Chapter 2 Introduction of Ethical Theories

ITM2204
COMPUTER ETHICS
CHAPTER 2 : INTRODUCTION
OF ETHICAL THEORIES
Objectives
 Identify terms in ethics studies

 Understanding ethics theories and application
 Able to analyze ethics theories
 Understanding the important distinctions in ethics
Defining Terms in Ethics
Studies
Society – An association of people organized
under a system of rules designed to advance
the good of its members over time.
Morality – Rules of conduct describing what
people ought and ought not to do in various
situations.
Ethiscs – Philosophical study of morality, a
rational examination into people’s moral
belief and behavior.
Scenario
Alexis, a gifted high school students, wants to become a
doctor. Because she comes from a poor family, she will
need a scholarship in order to attend college. Some of
her class require students to do extra research projects.
Her high school has a few PCs, but there are always long
lines of students waiting to use them during the school
day. After school, she usually works at a part-time job to
help support her family.
One evening Alexis visits the library of a private college
a few miles from her family’s apartment, and she finds
plenty of unused PCs connected to the Internet. She
surreptitiously looks over the shoulder of another
student to learn a valid login/password combination.
Alexis returns to the library several times a week, and by
using its PCs and printers she efficiently completes the
extra research projects, graduate from high school with
straight A’s, and gets a full-ride scholarship to attend
prestigious university.
Answer the Questions
1. Did Alexis do anything wrong?
2. Who benefited from Alexis’s course of action?
3. Who was hurt by Alexis’s course of action?
4. Did Alexis have unfair advantage over her high
school classmates?
5. Would any of your answers change if it turns out
Alexis did not win a college scholarship after all
and is now working at the Burger Barn?
6. Are there any better way Alexis could have
accomplished her objective?
Subjective Relativism
Relativism – No rights, or wrong
Subjective Relativism
Each persons decides right and wrong for himself
“Whats right for you may not be right for me”
The Case for Subjective Relativism

Well-meaning and intelligent people can have totally opposite
opinions about moral issues.
Ethical debates are disagreeable and pointless.
Subjective Relativism (Cont…)
The Case against Subjective Relativism
With subjective relativism the line between doing what
you think is right and doing what you want to do is not
sharply drawn
By allowing each person to decide right or wrong for
him/herself, SR makes no moral distinction between the
action of different people
Subjective relativism and tolerance are two different
things
We should not give legitamacy to an ethical theory that
allows people to make decision based on something other
than reason.
Cultural Relativism
 Ethical theory that the meaning of “right” or
“wrong” rests with a society’s actual moral
guidelines.
 The guideline are varies from place to place
and from time to time.
Cultural Relativism
Study shows that notions of right and wrong
vary from one society to another.
You are riding in a car driven by a close

friend . He hits a pedestrian. You know he
was going at least 35 miles per hour in an
area of the city where the maximum
allowed speed is 20 miles per hour. There no
witnesses other than you. His lawyers says
that if you testify under oath that he was
driving only 20 miles per hour, you will save
him from serious consequences
Cultural Relativism
What right has your friend to expect you to
protect him?
My friend has a definite right as a friend to expect
me to testify to the lower speed
He has some right as a friend to expect me to
testify to the lower speed
He has no right as a friend to expect me to testify
to the lower speed
90% of Norwegians would not testify to the lower
speed, 75% of Americans and Canadians, 50%
Mexicans and 10% Yugoslavians.
Divine Command Theory
 A theory that based on idea that good
actions are those aligned with the will of
god and bad actions are those contrary to
the will of god.
 Since the holly books contain God’s
direction, the holly book can be a
references for moral decision-making
guides.
eg: God says we must revere our parents,
so revering our parents is good. God says
do not lie or steal, so lying and stealing
are bad deed.
Ethical Egoism
 A philosophy that each person should
focus exclusively on his or her
interest.
 A morally right action for a person to
take in a particular situation if the
action will provide that person with
the maximum long-term benefit.
 Ethical Egoism does not prohibit acting
to help someone else, but assisting
others is the right thing if or only if it
is in a helper’s own long term interest.
Ethical Egoism
Scenario on Ethical Egoism
Bryan depend upon a friend to give him ride to
work everyday. If his friend’s car breaks down
and she cannot afford $100 to fix the car. So,
Bryan ought to loan her the money, even he
might out of $100 until his friend will pay him
back. According to Bryan it is better to give the
loan as long as he still able to travel to work and
make money. If Bryan don’t lend his friend the
money, he will lose his income. So, by lending
his friend $100 is the right thing to do because
its provide him the maximum overall benefit.
[Douglas Birsch]
Deontological
 Peoplesaction ought to be guided
by moral laws, and the moral laws
are universal.
 Emphasize on duty and absolute
rules, to be followed whether they
lead to good or ill consequences.
Deontological
Principal of Universality
We should follow rules of behavior that
we can universally apply to everyone.
Logic/reason determine rules of ethical
behavior
Reasonable actions are good because
they follow from logic.
Use , your reason, rationality and
judgement, rather than emotions when
making a decision.
Deontological
Principle of interacting with other people
One must never treat people as merely
means to ends, but rather as ends in
themselves.
Utilitarianism
 Theprinciple is to increase
happiness or utility in someone or
peoples.
 Anact is right if it tends to increase
aggregate utility and wrong if it
tends to decrease it.
Social Contract
 Social Contract includes :
1. establishment of such a set
of moral rules to govern
relations among citizens
2. A government capable of
enforcing these rules
No Simple Answer
We cannot solve ethical problems by
applying formula or algorithm as
human behavior and real human
situations are complex.
Although ethical theories does not
completely solve difficult and
controversial issues, it helps to
identify important principles and
guidelines.
Important Distinctions
Right, Wrong and Okay
Misleading to divide all categories
into two categories; ethically right
and ethically wrong
Better to think of acts as either
ethically obligatory, ethically
prohibited or ethically acceptable.
Important Distinction
Distinguishing Wrong and Harm
Carelessly and needlessly causing harm is
wrong. But harm alone is not sufficient
criterion to determine that an act is
unethical.
Many ethical, even admirable acts can
make other people worse off.
Important Distinction
Personal Preference and Ethics
•Itwill be quite difficult sometimes to
know between what we consider
ethically right or wrong and what we
personally like or dislike.

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ITM2204

 Identify terms in ethics studies

The Case for Subjective Relativism

You are riding in a car driven by a close

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