ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors consider the ethics of influence attempts. They feel morally obliged to offer some prescriptions and proscriptions on the ethical uses of persuasion. The authors argue that persuasion is not a dirty word. But persuasion is used to do the "dirty work" of convincing others when disagreements develop. As they noted, persuasion performs a number of positive, prosocial functions. To the extent that some persuaders are unethical, it makes even more sense to learn how unethical influence attempts work and why they succeed. A number of scholars subscribe to the view that only intentional influence attempts count as persuasion. From an ethical standpoint, however, this view is problematic. Pure cases of persuasion, according to model, occur with the conscious awareness of the participants. Borderline cases of persuasion, however, require no such realization on the part of the participants.
