The Ethics of Outrage

STREAM
BEING HUMAN Conversation

DATE & TIME
19 October 2016

LOCATION
THE ETHICS CENTRE

Does outrage create more problems than it solves?

Is outrage a useful tool for improving the world or do we need to calm down?

Outrage is everywhere. It’s seemingly confounded by social media. As soon as anyone makes a social faux par, it’s stacks on.

Outrage has the ability to bring about positive social change. It can empower the less privileged to be heard. It is often used to call out racism, homophobia and sexism and can inject social movements with momentum and power.

But could outrage be driven by unhealthy self-righteousness and hypocrisy? A new media landscape is giving our outrage voice like never before. But such an innocuous action has a lot of collateral damage.

We took at look at how outrage stacks up against ethical examination.

Speakers

Helen Razer

is a Melbourne-born, Canberra-raised radio presenter and writer. She is the author of four non-fiction books and contributes to The Saturday Paper, Daily Review, SBS Online and Frankie.

Black and white portrait of a bearded man for IQ2 Debate: #MeToo Has Gone Too Far. The man is smiling and looking to the side.

Michael Salter

s a criminologist whose research specialises in gendered violence, sexual assault, and complex trauma. He is a senior lecturer in criminology at Western Sydney University.

A speaker discusses the ethics of outrage, wearing a Deathly Hallows t-shirt. She's presenting to an audience, holding notes, and gesturing.

Sharnay

is an Australian slam poet. She won the BPS Olympics and was People’s Choice in the 2016 Grand Slam. She also facilitates high school poetry workshops Real Talk and Stand Tall Speak Out.