Ethics

Ethics came from the greek word ethos [character/custom/disposition] defined as the systematic study of morality.

Ethics is related to the code or set of principles, standards, or rules that guide the moral action of an individual within a
particular social framework.

➡It is concerned with moral judgement and moral decision, involving questions about human behavior or conduct.

Morality

came from the latin word moralis, custom or character in which people do things

➡refers to what we call moral code or conduct

➡looks at how good or bad our conduct is and our standards about conduct.

In colleges there is an ethics class rather than a morality class.

Morality is ethics in action, but in the end two terms can be used interchangeably.

➡when the word immoral is defined, it is associated with?

Study of Morality

Involves questions of practical reasoning such as:+Freedom+Privacy*Equality+Duty+ Obligations+ Choice+Justification of

Conduct

How a person ought to act responsibly in a particular case and to what extent this action should be described as right or
wrong.

THANK YOU, I'M SORRY,PLEASE,EXCUSE ME

Terms related to Ethics

Moral Codes: are the rules helpfulzanyo cheerful sarcastic that establish the boundaries optimistic vague messy calm
quiet bright alert of generally accepted behavior.

Value System: is the complex scheme of moral values that we choose to live by enthusiastic greedy warm g lazy logical
relaxed;gracious decisive quirky trusting frugal

Traits: It is the distinguishing qualities of a person. It highlights values

Virtues vs. Vices

➡Virtues: are habits that incline us to do what is acceptable.

➡ Vices: are habits that incline us to do what is unacceptable.

➡Metaethics: is the study of the nature and the basis of ethics; it is a philosophical discussion about moral concepts,
practices and judgement outside ethical practice, dealing with problems concerning ethics, not with problems within
ethics.

Metaethics is the most abstract area of moral philosophy. It doesn't ask what acts, or what kind of acts are good or bad,
right or wrong: rather, it asks about the nature of goodness and badness, what it is to be morally right or wrong

Normative Ethics is the study of norms, rules, values, and standards that should guide our moral decisions (how we ought
or ought not to act and behave, and what we ought or ought not to do) It is an attempt to figure out what people should
do or whether their current moral behavior is reasonable. How people ought to act is the question of normative ethics

➡Descriptive Ethics: describing how people behave. People might say that stealing is bad. Moral beliefs of a specific
culture

What do people think is RIGHT is the question of descriptive ethics.

Ethical Theory

Ethical theory is based on the assumption that people are rational and make free choices

Ethical Theory

Neither of these condition is always and absolutely true.

People act emotionally and they make mistakes, A person is not making a free choice when someone else is pointing a
gun at him, Some argue that a person is not making a free choice in a situation where she might lose a job. Individual is
in most circumstances, responsible for his or her actions.

Ethical Theory attempt to achieve the same goal:

To enhance human dignity

➡Peace➡Happiness and,➡Well being

Ethical Rules

Ethical Rules are rules that follow in our interactions with other people and in our actions that affect other people. Ethical
rules apply to all of us and are intended to achieve good results for people and situations in general.

A set of rules that does this well respects the fact the we are each unique and have our own values and goals, that we
have judgement and will, and that we act according to our judgement to achieve our goals

Western Ethical Theories

➡Deontology/Kantianism: by philisopher Immanuel Kant(1724-1804).

It is believed that how we behave ethically comes from within us. and the things that we decide are 'good' or 'bad' are
based on whether we could imagine everyone doing them.
+Christian teaching: do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.

Consequentialism: deals with consequences of actions rather than the action themselves (in contrast to Kant's theory)

Utilitarian Theory says that a good outcome is that which brings the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people

➡Often impossible to predict the consequences at the time of an action being taken

Relativism

A theory that there are NO universal norm of right and wrong.

Different individuals can have an opposite views of a moral problem, and both can be right.

Subjective Relativism: What's right for you may NOT be right for me.

