Sunday, July 10, 2011

Week 12

Reflect on this week's material on Freedom of Speech. Discuss your views on it.

21 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. When mentioning freedom of speech , i thought of the Authority . If there is no authority , we can speak any words , anywhere , anytime under any circumstances .

    I learnt that Singapore Government did not restrict the Singaporeans to say any forbidden words . The Singapore Government decides to punish after one has said / written / publish their thoughts .

    There is also the Harm Principle . Harm Principle means the freedom of speech that hurts someone . For example : The mother were so angry then scolded her son , like " Go and die ! " If the son really committed suicide . then it is under the Harm Principle .

    Next , the offense principle . The offense principle formulated by Joel Feinberg . He feels that the Harm principle is too wide because freedom of speech can also offense people even without harm . For example : Insulting someone .

    For freedom of information , is an extension of freedom of speech where the medium of expression is the Internet. It is like sending information here and there , as and when you like . For example : Taking information in facebook at their profile page . It is free to anyone to take because it is on your profile , this is the freedom of information .

    ReplyDelete
  3. This lesson I have learnt about how freedom of speech works. Some country limits the freedom of speech by government as it has the competing values which may implant an idea to the citizens’ mind that may lead to a conflict. However, it is impossible for the government to restrict the freedom of speech as everyone is free to speak as we are born to have the vocal cords. Hence, only punishment that can be implemented to the person after he or she violated the law.
    I have also learnt about the censorship that some countries implemented in their country. Some countries such as North Korea and China have the suppression of free speech. Some websites they can’t use are Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and etc. These websites are forbidden in their country as the government thinks that the ideology of their country may change if there aren’t any restrictions in the Web content.
    In addition, from this lesson, I also know that Singapore does allow of freedom of speech but not slander, which means speak half true of an issue.
    Lastly, I am very astonished to some youths have been truly addicted to pornography which in turn did crimes unexpectedly or out of their control due to addiction.
    In overall, I think that this lesson is beneficial as it extends my knowledge regarding how powerful freedom of speech is and how other issues such as censorship, freedom of slander and pornography to many of us.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have learned that freedom of speech is a very wide thing it is the term "Freedom of Expression" it’s rather what you do an example would be if someone would be to run around naked some would find this offensive but a few would find this not as to them it would seem it’s up to them, to do that it is illegal and jail-able. Now there are Harmful ways to say something and Offensive ways to say something like if someone were to say something that would push someone to his limits and cause harm to people around him this would be considered a harmful speech, and also something offensive would be like Racism.

    The restriction of Freedom of Speech online is also fairly noticeable in certain countries an example would be like China as if they did a search on their government of bad things that would destroy the image of their government they will not be able to see any results about that. Also in in Tunisia the government has been monitoring at the ISP end and watching for people who post negative things about their government, they were being key logged and had their passwords or anything personal recorded.

    This shows that Freedom of Speech can be viewed in many ways as the Authority and Freedom should be balanced as if there is too much Authority this makes people feel very Restricted with reference to the "Slippery Slope" argument. So I think that Freedom of Speech should not be too restricted but should also not be unauthorized because if there is no authorization the strongest person would win and there would be no balance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Freedom of speech a strong topic because it is our right to say anything we want. The government does not have the power to remove our rights except to punish us. But speech can sometimes be harmful in which causes harm to people not physically but mentally, in other words offending speech eg.criticising about one race or sets emotional behaviour to become violent. Hence an offence principle is set to control the freedom of speech without causing harm. Sometimes what we talk about doesn't seem offensive but the way we express it does like the A*Star scholar incident where they walk around in the nude where they offend some in their expressive ways.

    The restriction of freedom of speech, in 1 word: censorship. As depicted in China as the Great Firewall of China where a person known as Ai Weiwei, an artist and political activist, an example on how he engage freedom of speech in china to the extend he is being monitored wherever he is. His work of art has been criticising the china government hence everything he's done is being censored in china.
    Censorship must be used sparingly, and only when truly necessary but to China it has misuse this just to protect its reputation.

    With effect to the "Slippery slope" arguement,it shows that the Freedom of Speech is controlled by authority. Without it the Freedom of speech would be easily abused hence a balance system is required to control abusive usage.

