated, irresponsible, and causes emotional and relational harm through legal choices, demonstrating that harming oneself and others is not alone sufficient to justify criminal punishment SO neither can drug users for the same reasons

Objective Interest vs. Subjective Interest (Goodin)

“Good on yah son”: Permissible paternalism w/ subj values

An objective interest is what is good for a person independently of what they desire, whereas a subjective interest is what a person personally thinks is good for them based on case-by-case values.

Goodin's Four Conditions for Paternalistic Legislation

Circumstances where paternalistic interference is permissible (liberals think it should never be used except to stop rights violation):

1) Not relevant preferences (formed by misinformation)

2) No stable preferences (fleeting over a lifetime)

3) Not preferred preferences (desiring not to have the preference)

4) Inauthentic preferences (shaped by manipulative external influences)

Bad Speech

Speech that does not pose an immediate risk of harm, but nonetheless expresses false, offensive, discriminatory, or conspiratorial messages and ideas.

Dogmatism (Mill)

“More speech”: Unrestricted speech

The state of holding a belief firmly while being unwilling to question whether it could be false, leading to a loss of contact with the rational grounds of that belief due to lack of debate.

• counter-speech

• always smth to learn from even bad speech (no harm from it)

Harm Principle (Mill)

The principle stating that the sole reason it is morally permissible to interfere with an individual's liberty is to prevent harm to others.

Distinctive Features of Fake News (Kay Mathiesen)

“Uhm Kay that’s a lie”

Three defining characteristics:

1) Designed to deceive people into thinking the source is legitimate

2) Created with no concern for truthfulness

3) Designed to achieve viral spread via online social networks

Anchoring Effect

A cognitive bias in which the first piece of information encountered sticks in a person's mind, causing subsequent information and rebuttals to reinforce the original claim.

Firehose of Propaganda

A communication tactic that floods audiences with an excessive abundance of false information to overwhelm their senses and cause civic or intellectual disengagement.

Individual Autonomy

The capacity of a person to direct and live their life according to their own reasons and motives, free from manipulative or distorting external forces.

Three Distinctive Features of Hate Speech (Bhiku Parekh)

“Boo people”

1) Directed against an individual or group based on an arbitrary and normatively irrelevant feature

2) Stigmatizes the target by attributing undesirable traits

3) Encourages and purports to justify discrimination

• undermines public debate, stigmatizes target, BUT bans would allow the state to judge speech

Lies (Huemer)

“It’s NOT funny”: Suppressing speech

No physiological harm (supports Mill), political harm is apparent

• limited private censorship: ban ONLY lies (intentional false speech)

Permissable paternalism example

Rose Cipollone: smoker w/ preference to quit, but smokes compusivaly, in this case govt should step in