Cultural Relativism

An ethical theory that the meaning of right and wrong rests with a society's actual moral guidelines. These guidelines
vary widely from place to place from time to time

Divine Command Theories

These theories claim that something is right because God wills it. ➡Clear in Islam, where the will of Allah is the measure
of all that is right.Moral rightness==willed by God

Ethical Egoism

The philosophy that each person should focus exclusively on his or her self interest.

➡The morally right action for a person to take in a particular situation is the action that will provide the person with the
maximum long- term benefit.

Philosophical Theories for Ethical Decision Making

Virtue Ethics Approach: The ethical choice best reflects moral virtues in yourself and your community.

Utilitarian Approach: The ethical choice produces the greatest excess of benefits over harm.

Fairness Approach: The ethical choice treats everyone the same and shows no favoritism or discrimination.

Common Good Approach: The ethical choice advances the common good

➡Courage is often associated with heroic acts, where one risks one's life to save someone in a dangerous situation-the
kind of act that makes the front page news.

Courage in a professional setting could mean admitting to a customer that your program is faulty, declining a job for
which you are not qualified, or speaking out when you see someone else doing something wrong

The Importance of Integrity

Integrity is a cornerstone of ethical behavior

Ethical Decision Making in Computing

The Law (negative consequences for disobedience) Codes of Practice guidelines of employers to work within)

Professional Ethics( ethical principles relevant to to the members of that profession)

Personal Ethics (values that influence the actions of individual)

Stakeholders

➡It refers to someone who stands to gain or lose from how a situation is resolved.

➡Stakeholders often include others besides people who are directly involved in an issue

Computer Ethics

The systematic study of the ethical and social impact of computers in the information society.

The ethical and social issues involve the acquisition, distribution, storage, processing, and dissemination of digital data in
information systems and how individuals and groups interact with these systems and data.

Technology and Ethics

Technology derives from the Greek words Techne (arts/craft) and logos(word/speech/reasoning)

Technology refers to the technical means,

IT is the application of appropriate technologies to the organisation, manipulation, and distribution of information by
computers and telecommunications

WEEK 2

LAW

It is supposed that law is one's guide to ethical behavior.

The term positive law refers to the different rules and regulations that are posited or put forward by an authority figure
that require compliance

RELIGION

Love the Lord, Your God, therefore, and always heed his charge: his statutes decrees, and commandments." (New
American Bible)

. As a foundation for ethical values, this is referred to as the Divine Command theory. The divinity called God, Allah, or
Supreme Being commands and one is obliged to obey her Creator.
It is a good thing for a person of faith to abide by the teachings of her particular religion. But the divine command theory
demands more than this as it requires us to identity the entire sense of right and wrong with what religion dictates. This
problem was first elucidated in the history of thought by Plato in his dialogue titled Euthyphro.

CULTURE

Our exposure to different societies and their cultures makes us aware that there are ways of thinking and valuing that
are different from our own, that there is in fact a wide diversity of how different people believe it is proper to act.

Positive law refers to the different rules and regulations that are posited or put forward by an authority figure that
require compliance

Divine Command theory foundation for ethical values.

Cultural Relativism ethically acceptable or unacceptable is relative to, or that is to say, dependent on one's culture.

WEEK 3

SUBJECTIVISM

The starting point of subjectivism is the recognition that the individual thinking person (the subject) is at the heart of all
moral valuations. She is the one who is confronted with the situation and is burdened with the need to make a decision
or judgment. From this point, subjectivism leaps to the more radical claim that the individual is the sole determinant of
what is morally good or bad, right or wrong.

PSYCHOLOGICAL EGOISM

This is the stance taken by paychological egoism, which is a theory that describes the underlying dynamic behind at
human actions. As a descriptive theory, it does not direct. One to act in any particular way.. Instead, it points out that
there is already an underlying basis for how one acts. The ego or self has its desires and interests, and all our actions are
geared toward satisfying these interests.

