Chapter 12

Communication Ethics Literacy and Difference discusses how we are living in an era of difference, disagreement, and lack of concurrence. When communication of multiple goods comes into play we should learn from difference even though it may not lead to agreement. Learning and discernment are two major topics when dealing with the acceptance of others viewpoints that the book also examines. "This chapter centers communication ethics on the good of learning as the constructive pragmatic response to an era defined by difference"(210). Learning from others is one of the most important things that this book touches on. Pragmatics is one of the three major topics that this book discusses, which is the need for practical engagement of ideas. "The pragmatic demand is to learn and investigate ways of negotiating contending goods, which leads to the ongoing rise of crisis communication studies in this historical monument"(212). Pragmatics is learning from difference without ignoring others conflicting viewpoints and possibly leading to more clarity of the subject. With differing viewpoints conversations can eventually lead to Crisis communication.

Crisis communication is the contention of competing goods where a person needs to respond with care and discernment. This is when multiple goods arise in a situation and one has to accept others views on certain issues. This can come into play when discussing controversial topics where both sides can be argued. There is debate whether the minimum wage should be raised to $15 dollars an hour. One person may be strongly for this because it will provide more sustainable jobs for the poor but they lack the information from the opposing viewpoint. If the minimum wage was raised to $15 an hour the business would hire less people and people would also not want to try that hard to achieve something greater than working minimum wage when they can make a decent living off of it. So in reality this can be argued both ways, and with pragmatic responses to the topic it can provide more clarity towards the issue and allow the practice of crisis communication.