Critique of Edward Snowden's Actions Based on Kant and Aristotle Philosophy

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Two of the greatest philosophers, Immanuel Kant and Aristotle, don’t agree with the actions taken by the whistleblower Edward Snowden leaking the confidential information to the United State Citizens. Snowden was a computer specialist for the NSA and CIA who came across information that he believed was wrong and should be known by the citizens of the United States, so he decided to leak it. Aristotle, based of his philosophy, would have constructed an argument saying that Snowden’s actions were that of a good person but not of a follower of the polis. Kant has the same argument as Aristotle but brings in the comparative side that the government was also in the wrong. But to start this off right we need to know exactly what Edward Snowden did to get all this attention, and to make it easier to explain the philosophers thoughts.
Edward Snowden has become infamous for being the latest whistle-blower in the United States. Snowden is a former computer specialist for the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. He took sole responsibility of disclosing up to 200,000 classified documents to the public that contained information of the government spying on its citizens. The big story of what he released was centered on an NSA mass surveillance program that is keeping track of United States citizens and also some people in other countries using cell phones. The mass surveillance system works is dependent on the NSA utilizing the cell tower coverage around the United States to see exactly where a cell phone and a person are located. There is many ways the NSA can find you using this system first is with cell phone data, second is triangulating your location using multiple towers, third using Wi-Fi data, and fourth ...

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...hnson, Robert, Johnson,. "Kant's Moral Philosophy." Stanford University. Stanford University, 23 Feb. 2004. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Kant, Immanuel. "Kant: Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View."Kant: Idea for a Universal History from a Cosmopolitan Point of View. Marxists.Org, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
Kant, Immanuel. Perpetual Peace,. New York: Columbia UP, 1939. 93-130. Print.
Kant, Immanuel, and Mary J. Gregor. "Concerning What Is Externally Mine or Yours in General." The Metaphysics of Morals. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. 37. Print.
Kraut, Richard, Kraut,. "Aristotle's Ethics." Stanford University. Stanford University, 01 May 2001. Web. 09 Dec. 2013.
Neal, Ryan W. "Edward Snowden Leak: How NSA Collects Location Data From 5 Billion Cellphones Every Day." International Business Times. International Business Times, 5 Dec. 2013. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

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