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The ethical obligations of a banal, content apocalypse

Carson Grubaugh (Modesto Jr College – Art, Modesto, California, USA)

Kybernetes

ISSN: 0368-492X

Article publication date: 27 May 2014

120

Abstract

Purpose

To ask if humans have a categorical obligation to maintain narratives, especially personal narratives of identity? Or, are we better off evolving past such things? This question is closely related to a discussion of how and why humans tend to place value on a certain amount of organization in content, semantic and otherwise. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Examples from a personal art projects set the stage for the major questions of the paper regarding the ordering of content.

Findings

One can create a Cartesian mapping of content, with Shannon Entropy and Kolmogorov Complexity as the two vectors, thus constructing a histogram that is useful for the analysis of content of all sorts. Humanity seems to value/find useful, a certain sector of this histogram. The reason for this appears to supervene on biological imperatives for survival. These commitments are now put under pressure due to an increase in variety and complexity in personal and societal narratives, causing an unease about the future.

Research limitations/implications

This paper formulates the relevant moral questions by providing a structure within to ask them. Answering these questions is for another time.

Practical implications

The histogram helps situate various degrees of content organization and is thus a useful tool for analyzing content. It could lead to something akin to Birkhoff's Aesthetic Measure, but for content of all sorts rather than just aesthetic objects.

Originality/value

The format is singular for a journal article.

Keywords

Citation

Grubaugh, C. (2014), "The ethical obligations of a banal, content apocalypse", Kybernetes, Vol. 43 No. 6, pp. 947-964. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-05-2013-0098

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2014, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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