Journal of Media Ethics, 30:3–18, 2015 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 2373-6992 print/2373-700X online DOI: 10.1080/08900523.2014.985295 The Ethics of Two-Way Symmetry and the Dilemmas of Dialogic Kantianism Nicholas Browning The Media School, Indiana University J. E. Grunig’s (1992a) seminal work on excellence theory and subsequent works by other scholars advance the two-way symmetrical model as a best-practice approach to public relations (PR). In part, two-way symmetry is preferred because of an assertion that it is the most ethical form of practice. However, only within a means-based deontological framework do two-way symmetry and the principle of dialogue emerge as universally ethical. Taking an ends-based utilitarian standpoint makes the potential ethical flaws of two-way symmetry apparent. Issues of moral luck, hegemony, and the limitations of dialogue also pose problems for the moral primacy claims surrounding two- way symmetry. The analysis that follows points toward a need for a more relative and contingent approach to PR ethics, and by extension to PR practice itself. INTRODUCTION In promoting the ethical superiority of the symmetrical model, excellence theorists argue that dialogic, two-way symmetrical practice is the normative ideal for public relations (PR) because it is the most effective and ethical of the four models (J. E. Grunig, 1989, 1992a, 2000, 2006; L. A. Grunig, J. E. Grunig, & Dozier, 2002). This approach has met with considerable criticism. Just as two-way symmetry has been argued to vary in efficacy across situations, it also varies in its level of ethicality (Cameron, 1997; Cameron, Pang, & Jin, 2008; Cancel, Cameron, Sallot, & Mitrook, 1997; Cancel, Mitrook, & Cameron, 1999; Leichty, 1997; Leichty & Springston, 1993; Murphy, 1991, 2000). The thrust of the argument presented here is not that two-way symmetrical practice is unethical; rather, the argument is that two-way symmetry will not always emerge as the most ethical mode of practice across varying situations. The excellence proposition that two-way symmetrical public relations is always “more” ethical than other modes of practices is simply untrue. While two-way symmetry may indeed be practiced ethically, so too can the other models (Wright, 2006). Manuscript submitted December 11, 2013; revision accepted August 28, 2014. Correspondence should be sent to Nicholas Browning, The Media School, Indiana University, Franklin Hall, 601 E. Kirkwood Ave., Bloomington, IN 47406. E-mail: npbrow03@uga.edu 3