[PEC]Introduction

Introduction

Pervasive Nature of Computers

To reflect on the impact of computers in society

Importance of Professional Ethics

Why professional ethics?

In everyday practices we face issues and make decisons.
We may be dealing with ethical issue but

  • we might not recognise them
  • we may automatically do the “easy” thing
  • we may do things we subsequently regret…
    Good vs. Evil, Right or Wrong is the Ethical Relativism

From general to specific, there are ethics theory-> practical ethics-> professional ethics.

Becoming more ehical

  • Clarify what is “right” or “good” and what is “wrong” or “evil”
  • Develop awareness of ethical dimensions of life and work
    • Identify potential relevant information and choices, including those specific to your profession
  • Develop skills at reasoning ethically
    • Analyze choices and arguments with ethical aspects
  • Reflect on own experience in studies and work
  • Apply ethical approach in your studies(e.g. in your individual projects)
  • Take opportunity to rehearse(详述) what you would do in possible future situations

Ethical Reasoning

To understand and apply the principle of ethical reasoning

Ethics and morality

Ethics is a set of morally permissible standards of a group that each member of the group, at his/her rational best, wants every other member to follow, even if their doing so would mean that he/she MUST do the same.
Morality is the set of standards that everyone(every rational person at his/her rational best) wants everyone else to follow, even if their following them means having to do the same.

Rational Best in ethics reasoning

  • ‘Rational best’ refers to the mental state of the person who wants the (ethical/moral) rules to be followed.
    • The person is assumed to be a rational persona whose capacity for reasoning is not diminished through some form of injury, disease, drugs, grief, fear, etc.
  • Practical reasoning is used to make decisions
    • Proofs of practical reasoning often starts with the code of conduct and then takes into account mitigating circumstances.
    • There is not a set of common axioms(公理)/premises and the inference may be disputable.

Relationship between ethics and morality

Ethical means consistent with a particular standard, but ethical is not equal to morally good.

Ethical rules are not always moral rules. They can be morally neutral.

  • If an IT professional delays installing a security patch and a person loses data, moral rules may not have much to say.
    Breaking ethical rules may not mean breaking moral rules
  • Publishing salaries of doctors in the USA may be unethical but not immoral

Focus on the action and implications

Utilitarianism is one of the best known and most influential moral theories. Like other forms of Consequentialism, its core idea is that whether actions are morally right or wrong depends on their effects. More specifically, the only effects of actions that are relevant are the good and bad results that they produce.

Consequentialism

Consequences of an action, not the motivation behind the action, makes the action good or bad.

Utilitarianism

Right decision is the one that causes the most happiness. Happiness is pleasure and the absence of pain. Unhappiness means pain and absence of pleasure.
Act Utilitarianism determine whether or not the action taken maximizes happiness, compared to the other options.
Rule Utilitarianism determine whether or not the action taken compiles with the set rules.
What are the set rules?
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For example, if someone abusing children, and the children became better. It is good for act utilitarianism but bad for rule utilitarianism because it breaks the basic rule.

Focus on will, rights, duties, obligations, rules

Deontological ethical theory

Some rules must be followed, even if they result in a bad end.

Kant: Good will & categorical imperative(绝对命令）

The only good is good will. Categorical imperative is a rule that must be followed.
Good will is the will of a person to act solely according to a code of morality based purely on reason.

Two formulations of categorical imperative

Universal Law of Nature: Act only according to maxims(principles) that could be adopted as universal laws.
Prove: “It is always morally acceptable to steal anything that you want”.
If it is OK to steal, then we should not expect to have any personal property.
If there is no personal property, there is no such a thing as stealing
Hence, either there is no stealing or stealing is wrong.
This is a Chinese version of interpretation
End in itself: Treat humans, both yourself and others, as ends in themselves and never as a means to an end.

Properties of ethics theories

We are in search of ethical theories that have two key qualities:

  • Impartiality(公平性): Every person is treated equally and no one is given preferential treatment in the theory.
  • Universality: A decision based on the theory should be correct for everyone that has a similar decision to make.

Ethics of justice - John Rawls

Justice as fairness, all social contract theories of ethics must be fair.
Each person should have as extensive set of basic freedoms as possible, as long as it does not prevent others from having the same. Social economic inequalities are justified only if:

  • Everyone has a fair chance to obtain the better position.
  • Such inequalities provide the greatest benefits to the least advantaged- difference principle.

Ethics of caring -Nel Noddings

We want to be moral to remain in the caring relationship and to enhance the ideal of ourselves as one-caring.
Caring is a feeling of engrossment in the needs of another person.

  • To care for a person, the person needs to be receptive of the offered care.
  • While it is possible care about everyone, it is not possible to care for everyone.

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Deliberative ethical discussions

  • No winner in a successful deliberative critical discussion
  • Everyone is well-intended
  • No persuasion without rational substantive basis
    • every person speaks one at a time
    • No charged(充满感情的) language, exaggeration or rhetorical devices
    • No attacks on an individual
      Deliberative discussion is NOT about having AN ARGUMENT

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