    ReplyDelete
  6. i feel that what we were taught were quite true , no one can control what you want to say. they can only punish you for saying certain things.However , there must be authority and liberty or else , the freedom of expression will be abused because there are bound to be people who would not exercise self-control and publicly use vulgarities , a very common behavior we see nowadays in modern society.Hence the task is to decide how much value we place on speech against other ideals.

    we can say whatever we want , whenever we want and however we want it to be said but the government cannot stop us from saying and they can only prevent us from saying it by setting laws that when violated , they will be given the right to punish us duly.

    using the harm principal , if whatever you said is going to harm anyone , you can be lawfully punished.however , the harm principal can only be applied when someone is harmed , thus we have the offense prinipal ,This principle often tackles victimless .

    in certain places , some things just cannot be said , for instance , saying the word "bomb"
    on an airplane. the next thing you know you are already in custody.

    ReplyDelete
  7. From this lesson I have learnt more about the freedom of speech. I understand that every society have certain restrictions on the exercise of free speech because speech always takes place in a context of competing values. In Singapore, we are living in a society that allows free speech; however one can be punish after expressing his or her thoughts be it in the form of verbal, written or publishing it.

    An offense principle comes after a harm principle. The latter refers to the harm or hurt that incurs on the other. And the offense principle, which states that it can act as a guide to public censure, and that speech must be controlled by a rule if its content is offensive in nature. One example was a couple who goes naked on a street in Singapore. Even though they do no harm to others, people may be offended by the freedom of expression, hence they were arrested. In my point of view, I think that it is morally not right to do this in public, hence they should be punished.

    Next, I have learnt more about the freedom of information. Basically, freedom of information is an extension of freedom of speech where by the medium of expression is the internet and the right to privacy in the context of the internet and information technology that one have. And due to the fact that our modern country's technologies are getting more advanced, majority have the accessibility to the internet; hence I suppose that freedom of information apply to all user which were also known as the netizens.

    Lastly, from the cases mentioned, I realised and discovered more about the destructive consequences that can be caused by cyber space. The computer network which is also known as the cyber space is free for all to create and post anything one want, however, the unintended consequences will be dire if one is not careful of what he or she have posted. Moreover, the internet can be very addictive and can influence one deeply. One example that may be destructive to a young impressionable mind would be the pornography found online. One of the case study shows a teenager who have paid a hefty price of committing molest against young female victims after being hooked to online pornography. Once again, in this case, the harm and offense principles come in. The offense that the teenager committed has not only hurt himself but also the victims, who were both physically and mentally hurt.

    In conclusion, do not abuse your rights to freedom of speech; think twice before saying or doing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The freedom of speech is being able to say anything you want as this is basic right for human. Words are powerful, it can empower a person but if words are used wrongly it could also destroy a person mentally causing harm to that person. That is why harm principle was introduced to protect anyone in society as long as no harm is caused and no matter how immoral it is and also prevent People with higher power/authority to silence the other party with different views.

    The offense principle gives a society the right to ban activities that are generally found offensive which complements harm principle.

    Even though there is distinction between offense principle and harm principle but its not always obvious where the line is drawn.

    To conclude freedom of speech is not actually freedom to say anything as the definition of freedom in freedom of speech is the boundary where saying/doing anything that is not deem offensive or cause any harm to people.

    ReplyDelete
  10. In this lesson, i have a better understanding about freedom of speech. There are harm and offense principle. For Harm principle means one was to say something that would push someone to his limits and cause harm to people around him.

    Some country limits the freedom of speech by government as it has the completing value which may implant an idea to the citizen mind that may lead to conflict. However, it is impossible for the government to restrict the freedom of speech. Hence, they decided to punish after one has said / written / publish their thoughts which violated the law.

    I have learnt the censorship is implemented in some countries like China. For an example, Ai Weiwei, an artist and political activist, is being monitored after engaging to freedom of speech in china. His artwork was criticizing the china government hence everything he has done is being censored in china. It is because the government feels that the ideology of their country may change if there have no restriction.

    I am surprised to know that some youths have been addicted to pornography. Addiction to undesirable material such as pornography could have unintended consequences. Lastly, Authority and Freedom should be balanced.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Freedom of Speech - Refers to the ability of a person to express their opinion, a basic human right. However, that very right has its own limitations. For liberty & authority have to co-exist to maintain equilibrium.

    Without the authorities would mean chaos, for words in this current society could be deadly. For example, slandering & lying in court without any consequences. As William Shakespeare once said "The pen is mightier than the sword."

    Personally, this "Freedom of Speech" has done many justice for victims. However, when the victims is us, the people under the government, we would be helpless against that. All we can do is to keep those negatives opinions among ourselves, never able to voice it out, else the consequences would be undesirable.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This lesson taught me that about freedom of speech which everyone has the right to speak out their opinion and expression freely. But the responsible for such abuses of this freedom will be defined by the law. The only thing the government can do is to punish after one has said their thoughts.

