PERSPECTIVES ON PRIVACY

The nature of privacy is an interesting and complex question which has been addressed in several disciplines. Perspectives on privacy are th us varied, occasionally conflicting, and generally difficult to evalua te in a coherent fashion. There is not, in fact, agreement on what pri vacy actually is. In this article, studies of privacy from anthropolog y, ethology, political science, psychology, sociology, and other disci plines, are classified into person-centred, place-centred and interact ional perspectives, in all disciplines, rather than examining each dis cipline independently. The review provides a framework which may be us ed to facilitate comparison of privacy issues across disciplines and p erspectives. A broader concept of privacy results from viewing the ver y different perspectives under a wider umbrella than that of the more individual viewpoints. At the same time, niceties of interpretation su rface, which contribute to the depth and clarity of the concept.