Topic 1

& IT
Professional
Practices
Ethics and the
Underlying
Philosophies
College of Information Technology, UNITEN
First,
The story of some philosopher who set the background to
ethics today
A story from long ago
source: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Bios/Plato.html
Plato
Plato (427 BC 347 BC) was a Greek philosopher, a student of
Socrates, a teacher to Aristotle, writer, and the founder of the
Academy in Athens. (In Arabic, Turkish or Persian, he is known
as Eflatun).
Plato wrote mainly in the form of dialogues.
Socrates is often a character in the dialogues of Plato. It is
usually disputed how much of the content and argument of
any given dialogue is his teachers point of view, and how
much of it Plato's.
Plato: Crito
The Crito is Platos well-known dialogue - a dialogue
between Socrates and his follower the rich Athenian
Crito regarding the source and nature of political
obligation.
Set after Plato's Apology (which is another dialogue),
in which Socrates was sentenced to death for charges of
corrupting the young and for impiety, Crito tries in this
dialogue to convince Socrates to escape his
imprisonment and go into exile.
Source: http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/LX/PlatoApology.html
The dramatic action of the Crito begins just before daybreak, in the dark prison cell where Socrates
awaits his execution. Crito, a wealthy friend of Socrates, has come to speak with him; but, finding
him asleep, he waits patiently by Socrates bedside. On his waking, Socrates asks: Why have you
arrived at this hour, Crito? Or is it still early yet? Crito reports that he is in great sleeplessness and
pain and finds himself wondering at the pleasant temperament of Socrates, who must die shortly.
It seems peculiar that while Crito is suffering and dreading the arrival of the ship from Delos the
one which determines the day Socrates must be executed Socrates sleeps peacefully. This contrast
between the two characters establishes an important relationship between them.
As Crito reveals his true intention for coming to help Socrates escape this relationship is explored
and developed in the ensuing conversation involving justice and ones moral obligation. Crito, a man
of wealth and status, regards himself above Athenian law, a law controlled by the opinions of the
many, i.e. the poor and uneducated. He finds it disgraceful that Socrates should be subjected to their
mindless and unjust judgments. Crito is fervent in his desire to convince Socrates to escape;
however, as the dialogue continues, Crito finds himself contradicting his arguments, and instead
being persuaded by Socrates.
Through this refutation, Socrates establishes himself as a moral authority, an expert on matters of
justice and law. With his insightful knowledge, Socrates is able to persuade Crito to follow the laws of
Athens, despite their being ruled by the imprudent many. His later use of what he calls the laws and
the community of the city as a defender for lawfulness demonstrates Socrates skills as a politician.
Such a demonstration suggests that Athens was highly mistaken in thinking Socrates corrupted the
young. Instead, he shows a deep desire to strengthen the attachment of Crito to the justice of the
law.
The philosophical motivations

Crit
o
Socrat
es
To escape
OR Not to
escape
The
Law
The Socrates Crito Debate
Crito's arguments for

Socrates is endangering the good reputation of his friends. If
escape
Socrates
is executed, Crito will appear to honor money over
Socrates' responses
friends. Crito considers this reputation shameful and

damaging even though it will be the opinion of those who do
not know Socrates and Crito adequately, namely, the many.
One must respect the opinions of the many because they can
bring about great evils. Socrates refutes this hypothesis on
the basis that the many's ignorance do not allow them to
have true choice, and therefore their opinions are of no value
to the one who strives after the truth and the good.
Socrates should not worry about Crito's reputation or money.

Escape from death is more honorable.
The essential concern is whether to escape would

be just.
Socrates has support in other cities, including Thessaly and

exile would not be a bad option, although Socrates said in his
defense that he would rather die then be exiled.
Socrates would be acting unjustly by not fulfilling his parental

obligations.
Socrates would be acting cowardly by not resisting injustices
(implying that the court decision and Socrates' subsequent
execution are unjust). He would be joining his enemies. He is
choosing the "easiest path" instead of the courageous,
honorable and virtuous path, which Crito feels is toCollege
flee from
certain, unjust death.
Public opinion is not important to the decision,

because the public as a whole is not wise.
One should never do injustice. (doing evil to

humans/human evil = injustice)
Men, especially one so old as Socrates, should not

fear death, but welcome it.
of Information Technology, UNITEN
The Laws' arguments

