Ethical theories
Image: William J. Wynn
How is behavior regulated?
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Lawrence Lessig:
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Law
Market
Social norms
Architecture (code)
Ethics?
Technological realism
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Technologial pessimism, optimism, or
something else?
Technological determinism?
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Technology has tendencies
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How is ethics grounded?
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Human flourishing
An external standard in God’s character?
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What matters most:
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What we do
The results of our actions
Types of theories
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Teleological: concerned with good outcomes
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Deontological: concerned with right actions
Teleological ethics
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Utilitarianism: the greatest good for the
greatest number
Moral Duty
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Kant: treat others as rational beings
Categorical imperative
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Treat others as ends, not means
I should never act except in such a way as I
believe should be a universal law
Outcome is irrelevant; what matters is that
your actions are right (deontological)
Contractarianism
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We agree as a society that we have certain
rights (social contract)
Society defends those rights
Difficulties arise when they are in conflict
New natural law
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Some actions are inherently right or wrong
“We hold these truths to be self-evident…”
Christian ethics
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”I will write my law on their hearts…”
It seems to have a large internal component:
what matters is why you do what you do
Love God above all and your neighbor as
yourself
Case studies
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How to handle ethical questions
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Identify people and organizations affected
List as many possible courses of action as possible
Consider the impact of the options on the
stakeholders
Identify responsibilities of decision makers and rights
of stakeholders (would any of the actions violate
ethical guidelines or people's rights?)
Decide which courses of action are ethically wrong,
which are obligatory, and which are OK but not
required
If there are several ethically acceptable options,
choose one ...