Harvard Book Store welcomes Lowry Pressly—Lecturer in Political Science at Stanford University—for a discussion of his new book The Right to Oblivion: Privacy and the Good Life, a visionary reexamination of the value of privacy in today’s hypermediated world. He will be joined in conversation by Michael Sandel—Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of The Tyranny of Merit and Democracy’s Discontent.
About The Right to Oblivion
The parts of our lives that are not being surveilled and turned into data diminish each day. We are able to configure privacy settings on our devices and social media platforms, but we know our efforts pale in comparison to the scale of surveillance capitalism and algorithmic manipulation. In our hyperconnected era, many have begun to wonder whether it is still possible to live a private life, or whether it is no longer worth fighting for.
The Right to Oblivion argues incisively and persuasively that we still can and should strive for privacy, though for different reasons than we might think. Recent years have seen heated debate in the realm of law and technology about why privacy matters, often focusing on how personal data breaches amount to violations of individual freedom. Yet as Lowry Pressly shows, the very terms of this debate have undermined our understanding of privacy’s real value. In a novel philosophical account, Pressly insists that privacy isn’t simply a right to be protected but a tool for making life meaningful.
Privacy deepens our relationships with others as well as ourselves, reinforcing our capacities for agency, trust, play, self-discovery, and growth. Without privacy, the world would grow shallow, lonely, and inhospitable. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Hannah Arendt, Jorge Luis Borges, and a range of contemporary artists, Pressly shows why we all need a refuge from the world: not a place to hide, but a psychic space beyond the confines of a digital world in which the individual is treated as mere data.
Praise for The Right to Oblivion
“One of the most important books on privacy that the age of information has produced. With a rare blend of philosophical rigor and literary grace, Lowry Pressly shows that privacy is above all about making space for the unaccountable aspects of a life worth living. This stunning work draws from our anxiety about privacy an illuminating meditation on the human condition.” ―Michael J. Sandel, author of Democracy's Discontent: A New Edition for Our Perilous Times
“Pressly’s book presents a trio of brilliant revelations: seeing privacy as the legal right to control information has serious limitations; technological challenges from photography to the digital age alter the meaning of privacy; and a deep, interior, unknowable self is a vital source of creativity and action in the world. The Right to Oblivion will change how political theorists, philosophers, and psychologists of the self alike understand privacy.” ―Nancy L. Rosenblum, coauthor of A Lot of People Are Saying: The New Conspiracism and the Assault on Democracy
“We all feel beset by mechanized claims on our attention. If you feel like your very self is losing its coherence, this book will help you understand why. With grace and aplomb, Pressly shows that, under conditions where we are never fully alone and never fully with others, the basic terms of being are dissolving. And he gives us the materials for building shelter.” ―Matthew B. Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft
Bios
Lowry Pressly is Lecturer in Political Science at Stanford University. His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, The Point, Political Theory, and Public Books.
Michael J. Sandel is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University and author of The Tyranny of Merit. His freely available online course "Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?" has been viewed by tens of millions of people around the world.
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