Ethics in a Computing Culture
Chapter 1
Critical Reasoning and Moral
Theory
Day 2
Review: Being a member of a profession
usually ____ your ethical responsibilities.
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B. Increases
C. Does not affect
2
Review: Which moral theory says it is only appropriate
to judge an individual with the standards of his culture?
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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A. Religious ethics
B. Divine Command
theory
C. Cultural Relativism
D. Cultural Rescue
theory
E. No harm, no foul
theory.
3
Ethics as a Meta-Norm
•
•
Ethics is the study of rational choices.
Ethical = Doing the right thing
–
How do we define the right thing?
– Where we place the value
• Weakness of the previous theories; need to search for
theories with universal validity:
– Lasting and durable value
– Transcends space and time
– Intrinsic human goods exist and the moral choices to realize those
goods is possible.
– These principles work in diverse cultures
– Ideas from Cyberethics by Spinello, p. 4
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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Ethics
Two dominant theories:
1.
Deontological
• Duty and rule based
2.
Teleological
• Consequence/outcome based
(pages 20-23)
Deontology
• Greek word – deon (duty)
• Focus is on the rights, duties, obligations and rules
– Looks at intrinsic value of the action, what are you having
to do?
• consequences/outcome of the action are secondary, or
to some of these ethicists, completely irrelevant.
• Spinello: deontological ethicists “argue for the priority of the
right over the good” … “their rightness or wrongness does not
depend in any way in the consequences which they effect.”
Kant - Universalism
• Immanuel Kant looks to what would happen if the
action were universal.
• “I shall never act except in such a way that I can also
will that my maxim become universal law.”
– Absolutist: always wrong to lie. No exceptions
Kant’s Categorical Imperatives
(a.k.a. Absolute Commands)
• Kant’s first formulation:
– “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the
same time will that it should become a universal law.”
• For Kant, consider what would happen if everyone
did this act all the time?
According to Kant, it is ethical to make an exception to
a rule in order to help someone out.
A. True
B. False
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Kant’s Categorical Imperatives
(continued)
• Kant’s second formulation:
– “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in
your own person or in the person of any other, always at
the same time as an end and never merely as a means to
an end.”
Three minute philosophy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwOCmJevigw
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Soup Bowl Scenario
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What would Kant say?
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A. Download the software if
you want, it’s your choice,
and you should be happy.
B. Download the software,
give the money you saved
to the poor, that makes
the most people happy.
C. Purchase the software
legally, even if that means
you cannot donate to the
Soup Bowl, as you should
not break a rule.
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Two problems with the
Universalism theory
• Rigidity:
– Some exceptions to absolute duty would make a lot of common sense.
• Sometimes two duties will conflict.
– What to do then?
Another deontological theory
Pluralistic Deontology
• WD Ross’ prima facie
duties:
•
•
•
•
Fidelity
Reparation
Gratitude
Non-injury/harm
prevention
• Beneficence
• Self-improvement
• Justice
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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Scenario: Annie the student
Annie lives in a poor section of Big Town. Last year, Annie started
attending a magnet school. At the magnet school, teachers have
high expectations and give lots of homework. Annie needs to
use a computer to complete her work, but her family and friends
do not have one, nor is there a public library nearby. Her school
has resources that she can use immediately after school, but
that time conflicts with her part-time job. It happens that her
apartment is located next to a small private college. Annie
usually walks there at night to the college lab and uses their
resources. The signs clearly state “student use only” but there is
no log in required.
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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Would Kant say Annie’s behavior is ethical?
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A. Yes, because she is
completing her
assignments as her
teacher instructed.
B. Yes, because she is
improving herself.
C. No, because her
behavior is like lying
and she is breaking
the rules.
D. A and B are true
16
Opinion: Would fellow deontologist Ross reach
the same conclusion about Annie as Kant?
A. Yes
B. Maybe not
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Opinion:
Annie & Pluralistic deontology;
What duty might be the most important here?
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Soup Bowl Scenario: What would Ross say?
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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B.
Purchase the software legally,
even if that means you cannot
donate to the Soup Bowl, as you
should not break a rule.
Download the software if you
want, it’s your choice, and you
should be happy.
Download the software, give the
money you saved to the poor,
that makes the most people
happy.
Figure out the most important
duty to meet. It may help other
people, but it is not clear that
you should break the law.
Pu
A.
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Teleological Ethics: Consequentialism
pages 15- 20
• Telos: Greek for end or purpose
• Actions evaluated by their consequence.
– Consequentialism: the consequence of an action, not the
motivation behind the action, makes an action good or bad
– Guiding principle: to increase happiness, a.k.a. utility
(satisfies needs and values)
– Utilitarianism: an action is good if it causes more
happiness than a potential, alternative decision*
*Look at the net consequence of behaviors.
Consequentialism/Utilitarianism’s
Calculus
• Predictive
• Greatest good for the greatest number, including “depth” of
happiness, p. 17 ex.
• Looking at the net consequences:
– Spinello’s summary: without being arbitrary, utilitarianism
requires a “moral calculus”… “using all the possibilities” to
find “the greatest net expectable utility”
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Utilitarianism Ethicists
• Theory: correct course of action
maximizes expected utility &/or
minimizes expected negative utility
for humans
• Leading theorists are Jeremy
Bentham & John Stuart Mill
• Bentham looks for what promotes
“the general good”:
• "An act is right from an ethical point of view if, and
only if, the sum total of utilities produced by that act
is greater than the sum total utilities produced by
another act the agent could have performed in its
place."
Bentham (1748-1832)
Mill (1806-1873)
Luther clip
• Series 1: Episode 1
– http://www.bbcamerica.
com/luther/videos/firstmoments/
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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Suppose you had to classify Luther. Where
would you put him?
Ethics in a Computing Culture
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Kant
B. Deontology with
Ross
C. Cultural Relativism
D. Utilitarian
E. I’m not sure
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Utilitarianism variants
• Act Utilitarianism: the concept of performing an action
that maximizes happiness
– Act Utilitarianism & Officer Schmidt’s dilemma page 17
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Utilitarianism variants cont’d
• Rule Utilitarianism: the concept of adopting a set of
rules, and only violating them in the case where
compelling evidence indicates that utility is increased by
such a violation.
– See Gert’s rules, p. 19
• Be familiar with Gert’s rules
– Rule Utilitarianism & Officer Schmidt’s dilemma, page 19
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Comparing Deontology to Teleological
Ethics
• Deontological ethics theories differ from
teleological/consequentialist theories
– the intention behind the action is considered more
important than the end result
– focuses on rights, duties, obligations, and rules
– assumes that the result will end badly if these rules are not
met
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Soup Bowl Scenario
In-class discussion: Talk through in small groups the possible
positions of _______ on this.
• Act Utilitarian
• Rule Utilitarian
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When Calvin says “I don’t mean for
everyone, you dolt, just me!” Calvin is
showing himself to be a(n)
Deontologist
Act Utilitarian
Rule Utilitarian
Egoist
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