An ethical imperative for technical communicators

Abstract

Utilitarianism, the ethical system of free-market capitalism, is limited in that it sanctions contingencies. Immanuel Kant's second formulation of the categorical imperative-to treat ourselves and others not merely as means but also as ends-offers a clear and powerful ethic that enables technical communicators to subordinate contingencies to an understanding of people as rational entities possessed of full human dignity. John Rawls's (1971) model of an ideal society derives from and extends Kant's thinking on the primacy of human dignity in an ethical system.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">></ETX>

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
1993-06-01
DOI
10.1109/47.222686
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
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Citation Context

Cited by in this index (12)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 12 →
  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  6. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  7. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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