James
E. Porter, Rhetorical Ethics and Internetworked Writing. Greenwich,
CT: Ablex, 1998. ISBN 1-56750-322-5; ISBN 1-56750-323-3
(pbk.)
Review by Brad E. Lucas, University of Nevada, RenoIn Rhetorical Ethics and Internetworked Writing, James E. Porter draws on his earlier work in the fields of rhetoric and computers and composition to further advance our understanding of the often-elusive realms of ethics. Framing his inquiry with a set of guiding questions, he argues that we bring into the electronic world a set of ethics and expectations that "do not quite correspond to the new medium we find ourselves in, a medium that is not print and not conversation, not the library or the telephone, but some new ecology, some new space for which we have not yet developed an ethical paradigm" (xii). While such a claim is not necessarily new, Porter uses this assertion as a point of departure to explore rhetorical ethics in this new and somewhat difficult terrain.
Porter's aims are expansive, and his project requires a careful consideration of conceptual and operative definitions. In some ways, Porter's largest success is the territory he charts for future discussions of ethics in internetworked writing. Of course, because of the extensive detail and necessary deliberation in this book, any attempt at accurate summary here would necessarily be reductive, for he believes that "the clearer the answer the less interesting the answer" (xii). Porter's careful treatment of the subject, however, is as clearly written as it is interesting, but anyone looking for a prescriptive guidebook for rhetorical ethics in the internetworked age will find that the desire for easy answers holds us back from shaping a future ethics for these online spaces.
In some ways, the book is arranged like a hypertext, in that a clear linear progression is somewhat confounded and not always apparent in Porter's chapter arrangement. Chapter 1 describes classroom dilemmas and the opportunities made possible by technology, and an overview of the book's purposes and aims is offered with clarity and direction. Chapters 2 and 3 cover ethics in terms of rhetoric and writing from the classical age (via Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero) to modern rhetorics and postmodern views (Foucault, Lyotard, Irigaray) that serve as scene-setting for Chapter 4, "Complicating Rhetorical-Ethical Stances." In this fourth chapter, Porter sets forth a postmodern map to orient us in this dizzying spectrum of philosophy, but more importantly, he offers alternatives to the liberal-individual framework he sees as dominating discussions of ethics and internetworked writing. Oddly enough, Chapter 5 discusses the ins and outs of legal issues and some case law scenarios that illustrate the ambiguities and difficulties of using law as the only regulator of ethical behavior (a chapter that, if read after the first chapter, could introduce the neophyte to material examples for the abstract issues dealt with in preceding chapters). Chapter 6 moves the reader into applications for an ethics of internetworked writing as Porter applies his working theory to particular cases. The book has a sense of momentum, but Porter's concluding chapter (Chapter 7) is somewhat disappointing: his claims do not support his initial offer, that print-based ethics and procedures don't apply well to the internetworked environment. Porter writes:
All in all, his conclusions about ethics for internetworked writing would also serve as excellent guidance for ethics in the print world. Perhaps these conclusions are just disappointing for any reader who would hope that this new "ecology" would be easier to grasp or navigate than the ecology of the print world. Porter complicates our visions of rhetoric, ethics, and computer environments in necessary critical and analytical ways, and he doesn't give in to some of the utopian schemes he discusses. He does notimport ethical schema from the print world to show their applications to internetworked writing; instead, he takes us through the processof thinking about rhetorical ethics, given the parameters and dynamics of the new electronic environments. This process is invaluable for the way many of us live and work in internetworked classrooms.If I offer an "answer" in this book it is that problems (real problems, that is, not just inconveniences, but real problems of incommensurability and ethical dilemmas) are best worked out through the operation of a local and patient rhetorical pragmatism that is deliberative and reflective and that pays some attention to the processes involved, to the particulars of each case and its material conditions; and to the individual persons affected. (161)
Porter's book is not the
final word on this matter, nor do I think that he would consider claiming
such a dubious honor. Rhetorical Ethics and Internetworked Writingcontributes
useful grounds and insights for future, intelligent discussion of these
issues, and that contribution alone will make quite a difference and should
have long-lasting, worthwhile effects. This is not just a book to add to
one's library; it is a book to read cover-to-cover and consider
in terms of everyday practice.