The Laws are more honorable than one's parents, for they too beget, educate, and nurture
their citizens. Just as one should respect the decisions of one's parents, so should one
respect the decisions of the Laws, but to an even greater degree. There is confusion as to
whether this respect is due to the Laws or due to the fatherland.
Socrates tacitly agreed to obey the Laws by remaining in Athens after reaching maturity and
witnessing how the Laws are structured and how they work. (This is an early statement of
Social Contract Theory).
Socrates would be seen as a corrupting force wherever he went.
If one has the ability to choose whether to obey a law, then he is destroying the power of the
law. Destroying law is unjust, for men require a community and a community requires law.
It would put him in a precarious position in the afterlife.
Next,
Understanding ethics and its underlying philosophies.
Important terms
Society
Association of people organized under a system of rules
A large group of people who live together in an organized way, making decisions about how to do things
and sharing the work that needs to be done
Rules: advance the good of members of the society over time
Morality
A societys rules of conduct
What people ought / ought not to do in various situations
Ethics ( is a moral philosophy)
Taken from the Greek word ethikos from ethos, which means "custom or habit".
Rational examination of morality
Evaluation of peoples behavior
An area of study that deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior : a branch of philosophy
dealing with what is morally right or wrong (Merriam-Webster)
a.k.a. moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending and
recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
The Relationship
Between ethics and moral
Moral is the good or bad of a behavior / beliefs while Ethics examine the behavior to
decide whether it is good or bad
Between ethics and etiquette
Business ethics is a code or a set of standards that a business adheres to. This code
essentially states what is considered ethical, and what is considered unethical in terms of
how the business is conducted in relation to what is best for human beings, the
community, the environment, and so on. Business etiquette, on the other hand, is
essentially conducting business affairs in a polite manner. For example, dinner table
etiquette, exchange of business cards etiquette, palace protocol
Between being unethical and being illegal
Illegal is against the law. Unethical acts might be against the law, but not always.
Unethical is also subjective (sometimes a matter of opinion) whereas illegal is objective
(it either is, or it isn't). Most things that are illegal are also considered unethical. For
example: Prostitution is illegal (and unethical). A married man going to a strip club is
unethical but not illegal.
Between Ethical and non Ethical
More on Ethics
Ethics: rational, systematic analysis
Doing ethics: answers need explanations
Explanations: facts, shared values, logic
Ethics: voluntary, moral choices

Workable ethical theory: produces explanations that
might be persuasive to a skeptical, yet open-minded
audience
1-12
Good Ethical Theory

Supports Persuasive, Logical
Arguments
1-13
Now,
Lets list out all the theories and get a grasp of what they
are about.
Seven Ethical Theories

Theories serve as:
frameworks for moral decision making - Insight that
provides the foundation to decide the rights and the
wrongs of an action
The way we decide if an action is ethical or unethical
We will
work on 7Divine
popular theories:
Relativism
Subjective
Relativism
Cultural
Relativism
Command
Theory
Act
Utilitarianism
Ethical
Egoism
Rule
Utilitarianism
Kantianism
Social
Contract
Theory
Subjective Relativism
What Is Relativism?
Relativism
No universal norms of right and wrong
One person can say X is right, another can
say X is wrong, and both can be right
Subjective relativism
Each person decides right and wrong for
himself or herself
Whats right for you may not be right for
me
Subjective Relativism
Case Against
Case for
Well-meaning and intelligent people disagree on moral issues
Ethical debates are disagreeable and pointless
Blurs distinction between doing what you think is right and

doing what you want to do
Makes no moral distinction between the actions of different

people
SR and tolerance are two different things
Decisions may not be based on reason
Not a workable ethical theory

1-18
Cultural Relativism
Cultural Relativism in a Nutshell

What is right and wrong depends upon a societys
actual moral guidelines
These guidelines vary from place to place and from time
to time
A particular action may be right in one society at one
time and wrong in other society or at another time
In class
assignment.
Discuss some
local culture.
Cultural Relativism
Case for
Different social contexts demand different moral

guidelines
It is arrogant for one society to judge another
Case Against
Because two societies do have different moral views
doesnt mean they ought to have different views
It doesnt explain how moral guidelines are

determined
What if there are no cultural norms?

