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wizzard> Without any reference, it is my understanding that privacy is very much a luxury right, not unlike education, which grants us the freedom to perform at our individual best when not alone and contemplate, experience and learn all the "wrong" paths away from the unforgiving blind judgement that is inevitable in a society of men.
To unpack that slightly, privacy is very much a low-priority benefit, one that comes far behind keeping fed and physically healthy. It is often first out the door when sacrifices are being made with only minor short-term damage to the society.
Privacy's benefits are very much long-term, and mainly favour individualism in the sense that it allows the individual to develop their own self, their own views, and their own solutions to societal and other problems. These benefits are highly praised in individualistic societies but hardly a necessity for any society to operate.
Privacy is optional in a society geared toward pushing values; such as those strictly governed by religious principles (eg. Roman Catholic), economic or militaristic goals (eg. Total War), and desirable in societies open to exploration, the sciences and new understandings.
In the absence of privacy, people tend to fall in line.
Dreams and their many benefits are in my opinion proof that the human psyche needs and thrives on privacy.
I've read others defining privacy as "a withdrawal for the sake of making life with others bearable", in the sense that privacy is truly necessary only when the only alternative would be a personal conflict.
(The Social Psychology of Privacy, Barry Schwartz)
To unpack that slightly, privacy is very much a low-priority benefit, one that comes far behind keeping fed and physically healthy. It is often first out the door when sacrifices are being made with only minor short-term damage to the society.
Privacy's benefits are very much long-term, and mainly favour individualism in the sense that it allows the individual to develop their own self, their own views, and their own solutions to societal and other problems. These benefits are highly praised in individualistic societies but hardly a necessity for any society to operate.
Privacy is optional in a society geared toward pushing values; such as those strictly governed by religious principles (eg. Roman Catholic), economic or militaristic goals (eg. Total War), and desirable in societies open to exploration, the sciences and new understandings.
In the absence of privacy, people tend to fall in line.
Dreams and their many benefits are in my opinion proof that the human psyche needs and thrives on privacy.
I've read others defining privacy as "a withdrawal for the sake of making life with others bearable", in the sense that privacy is truly necessary only when the only alternative would be a personal conflict.
(The Social Psychology of Privacy, Barry Schwartz)
