Editing Privacy (section)

=== Philosophical views on privacy ===
The concept of privacy has been explored and discussed by numerous philosophers throughout history.

Privacy has historical roots in ancient Greek philosophical discussions. The most well-known of these was [[Aristotle]]'s distinction between two spheres of life: the public sphere of the ''[[polis]]'', associated with political life, and the private sphere of the ''[[oikos]]'', associated with domestic life.<ref>{{Citation |last=DeCew |first=Judith |title=Privacy |date=2015 |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2015/entries/privacy/ |access-date=2024-03-21 |edition=Spring 2015 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |editor2-last=Nodelman |editor2-first=Uri}}</ref> Privacy is valued along with other basic necessities of life in the Jewish [[Deuterocanonical books|deutero-canonical]] [[Book of Sirach]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=oremus Bible Browser : Ecclesiasticus 29:21 |url=https://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Ecclesiasticus%2029:21&version=nrsvae |access-date=2024-03-21 |website=bible.oremus.org}}</ref>

Islam's holy text, the Qur'an, states the following regarding privacy: ‘Do not spy on one another’ (49:12); ‘Do not enter any houses except your own homes unless you are sure of their occupants' consent’ (24:27).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hayat |first=Muhammad Aslam |date=June 2007 |title=Privacy and Islam: From the Quran to data protection in Pakistan |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13600830701532043 |journal=Information & Communications Technology Law |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=137–148 |doi=10.1080/13600830701532043 |issn=1360-0834}}</ref>

English philosopher [[John Locke]]’s (1632-1704) writings on natural rights and the social contract laid the groundwork for modern conceptions of individual rights, including the right to privacy. In his ''[[Two Treatises of Government|Second Treatise of Civil Government]]''(1689), Locke argued that a man is entitled to his own self through one’s natural rights of life, liberty, and property.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Konvitz |first=Milton R. |date=1966 |title=Privacy and the Law: A Philosophical Prelude |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1190671 |journal=Law and Contemporary Problems |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=272–280 |doi=10.2307/1190671 |jstor=1190671 |issn=0023-9186}}</ref> He believed that the government was responsible for protecting these rights so individuals were guaranteed private spaces to practice personal activities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Longfellow |first=Erica |date=2006 |title=Public, Private, and the Household in Early Seventeenth-Century England |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/499790 |journal=Journal of British Studies |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=313–334 |doi=10.1086/499790 |jstor=10.1086/499790 |issn=0021-9371}}</ref>

In the political sphere, philosophers hold differing views on the right of private judgment. German philosopher [[Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel]] (1770-1831) makes the distinction between ''[[Morality|moralität]]'', which refers to an individual’s private judgment, and ''[[sittlichkeit]]'', pertaining to one’s rights and obligations as defined by an existing corporate order. On the contrary, [[Jeremy Bentham]] (1748-1832), an English philosopher, interpreted law as an invasion of privacy. His theory of [[utilitarianism]] argued that legal actions should be judged by the extent of their contribution to human wellbeing, or necessary utility.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Negley |first=Glenn |date=1966 |title=Philosophical Views on the Value of Privacy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1190674 |journal=Law and Contemporary Problems |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=319–325 |doi=10.2307/1190674 |jstor=1190674 |issn=0023-9186}}</ref>

Hegel’s notions were modified by prominent 19th century English philosopher [[John Stuart Mill]]. Mill’s essay ''[[On Liberty]]'' (1859) argued for the importance of protecting individual liberty against the tyranny of the majority and the interference of the state. His views emphasized the right of privacy as essential for personal development and self-expression.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.cttq4963 |title=Central Works of Philosophy: The Nineteenth Century |date=2005 |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |jstor=j.cttq4963 |isbn=978-0-7735-3052-2}}</ref>

Discussions surrounding surveillance coincided with philosophical ideas on privacy. Jeremy Bentham developed the phenomenon known as the Panoptic effect through his 1791 architectural design of a prison called [[Panopticon]]. The phenomenon explored the possibility of surveillance as a general awareness of being watched that could never be proven at any particular moment.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Solove |first=Daniel J. |date=2006 |title=A Taxonomy of Privacy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40041279 |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |volume=154 |issue=3 |pages=477–564 |doi=10.2307/40041279 |jstor=40041279 |issn=0041-9907}}</ref> French philosopher [[Michel Foucault]] (1926-1984) concluded that the possibility of surveillance in the instance of the Panopticon meant a prisoner had no choice but to conform to the prison's rules.<ref name=":02" />