It doesnt account for evolution of moral guidelines.
It provides no way out for cultures in conflict
Existence of many acceptable practices does not

imply all practices are acceptable (many/any fallacy)
Societies do, in fact, share certain core values
Only indirectly based on reason

1-21
Divine Command Theory
Overview of Divine Command

Theory
Based on the 3 great religious traditions from
the Middle East
Good actions: those aligned with Gods will
Bad actions: those contrary to Gods will
Holy books reveal Gods will
We should holy books as moral decisionmaking guides
Hence, actions are right or wrong because they
accord or conflict with the commands of God
Divine Command Theory

Case for
Case Against
We owe obedience to our Creator
God is all-good and all-knowing
God is the ultimate authority
Different holy books disagree

Society is multicultural, secular
Some modern moral problems not addressed in scripture
The good God (equivalence fallacy)
Based on obedience, not reason

1-24
Ethical Egoism
Definition of Ethical Egoism

Each person should focus exclusively on his or her selfinterest
Morally right action: that action that provides self with
maximum long-term benefit
A version of this philosophy espoused by Ayn Rand,
author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged
Ethical Egoism
Case for
Case Against
It is practical since we are

already inclined to do whats
best for ourselves
Its better to let other people

take care of themselves
The community can benefit
when individuals put their wellbeing first
Other moral principles are
rooted in the principle of selfinterest
An easy moral philosophy may not be the best moral philosophy
We know a lot about what is good for someone else
Self-interest can lead to blatantly immoral behavior
Other moral principles are superior to principle of self-interest
People who take the good of others into account lead happier lives
By definition, does not respect the ethical point of view

1-27
Kantianism
The story of Emanuel Kant

source: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/#LifWor
Immanuel Kant was born April 22, 1724 in Knigsberg. Today Knigsberg has been renamed
Kaliningrad and is part of Russia. But during Kant's lifetime Knigsberg was the capital of East
Prussia, and its dominant language was German
Kant was born into an artisan family of modest means. His father was a master harness maker,
and his mother was the daughter of a harness maker, though she was better educated than
most women of her social class. Kant's family was never destitute, but his father's trade was in
decline during Kant's youth and his parents at times had to rely on extended family for financial
support.
Kant's parents were Pietist and he attended a Pietist school, the Collegium Fridericianum, from
ages eight through fifteen. Pietism was an evangelical Lutheran movement that emphasized
conversion, reliance on divine grace, the experience of religious emotions, and personal
devotion involving regular Bible study, prayer, and introspection. Kant reacted strongly against
the forced soul-searching to which he was subjected at the Collegium Fridericianum. Later the
mature Kant's emphasis on reason and autonomy, rather than emotion and dependence on
either authority or grace, may in part reflect his youthful reaction against Pietism. But although
the young Kant loathed his Pietist schooling, he had deep respect and admiration for his parents
- their artisan values of hard work, honesty, cleanliness, and independence, which they taught
him by example.[2]
Critical Importance of Good Will

Good will: the desire to do the right thing
Immanuel Kant: Only thing in the world that is good
without qualification is a good will
Reason should cultivate desire to do right thing
Categorical Imperative (1st Formulation)

Act only from moral rules that you can at the
same time will to be universal moral laws.
Illustration of 1st Formulation

Question: Can a person in dire straits make a
promise with the intention of breaking it later?
Proposed rule: I may make promises with the
intention of later breaking them.
The person in trouble wants his promise to be
believed so he can get what he needs.
Universalize rule: Everyone may make & break
promises
Everyone breaking promises would make
promises unbelievable, contradicting desire to
have promise believed
The rule is flawed. The answer is No.
Categorical Imperative (2nd Formulation)

Act so that you treat both yourself
and other people as ends in themselves
and never only as a means to an end.
This is usually an easier formulation to work
with than the first formulation of the
Categorical Imperative.
2nd Formulation of
Categorical Imperative
Plagiarism Scenario
Carla
Single mother
Works full time
Takes two evening courses/semester
History class
Requires more work than normal
Carla earning an A on all work so far
Carla doesnt have time to write final report
Carla purchases report and submits it as her own work

Kantian Evaluation (1st Formulation)

Carla wants credit for plagiarized report
Rule: You may claim credit for work performed by
someone else
If rule universalized, reports would no longer be credible
indicators of students knowledge, and professors
would not give credit for reports
Proposal moral rule is self-defeating
It is wrong for Carla to turn in a purchased report
Kantian Evaluation (2nd Formulation)

