Ethics of Ownership?

What does it mean for something to be owned?

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What kind of ethical issues arise around private ownership?

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What are other ways of understanding ownership and property?

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What are the consequences of various forms of property ownership?

This lab invites students to investigate what it means to own something—and what should or shouldn’t be ownable. Drawing on diverse perspectives, students analyze real-world cases about property and ethics, from gene patents and creative works to water rights and nonhuman beings. Working collaboratively, we ask: What are the consequences of claiming ownership of things? Is ownership protective or exploitative? Are there other ways of protecting and valuing things without making them items of private property? Student teams will conduct ethical research into domains of contested property, including interviews with diverse stakeholders, creating a project for the public good.

Collaborators & Lab Consultants

• Rebecca Tsosie (Yaqui ), Regents Professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona; faculty member for the Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona

• Marco Janssen, Professor in School of Sustainability

• Upmanu Lall, Professor in the ASU School of Complex Adaptive Systems, director of the new Global Futures Water Institute

Questions of ethics and ownership in the News

At the Humanities Lab, we strive to ensure our Labs are relevant and current. Here are some recent articles about ethics and ownership in recent news.

Disney and Universal sue AI firm Midjourney for copyright infringement

LI Native American tribe claims part of Sunrise Highway was illegally built on sovereign land — wants money