Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 45 replies
  • Subscribers 15 subscribers
  • Views 3300 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in
This discussion is locked.
You cannot post a reply to this discussion. If you have a question start a new discussion

Ethics: Are we misusing the terms "master-slave". Do we even have a community / forum in which we can discuss this?

Philip Oakley
The recent world wide considerations of the diversity challenges in our society has highlighted that we in Engineering can be perpetuating some of the derogatory terms implicit within our use of "Master-Slave" for purely inanimate technical control scenarios. [1 - N]


We have policies on slavery that every volunteer, staff member and Trustee must read and abide to, but it appears we haven't noticed, to any significant extent, our own continued use of "slave" in our writings.


Do we even have a community or forum in which we can discuss this ethical, and publishing issue?


Philip Oakley

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53273923

[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3243656.stm

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53050955

[4 ] http://www.jstor.com/stable/40061475   "Broken Metaphor: The Master-Slave Analogy in Technical Literature"

[5] https://www.theiet.org/involved/volunteering-for-the-iet/volunteer-hub/our-policies/anti-slavery-policy/


Aside: Is there some tick box to get notifications of replies sent?
Parents
  • 0
    Alex Barrett:

    Philip, you have a very odd perspective, at least from my point of view. My use of the term "slave" to describe the behaviour of an inanimate object in no way encourages or supports slavery. I don't believe that eradicating the word does anything to eradicate the phenomenon, it simply sweeps it under the carpet.




    Who said anything about eradicating the word used to describe a person who is "the legal property of another and who is bound to absolute obedience".


    We outlawed that nearly two hundred years ago, though promoted and profited from it for even longer before that. Now we engineers have been saying a slave is just another bit of secondary kit. Let's stop that false association.


Reply
  • 0
    Alex Barrett:

    Philip, you have a very odd perspective, at least from my point of view. My use of the term "slave" to describe the behaviour of an inanimate object in no way encourages or supports slavery. I don't believe that eradicating the word does anything to eradicate the phenomenon, it simply sweeps it under the carpet.




    Who said anything about eradicating the word used to describe a person who is "the legal property of another and who is bound to absolute obedience".


    We outlawed that nearly two hundred years ago, though promoted and profited from it for even longer before that. Now we engineers have been saying a slave is just another bit of secondary kit. Let's stop that false association.


Children
No Data

Join us to get the best from IET EngX.

Joining EngX lets you personalise your experience so you stay up to date on the topics that interest you, plus you’ll be able to make connections who are looking to collaborate, exchange ideas and more.

Join us Not now

Community Rules & Guidelines