Carla submitted another persons work as her own
She attempted to deceive professor
She treated professor as a means to an end
End: passing the course
Means: professor issues grade
What Carla did was wrong
Kantian
Case for
Case Against
Rational
Produces universal moral guidelines
Treats all persons as moral equals
Workable ethical theory
Sometimes no rule adequately characterizes an action
Sometimes there is no way to resolve a conflict between rules
In a conflict between a
perfect duty and an
imperfect duty, perfect
duty prevails
In a conflict between two
perfect duties, no solution
Kantianism allows no exceptions to perfect duties
Despite weaknesses, a workable ethical theory

1-38
Perfect and Imperfect Duties

(need to understand in case against Kantian)
Perfect duty: duty obliged to fulfill without exception

Example: Telling the truth
Imperfect duty: duty obliged to fulfill in general but not

in every instance
Example: Helping others
Act Utilitarianism
Principle of Utility
Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
An action is good if it benefits someone
An action is bad if it harms someone
Utility: tendency of an object to produce
happiness or prevent unhappiness for an
individual or a community
Happiness = advantage = benefit =
good = pleasure
Unhappiness = disadvantage = cost =
evil = pain
(Greatest Happiness
Principle)
An action is right (or wrong) to the extent
that it increases (or decreases) the
total happiness of the affected parties.
Act Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
Morality of an action has nothing to do with intent
Focuses on the consequences
A consequentialist theory
Act utilitarianism
Add up change in happiness of all affected beings
Sum > 0, action is good
Sum < 0, action is bad
Bentham: Weighing Pleasure/Pain

Intensity
Duration
Certainty
Propinquity
Fecundity
Purity
Extent
Highway Routing Scenario

State may replace a curvy stretch of highway
New highway segment 1 mile shorter
150 houses would have to be removed
Some wildlife habitat would be destroyed
Evaluation
Costs
$20 million to compensate homeowners
$10 million to construct new highway
Lost wildlife habitat worth $1 million
Benefits
$39 million savings in automobile driving costs
Conclusion
Benefits exceed costs
Building highway a good action
Act Utilitarian
Case for
Focuses on happiness
Down-to-earth (practical)
Comprehensive
Case Against
Unclear whom to include in calculations
Too much work
Ignores our innate sense of duty
Susceptible to the problem of moral luck

1-48
Rule Utilitarianism
Applying Principle of Utility to Rules

We ought to adopt moral rules which, if followed by
everyone, will lead to the greatest increase in total
happiness
Act utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility to individual
actions
Rule utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility to moral
rules
Anti-Worm Scenario
August 2003: Blaster worm infected thousands of
Windows computers
Soon after, Nachi worm appeared
Took control of vulnerable computer

Located and destroyed copies of Blaster
Downloaded software patch to fix security problem
Used computer as launching pad to try to infect other
vulnerable PCs
Evaluation using Rule Utilitarianism

Proposed rule: If I can write a helpful worm that removes a
harmful worm from infected computers and shields them
from future attacks, I should do so
Who would benefit
People who do not keep their systems updated
Who would be harmed

People who use networks
People whos computers are invaded by buggy anti-worms
System administrators
Conclusion: Harm outweighs benefits. Releasing anti-worm

is wrong.
Rule Utilitarian
Case for
Case Against
Compared to act utilitarianism, it is easier to

perform the utilitarian calculus.
Not every moral decision requires performing

utilitarian calculus.
Moral rules survive exceptional situations
Avoids the problem of moral luck
All consequences must be measured on a

single scale.
All units must be the same in order to do the sum

In certain circumstances, utilitarian must quantify the
value of a human life
Utilitarianism ignores the problem of an unjust

distribution of good consequences.
Utilitarianism does not mean the greatest good of
the greatest number
That requires a principle of justice
What happens when a conflict arises between the
Principle of Utility and a principle of justice?
Despite weaknesses, both act utilitarianism and

rule utilitarianism are workable ethical theories
1-53
2.9 Social Contract Theory
Basis of Social Contract Theory

Thomas Hobbes
State of nature
We implicitly accept a social contract
Establishment of moral rules to govern relations among citizens
Government capable of enforcing these rules
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
In ideal society, no one above rules
That prevents society from enacting bad rules
James Rachelss Definition

Morality consists in the set of rules,
governing how people are to
treat one another, that rational
people will agree to accept, for their
mutual benefit, on the condition that
others follow those rules as well.
Kinds of Rights
Negative right: A right that another can guarantee by
leaving you alone
Positive right: A right obligating others to do something
on your behalf
Absolute right: A right guaranteed without exception
Limited right: A right that may be restricted based on
the circumstances
Correlation between Types of Rights

