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Title: Ethical dilemma: Should knowledge be free? – Michael Vazquez and Will Kanwischer
Duration: 00:06:01
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The mystical city of Ockham is famous for its college of magic.
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Here, genius spellcasters invent incantations
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and publish them in enchanted scrolls that others can purchase.
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As an aspiring wizard, you study these scrolls to learn from the best.
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Specifically, you’re interested in making mathematical magic—
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like spells that conjure complex shapes—
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for researchers to study.
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Often, you can’t afford the latest scrolls in your field.
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But one day, a friend tells you he's been using an illegal duplication spell
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to copy scrolls,
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and, if you’re interested,
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you’re welcome to read his collection free of charge.
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So, do you use his counterfeit scrolls to further your own research?
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As a wizard,
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you know designing spells requires a lot of intellectual labor and creativity,
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which is why it’s widely agreed that mages should be able to make a living
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selling their work.
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And since this system is also how wizards build their reputation,
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most believe it elevates good work
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and makes high quality magic reasonably accessible.
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But this system has its problems.
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In fact, researchers on our less magical world are facing similar issues
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with how science is published.
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That system's issues are far more complex than Ockham's,
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but both share a core philosophical concern:
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intellectual property rights.
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While many philosophers agree
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that some version of intellectual property rights make sense,
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their justifications vary widely.
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For example, some thinkers draw on English philosopher John Locke,
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who argues that if you “mix your labor” with a plot of wild land,
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any crops it produces, as well as the land itself,
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should be under your control.
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This makes a certain kind of sense for farmers,
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but are spells, songs, or stories really like farmland?
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For one thing, land is limited—
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if one person uses it for farming, someone else can’t use it for building.
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This kind of all or nothing resource is what some philosophers call
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a rivalrous good.
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But there’s no limit on how many people can be inspired by a sunset.
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And people can even arrive at the same idea independently,
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whether or not they share an inspiration.
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So if we can all have ideas without interfering with one another,
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why assign rights over them at all?
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One answer comes from 19th-century philosopher G.W.F. Hegel.
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He argues that control over our intellectual creations
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is crucial to the quest for personal fulfillment.
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For example, musicians making a new song aren't just mixing their labor
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with the world—
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they’re expressing themselves.
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And Hegel believes creators should have the right to control
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these creative extensions of their personalities.
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By using these ideas without permission or credit,
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we’re reducing a creator’s control over their life and legacy.
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Alternatively, thinkers like Elizabeth Anderson and Michael Sandel
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have argued that commodifying certain things can debase them.
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For example, while you might think it’s fine to treat a luxury car
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as something to be bought and sold,
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it feels strange to say the same thing about a library card.
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That attitude feels somehow disrespectful to the pursuit of knowledge.
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And taken to the extreme,
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one might conclude that all knowledge should be completely free.
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But even without compensation,
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how would you feel if someone copied your work
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and took credit for it as their own?
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Outside a world where everyone abandons ownership over their ideas,
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it’s hard not to feel like some injustice would still be taking place.
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That said, it also feels extreme
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to say intellectual property rights should always be respected.
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Scottish philosopher David Hume famously argued that, in times of famine,
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the government is justified in forcing wealthy citizens to open their granaries
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to the public.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic,
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similar reasoning led publishing companies to temporarily give free access
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to journal articles related to the deadly virus.
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In such an emergency, most agreed it was in everyone’s interest
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to prioritize saving lives over compensation.
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But do circumstances need to be this extreme
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to justify ignoring intellectual property rights?
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Or is your pursuit of knowledge enough for you to deny these mages
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their hard-earned coin?
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Your friend’s archive is waiting...
