ABSTRACT
This introduction chapter presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The aim of the book is to examine the political philosophies and ontologies that underlies the way that privacy has been experienced and described; to consider what is at stake in these frameworks; finally to suggest theoretical concepts that are potentially more fruitful. There are numerous definitions of privacy. Initially the book considers these definitions of what is acknowledged as the "canon of philosophy of privacy". It provides a background, against which it examines privacy in terms of its liberal roots. The book first focuses mainly upon privacy, in relation to the information about ourselves that people produce. Second, it illustrates some of the other ways in which appeals to privacy have helped to structure power relationships, particularly in marriage and employment. Then it examines the relationship between autonomy and privacy.