    Therefore, freedom of speech is different from freedom of actions. Example: not being able to buy chewing gum in Singapore. The two principles which are harm principle and offense principle. No harm has been caused to anyone but people get offended by freedom of expression. Example like an article in Singapore that a couple who naked and walking around in Holland Village, which causes a harm and offense to other peoples. People tend to think negative thoughts for their actions in public places.

    The freedom of information emerged in response to state sponsored censorship monitoring and surveillance of the internet. It also concern censorship in an information technology context. Examples like ability to access web content, without censorship or restrictions for it.

    Internet censorship includes the accessing of information on the internet. What I think is freedom of speech is between liberty and authority.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Freedom of speech is a very controversial issue. Many people argue that they have the right to freedom of speech. They have the right to say whatever they want and they feel. But if we stop to think, are all our feelings relevant? Are we always right? Are the thing we say always right? Most of us want to express ourselves, but by expressing what we think is right can either harm or offend other people. This can lead to suicides or misunderstandings between two parties. This could also lead to riots and wars, one wrong word you say could lead to these events which is very very dangerous and to some point a bit silly as just by one word or action offending others results to endless wars or riots. That is why freedom of speech should have limitations.

    This relates to the harm principle and offense principle. Harm principle is whereby you can say whatever you want as long as you do not harm anyone. But this just set the bar too high. What if we think the things we say do not bring harm but for other people it does? This is why another principle was made, the offense principle to act as a guide in public censure. This principle is based on speeches being regulated if its content may be offensive in nature. Some of the things we do or say can not harm other people but some people might be offended to it. For example the case of a Singaporean A* Scholar in where she and her boyfriend walked naked in Holland road because of a dare. It did not harm anyone but for sure many people were offended.

    That is why there should be limitations to freedom of speech, yes we can say what we want but we have to think because everyone of us has feelings you yourself would not want to be offended. Some of the things we say might offend other people and eventually causing harm to them.

    ReplyDelete
  14. When talking about Freedom of Speech, the first thing that came to my mind is America and China
    As this 2 countries are direct opposite of each other in regards to freedom of speech.

    In America, the citizens were given the rights to speak whatever they want. No one was arrested for insulting the government. The government allow the people to comment about everything they do as they believe that through this comments then can they make their nation a better one.

    In China, no one was allowed to criticize the government as they can be jailed for it. The government were very strict towards all the things the people can say about them. China even banned social networking sites in order to not let their secrets come out. In China, there is no such thing as facebook! The people are constraint to what they can do. In China, they are all being watched by the government. There are no freedom at all.

    I feel that everyone should have a certain extent on freedom of speech. As it is a human right for people to speak freely and comment freely. Without the people's comments, nothing would be done to improve the situation. Thus, sometimes the government should allow people to comment about their actions.

    Freedom of Speech should be limited as well. If it goes over board, others would be affected and conflicts might start as everyone have different views of things. Limiting the Freedom of Speech would prevent people from having conflict due to disagreements.

    ReplyDelete
  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Freedom of speech is where one is allowed to say what they want and as when they like. However, they have to be responsible of what they say out from their own mouth.

    For example, in China, I have watched this video showing that a man criticized the government through his art piece. The man was then being arrested and up til now he is being watched by the government in everything that he does. He has no freedom at all.

    Freedom of speech could also hurt people in a way, which is when one person say words that can hurt another person emotionally like for example, that girl is fat. Therefore, i feel that we should know the limit in freedom of speech and by not saying hurtful words even though we felt like saying it out or maybe not saying it in front of the person that you are talking about.

    We will face conflicts and other misunderstanding if freedom of speech allows one to say what they want to as too many of a opinion would cause conflicts. Therefore, people should start to listen and compromise.

    ReplyDelete
  17. After week 12 lesson on Freedom f speech, i learnt the harm principle and the offense principle. Basically, the harm principle means someone that say something that will harm another person. As for the offense principle, it means that someone said something that other people will feel offended but may not be harmed. An example will the the nude girl in Holland Village which is a A* Scholar. It did no harm anyone but people will be offended when your kids see such thing happen.
    Other than that, Web2.o allow people to post anything on the website and share view of other things. It can be dangerous if we anyhow post stuff online.I know myself because i am a guy which cannot live without Social Media. I seldom play online games however i have a Facebook, Twitter, MSN, Skype and even a blog. I update them oftenly. In this lesson i also learn censorship, Internet Censorship. I have experience once with my friends. My friends took a photo of my Identification card and post it online, however he censored all important details like my IC number, my birthdate but only show that ugly photo of mine. Another thing is Internet pornography. I saw the example of a boy hooks up with Pornography and lead to molesting cases. Therefore i think Pornography is illegal.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Freedom of Speech is where society can voice their opinion regardless of what others say as it is based on their own personal opinion. However, every society places some limits on the exercise of free speech because speech always
    takes place in a context of competing values and there is always a struggle between “Liberty” and “authority”, and we cannot have the former without the latter.

