Open AccessArchival ethics: The truth of the matter
Author(s) -
Cox Richard J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of the american society for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1532-2890
pISSN - 1532-2882
DOI - 10.1002/asi.20852
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , epistemology , meta ethics , task (project management) , sociology , applied ethics , professional ethics , business ethics , information ethics , work (physics) , philosophy , law , political science , management , history , mechanical engineering , archaeology , economics , engineering
This essay explores the question of whether records professionals are as aware of the ethical dimensions of their work as they should be. It consider first the historical and professional context of archival ethics, then examines a recent case about business archives involving the author that suggests the need for renewed attention to professional ethics, and concludes with a discussion about how archivists might reconsider the ethical dimensions of their work. The task of the philosopher is neither to belittle truth nor to exalt it, neither to deny it nor to defend it, but to explain why we need the concept and what it is to possess it. (Dummett, 2004, p. 116)