Psychological egoism is an irrefutable theory because there is no way to try to answer it without being confronted by the
challenge that whatever one might say there is the self-serving motive at the root of everything.

psychological egoism, when we look at its consequences, leads us to a cynical view of humanity, to a gloomy description
of human nature, and finally to a useless theory for someone who is concerned with asking herself what is the right
thing to do This is because it ends up nullifying the possibility of any normative ethics in its view of the already-
determined human being

ETHICAL EGOISM

Ethical egoism differs from psychological egcism in that it does not suppose all our actions are already inevitably self-
serving. Instead, ethical egoism prescribes that we should make our own ends, our own interests, as the single
overriding concern, We may acting away that is beneficial to others, but we should do that only if it ultimately benefits
us. This theory acknowledges that it is a dog-eat-dog world out there and given that, everyone ought to put herself at
the center. One should consider herself as the priority and not allow any other concerns. Such as the welfare of other
people. to detract from this pursuit.

Highlight Summary
Subjectivism is the recognition that the individual thinking person (the subject) is at the heart of all moral valuations

•Psychological egoism is a theory that describes the underlyir 8-9/10 human actions.

• Ethical egoism differs from psychological egoism in that it does not suppose all our actions are already inevitably self-
serving.

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the determination of right behavior
based on the usefulness of the action's consequences. This means that pleasure is good and that the goodness of an
action is determined by its usefulness. Putting these ideas together, utilitarianism claims that one's actions and behavior
are good inasmuch as they are directed toward the experience of the greatest pleasure over pain for the greatest
number of persons. Its root word is "utility which refers to the usefulness of the consequences of ones action and
behavior.

For Bentham and Mill, utility refers to a way of understanding the results of people's actions Specifically, they are
interested on whether these actions contribute or not to the total amount of resulting happiness in the world. The
utilitarian value pleasure and happiness; this means that the usefulness of actions is based on its promotion of
happiness. Bentham and Mill understand happiness as the experience of pleasure for the greatest number of persons,
even at the expense of some individual's rights

THE PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY

The principle of utility is about our subjection to these sovereign masters pleasure. and pain. On one hand, the principle
refers to the motivation of our actions as guided by our avoidance of pain and our desire for pleasure. It is like saying
that in our everyday actions, we do what is pleasurable and we do not do what is painful. On the other hand, the
principle also refers to pleasure as good it, and only if, they produce more happiness than unhappiness. This means that
it is not enough to experience pleasure but to also inquire whether the things we do make us happier. Having identified
the tendency for pleasure and the avoidance of pain as the principle of utility, Bentham equates happiness with pleasure

Bentham and Mill characterized moral value as utility and understood it as whatever produced happiness or pleasure
and the avoidance of pain. The next step is to understand the nature of pleasure and pain to identify a criterion for
distinguishing pleasures and to calculate the resultant pleasure or pain; it is in relation to these aforementioned themes
that distinction occurs between Bentham and Mil

What Bentham identified as the natural moral preferability of pleasure, Mill refers to as a theory of life.

Felicific calculus, in a common currency framework that calculates the pleasure that some actions can produce, in this
framework, an action can be evaluated on the basis of intensity or strength of pleasure, duration or length of the
experience of pleasurer certainty. uncertainty, or the kelihood that pleasure will occur and propinquity, remoteness, or
how soon there will be pleasure These indicators allow us to measure pleasure and pain in an action.

Highlight Summary

•Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that argues for the goodness of pleasure and the determination of right behavior
based on the usefulness of the action's consequences.

⚫The utilitarian value pleasure and happiness; this means that the usefulness of actions is based on its promotion of
happiness.

Felicific calculus is a common currency framework that calculates the pleasure that some actions can produce.
⚫ Bentham thinks that the principle of utility must distinguish pleasures qualitatively and not merely quantitatively. Mill
argues that quality is more preferable than quantity

Ullitarianism is interested with the best consequence for the highest number of people. It is not interested with the
intention of the agent. Moral value cannot be discernible in the intention or motivation of the person doing the act it is
based solely and exclusively on the difference it makes on the world's total amount of pleasure and pain.

Justice as a respect for rights directed toward society's pursuit for the greatest

happiness of the greatest number.

•Rights are a valid claim on society and are justified by utility