    What I learnt from this week's material is that society is that people are allowed to have freedom of speech but must be balanced with authority. Both freedom of speech and authority must be balanced and not one-sided. If it is not balanced, it will cause disruption and unhappiness. Such balance are found in most democratic country such as Singapore. People are
    allowed to voice their opinion however it must be in the context that it is acceptable for the society in the government view and it is not a lie.

    A simple example of the lack of balance can be found in country such as America and China. In America, society can voice their opinion regardless of what is the opinion including insulting the government because they think it is a form of feedback. However, in China, it is a whole lot different. Society cannot say bad things about the government as the government thinks it is a form a rebellion against them. People who do say are jailed. They took it to the extend of blocking social network sites such as facebook and make their own version of "facebook" so that they can monitor what this people are saying.

    Personally, I think that as human being it is our right to voice our opinion. However, i also thinks that authority is needed as without authority, opinion that come out will result in some unintended result. In conclusion, freedom and authority is needed to balance each other.

    -Timothy-

    ReplyDelete
  19. In week 12 lessons, I’ve learnt about the freedom of speech. When there’s authority, there’s freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is allocated to everyone who has vocal cords. No one, even the government can actually control what you want to say about people, the surrounding things and more.

    In addition, there are 2 principles that have been taught as well, Harm Principle and Offenses Principle.
    Harm principle actually talk about the how the majority silence the minority if they have contrary opinions. I feel that the Harm Principle allow people to have lesser freedom of speech.
    Offenses Principle is where no harm is being caused but people feels offended by the freedom of expression.

    2 countries who have different views on freedom of speech is United States and China.
    In China, people who voice out their opinions on their country or government got arrested because the government feel that it is offensive to give opinions on the way the country or government works.
    However in United States, everyone have the freedom to speak whatever they want even if they insult the country or government because the government feel that the citizens voice out their opinions is to let the country change into a better one.

    In conclusion, I feel that everyone have their freedom of speech. So long as no one say anything offensive about people and things, freedom of speech is definitely a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Freedom of speech, it means the ability to express oneself, express thier own opinion as human rights.the restrictions of restricting a person's freedom of speech is called censorship. some countries censor thier people. they do not allow they own people to have much freedom of speech. countries like china do that. they do not allow thier people to have facebook and google. they do not allow them to say whatever they want. that is the reason why google left china some years ago. whereas some countries do not censor thier citizens. they allow them to say whatever they like. they can insult the country, the government, go against the political beliefs openly. the government believes that through all these insults and all these opinions, the government can be able to learn their mistakes, see what their citizens do not like and from here, they can make an improvement on the country's growth.

    i was shocked that the artist, ai wei wei got arrested in china just because he drew negative pictures ,criticizing the china government. he was also monitored strictly because he expressed his freedom of speech.


    i learnt about the harm principal and the offenses principal. harm principal is when it allowed people to have lesser freedom of speech.it is like more restriction.people who display thier freedom of speech will face punishments. the offenses principal is like displaying freedom of speech to make people feel offended.

    overall, i think that freedom of speech can be a good and a bad thing. there are negative and positive effects. but it's base on how u look into it. but i will support more freedom of speech. although the words that people say may be harsh, but sometimes they will mean well. maybe the words that they give will make you change for the better.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. Every society will have limits on the exercise of free speech because speech always takes place in a context of competing values because there is always a struggle between “Liberty” and “authority”, and we cannot have the former without the latter.

    What i learned from this lesson is that people are allowed to speak and have freedom of speech but there must be a balance of freedom of speech and authority. One can say whatever they want but actions can only be taken after one have said their thoughts. There are 2 principal that were discuss during lesson are the harm principle and the offense principal. Harm principal shows how the majority's opinion overwrites the minority's opinion. So it affects the freedom of speech of the minority. The offense principal states that no one was harmed by the actions of someone but others feel offended by their freedom of expression.

    Freedom of Information is an extension of freedom of speech where the medium of expression is the Internet. In China, the freedom of speech of the citizens are restricted . They would be jailed of they say things which portrays negative comments on the Chinese government. The government takes away most form of social medias to prevent negative comments to spread on the web.

    In conclusion, i feel that everyone must have freedom of speech and should not be restricted if they do not offend another party with their speech. So i feel freedom of speech is a good thing.

    ReplyDelete