Positive rights tend to be more limited
Negative rights tends to be more absolute
John Rawlss Principles of Justice

Each person may claim a fully adequate number of
basic rights and liberties, so long as these claims are
consistent with everyone else having a claim to the
same rights and liberties
Any social and economic inequalities must
Be associated with positions that everyone has a fair and
equal opportunity to achieve
Be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of
society (the difference principle)
Rawlss Difference Principle

$30,000
$25,000
Plan A
Plan B
$20,000
$15,000
Income taxes paid
$10,000
$5,000
$-
Personal income
DVD Rental Scenario

Bill owns chain of DVD rental stores
Collects information about rentals from customers
Constructs profiles of customers
Sells profiles to direct marketing firms
Some customers happy to receive more mail order
catalogs; others unhappy at increase in junk mail
Evaluation (Social Contract Theory)

Consider rights of Bill, customers, and mail order
companies.
Does customer have right to expect name, address
to be kept confidential?
If customer rents DVD from bill, who owns
information about transaction?
If Bill and customer have equal rights to information,
Bill did nothing wrong to sell information.
If customers have right to expect name and address
or transaction to be confidential without giving
permission, then Bill was wrong to sell information
without asking for permission.
Social Contract Theory

Case for
Framed in language of rights
Explains why people act in self-interest without common

agreement
Provides clear analysis of certain citizen/government

problems
Case Against
Some actions have multiple characterizations
No one signed contract
Conflicting rights problem
May unjustly treat people who cannot uphold contract
Despite weaknesses, a workable theory

1-63
Last but not least,
lets compare some of the Workable Ethical Theories
Objectivism vs. Relativism

Objectivism: Morality has an existence outside the
human mind
Relativism: Morality is a human invention
Kantianism, utilitarianism, and social contract theory
examples of objectivism
Comparing Workable Ethical Theories
Morality of Breaking the Law
Social Contract Theory Perspective

Everyone in society bears certain burdens in order to
receive certain benefits
Legal system supposed to guarantee peoples rights are
protected
Everything else being equal, we should be law-abiding
Should only break law if compelled to follow a higherorder moral obligation
Social Contract: A Prima

Facie Obligation to Obey the
Law
Kantian Perspective
Everyone wants to be treated justly
Imagine rule: I may break a law I believe to be unjust
If everyone acted according to this rule, then laws
would be subverted
Contradiction: Cannot both wish to be treated justly and
allow laws to be subverted
Rule Utilitarian Perspective

What would be consequences of people ignoring laws
they felt to be unjust?
Beneficial consequence: Happiness of people who are
doing what they please
Harmful consequences: Harm to people directly affected
by lawless actions, general loss of respect for laws,
increased burden on criminal justice system
Harms greater than benefits
Have a great
philosophical
weekend!!!!
Hey, dont overthink it!

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& IT

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

A story from long ago

The philosophical motivations

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

The Socrates Crito Debate

Crito's arguments for

friends. Crito considers this reputation shameful and

Socrates should not worry about Crito's reputation or money.

The essential concern is whether to escape would

Socrates has support in other cities, including Thessaly and

Socrates would be acting unjustly by not fulfilling his parental

Public opinion is not important to the decision,

One should never do injustice. (doing evil to

Men, especially one so old as Socrates, should not

of Information Technology, UNITEN

The Laws' arguments

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Ethics ( is a moral philosophy)

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Ethics: voluntary, moral choices

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Good Ethical Theory

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Seven Ethical Theories

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Well-meaning and intelligent people disagree on moral issues

Ethical debates are disagreeable and pointless

Blurs distinction between doing what you think is right and

Makes no moral distinction between the actions of different

SR and tolerance are two different things

Decisions may not be based on reason

Not a workable ethical theory

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Cultural Relativism in a Nutshell

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Different social contexts demand different moral

It is arrogant for one society to judge another

It doesnt explain how moral guidelines are

What if there are no cultural norms?

It provides no way out for cultures in conflict

Existence of many acceptable practices does not

Societies do, in fact, share certain core values

Only indirectly based on reason

Not a workable ethical theory

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Divine Command Theory

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Overview of Divine Command

College of Information Technology, UNITEN

Divine Command Theory

We owe obedience to our Creator

God is all-good and all-knowing

God is the ultimate authority

Different holy books disagree

Some modern moral problems not addressed in scripture

The good God (equivalence fallacy)