ABSTRACT

Modern approaches to public relations cluster into three camps along a continuum:

  • conflict-oriented egoism, e.g. forms of contingency theory that focus almost exclusively on the wellbeing of an entity;
  • redressed egoism, e.g. subsidies to redress PR’s egoistic nature; and
  • forms of self-interested cooperation, e.g. fully functioning society theory.

 

Public Relations, Cooperation, and Justice draws upon interdisciplinary research from evolutionary biology, philosophy, and rhetoric to establish that relationships built on cooperation and justice are more productive than those built on conflict and egoistic competition. Just as important, this innovative book shuns normative, utopian appeals, offering instead only empirical, materialistic evidence for its conclusions.

This is a powerful, multidisciplinary, and well-documented analysis, including specific strategies for the enactment of PR as a quest for cooperation and justice, which aligns the discipline of public relations with basic human nature. It will be of interest to scholars and advanced students of public relations and communication ethics.

part I|1 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|16 pages

Introduction

A consilience of cooperation

chapter 2|15 pages

The public relations of evolution

part II|1 pages

Evolutionary biology, public relations, and cooperation

chapter 3|15 pages

Introduction to Part II

Evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and cooperation

chapter 4|20 pages

Re-envisioning Charles Darwin

chapter 5|21 pages

Peter Kropotkin and mutual aid

chapter 6|25 pages

Dawkins, Gould, and Wilson

The modern debate

chapter 7|20 pages

The evolution of game theory

part III|1 pages

Philosophy, public relations, and cooperation

chapter 8|11 pages

Introduction to Part III

137Philosophical materialism, cooperation, and justice

chapter 9|19 pages

David Hume and the origins of justice

chapter 10|17 pages

John Rawls and justice as fairness

part IV|1 pages

Rhetoric, public relations, and cooperation

chapter 11|21 pages

Introduction to Part IV

186Persuasion and cooperation

chapter 12|20 pages

Isocrates, moderation, and justice

chapter 13|18 pages

Isocrates’ legacy

The Roman rhetoricians and beyond

part V|1 pages

Conclusions

chapter 14|7 pages

Summaries and strategies