Lesson 1.

INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS

Ethics is a system of moral principles.

The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition.

Ethics covers the following dilemmas:

 how to live a good life

 our rights and responsibilities
 the language of right and wrong
 moral decisions - what is good and bad?

The term ethics is used in three different but related ways, signifying

(1) a general pattern or "way of life,"

(2) a set of rules of conduct or "moral code," and

(3) inquiry about ways of life and rules of conduct.

At times in the past some people thought that ethical problems could be solved in one of two ways:

• By discovering what god wanted people to do

• By thinking rigorously about moral principles and problems

• If a person did this properly, they would be led to the right conclusion.

Lesson 2. ETHICAL THEORIES

Normative ethics a branch of moral philosophy, or ethics, concerned with criteria of what is morally right and
wrong.

Virtue theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy, having its roots in ancient Greek
civilization.

Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were later called cardinal virtues:

 Wisdom
 Courage
 Temperance
 Justice

Other important virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity.
In addition to advocating good habits of character, virtue theorists hold that we should avoid acquiring bad
character traits, or vices, such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity.

UTILITARIANISM utilitarian ethics is a normative ethical system that is primarily concerned with the
consequences of ethical decisions.

 it can be described as a teleological theory or consequentialist theory

Teleological reasoning takes into consideration that the ethical decision is dependent upon the consequences
(“ends”) of the actions.

In teleological reasoning, a person will do the right thing if the consequences of his or her actions are good.

consequentialist moral reasoning we locate morality in the consequences of our actions.

Hinman (2013) suggests there are four principle, differences between pleasure and happiness:

• Happiness is related to the mind, whereas pleasure is related to the body (for example sexual
pleasure, eating, drinking)

• Pleasure is of shorter duration than happiness. Happiness is long-term, focusing on the

satisfaction of living well, or achieving life goals.

• Happiness may encompass pleasure and pain.

• There is an evaluative element in happiness versus pleasure.

TWO FORMULATIONS OF UTILITARIANISM

 ACT UTILITARIANISM concerns the consequences of the first instance, where the utility of that act is
all that is regarded.
 The second formulation of utilitarianism, RULE UTILITARIANISM, concerns the consequences of the
majority of people following a certain rule that is immoral, which would be negative.

DEONTOLOGY the most complex of all the ethical systems we look at here is kantian logic, which is a
deontological theory.

The word deontology comes from the greek word deon, meaning “obligation” or “duty.” It is an ethical system
primarily concerned with one’s duty. It is also known as ethical formalism or absolutism.

Deontology was formulated by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). Kant believed that the end result is not of
primary importance; rather, the real importance is in determining the moral intent of a decision or action itself.

Kant distinguished two types of duties:

 HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE is a duty that is necessary to accomplish a specific goal.

 CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE is an unconditional rule or duty.
Within the categorical imperative, Kant (2006) states that “every rational being, exists as an end in
himself, not merely as a means.”
EGOISM is a descriptive principle (Pollock, 2007) that does not tell us necessarily how we ought to behave, but
rather why we behave the way we do.

The end result of your actions, though, was twofold:

• Your actions assisted the person in need.

• Your actions made you feel good, allowing you to rid yourself of that troubling feeling resulting from
guilt.

Natural law was espoused by Saint Thomas Aquinas, who viewed the world as being created by god and
understood that humans are rational beings capable of using their intellect to comprehend the world.

Aquinas viewed the first principle of natural law as: “Good is to be done and promoted, and evil is to be
avoided”.

Natural law asserts that what is good is natural, and what is natural is good. Aquinas viewed humans as being
naturally inclined to do good rather than evil.

He delineated two basic human inclinations:

• To preserve one’s own life

• To preserve the human species

John Rawls (1921-2002) was a contemporary philosopher who studied theories surrounding justice.

Rawls identifies two principles:

 “Each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar
liberty for others”
 “Social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both (a) reasonably expected to
be to everyone’s advantage (b) attached to positions and offices open to all”

META ETHICS the subdiscipline of ethics concerned with the nature of ethical theories and moral judgments.

Major metaethical theories include naturalism and nonnaturalism (or intuitionism), emotivism,
and prescriptivism.

 Naturalists and nonnaturalists agree that moral language is cognitive. That moral claims can be known
to be true or false.
*Intuitionists deny both of these positions and hold that moral terms are sui generis, that moral
statements are autonomous in their logical status.

 Emotivists deny that moral utterances are cognitive, holding that they consist in emotional expressions
of approval or disapproval

 Prescriptivists take a somewhat similar approach, arguing that moral judgments are prescriptions or
prohibitions of action, rather than statements of fact about the world.
APPLIED ETHICS a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions specific to a professional, disciplinary, or
practical field.

Subsets of applied ethics include

 medical ethics
 bioethics
 business ethics
 legal ethics

Because of the complexity of each ethical issue, a philosopher often has to also consider fundamental
questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and theories of human nature.

LESSON 3: ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

IT PRINCIPLES:

• ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION (Consultancy.uk)

• SANS Institute: IT Code of Ethics

• ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

• Philippine Computer Society

• Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility

The “Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy” states that ethics for computer professionals are a set of standards
that ensure good practices within the profession.

Ethics is the practice of making a principled choice between right and wrong.

CONSULTANCY UK an online platform providing news, insights, and career information about the UK consulting
industry.

THE TOP 5 ETHICAL | MORAL PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

1. DESIGN FOR PRIVACY, SECURITY AND INTEGRITY

-Transparency and integrity should be fundamental in digital ethics, guiding responsible data usage.

2. PROMOTE TRUST
-Trust in digital services depends on data integrity.
 3. BEWARE OF BIAS
-Unintentional ethical issues often stem from subconscious biases
-Algorithmic bias is widespread, yet little action is taken to address it.

4. ENSURE THERE IS ACCOUNTABILITY

-Inference models and algorithms are fundamental components within the growing range of ‘smart’
digital services that provide an artificial intelligence and machine learning capability.

5. PROMOTE AN ETHICAL CULTURE

-Organizational culture consists of shared values, beliefs, and norms that shape behavior.

*SANS Institute: IT Code of Ethics

o launched in 1989 as a cooperative for information security thought leadership.

o helps organizations mitigate cyber risk

• I will strive to know myself and be honest about my capability.

• I will conduct my business in a manner that assures the IT profession is considered one of integrity and
professionalism.
• I respect privacy and confidentiality.

PREAMBLE computing professionals' actions change the world.

*ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct

o the code is designed to inspire and guide the ethical conduct of all computing professionals
1. GENERAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES
A computing professional should...
1.1 contribute to society and to human well-being
1.2 avoid harm.
1.3 be honest and trustworthy.
1.4 be fair and take action not to discriminate.
1.5 respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions, creative works, and computing
artifacts.
1.6 respect privacy.
1.7 honor confidentiality.

2. PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

3. PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES

 4. COMPLIANCE WITH THE CODE

*PHILIPPINE COMPUTER SOCIETY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY the preparation, collection, creation, transport, retrieval, storage, access,
presentation and transformation of electronic information in all its forms

PREAMBLE:

I will use my special knowledge and skills for the benefit of the public. I will serve employers and clients
with integrity, subject to an overriding responsibility to the public interest, and I will strive to enhance the
competence and prestige of the professional.

COMPUTER PROFESSIONALS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics

o Written by the Computer Ethics Institute

• Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.

• Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
• Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
• Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
• Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
• Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
• Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
• Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
• Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are
designing.
• Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow
humans.