Ethics and Ethical

Analysis
Chapter 3
2 Traditional Definition of Ethics

 Ethics comes from a Greek word ethe’ which means character.

 Greeks studied themselves, human life and society
 Lead to study of human conducts, a part of philosophy called
Ethics
 Ethics is, therefore, a study of right and wrong in human
conduct.
 Ethics can also be defined as a theoretical examination of
morality and as an equivalent of the theory of morals .
Traditional Definition of Ethics

 Other philosophers have defined ethics in a variety of ways.

 Definition: a study of right and wrong in human conduct
 Another definition: Theoretical examination of morality
 Solomon: a set of “theories of value, virtue, or of right (valuable)
action.
 Johnson: set of theories “that provide general rules or principles
to be used in making those rules”
Important

“Ethics helps us not only in

distinguishing between right and
wrong but also in knowing why and on
what grounds our judgment of human
actions is justified.”
Purpose of Ethics

 Interpret human conduct

 Acknowledging and distinguishing between right and wrong.
 Interpretation is done based on a system
 The interpretation Uses a process of argumentation
 Consists of a mixture of induction and assumptions
 Generally, these interpretations is based on historical schools of
thoughts or ethical theories
 There are different kinds of ethical theories, and within each
theory there may be different versions of that theory.
6 Ethical Theories

 human actions have been judged good or bad, right or wrong,

based on:
 A theories/system of justices developed, tested, revised, and
debated over the years by philosophers and/or elders in that
society
 Codes of Ethics are based on these theories
 Processes of reasoning, explanation, and justification used in
ethics are based on these theories.
 There are many ethical theories, but we consider only a few that
are most widely discussed and used
1. Consequentialism

 Human actions are judged good or bad depending on the results

of the actions
 Thee general types of Consequentialism
 Egoism: Individual interests and happiness above everything else
 There are two kinds of egoism:
 Ethical egoism, which states how people ought to behave as they
pursue their own interests, and
 Psychological egoism, which describes how people actually
behave.
1. Consequentialism

 For example, if a family wanted to be happier,

 An ethical egoism theorist would prescribe to each family
member how he or she ought to behave to achieve individual
happiness first before considering the happiness of the family.
 A psychological egoism theorist, however, would describe how
each individual family member should actually behave to achieve
his or her happiness and hence the happiness of the family as a
whole.
1. Consequentialism
 Human actions are judged good or bad depending on the results
of the actions
 Thee general types of Consequentialism
 Utilitarianism: Group interests and happiness above
individual
 Act Utilitarianism: Consider the consequences of an
action for the ones which will benefit the most
 Rule Utilitarianism: Obey the rules that brings max
happiness to max people
 Altruism: refers to unselfish behaviors or actions done for the
sake of someone else.
 Eg.: Give money to someone in need, etc., you are helping
someone else without receiving benefit.
2. Deontology

 Does not concern itself with the consequences of an action rather

the will of act
 According to deontological theory, an act is considered good if
the individual committing it had a good reason to do so.
 Example:
 An armed person comes into your house
 You shoot the intruder
 You did it because you had a duty to protect your family and your
property.
 Action was good
3. Human Nature

 All human beings are endowed with all faculties and capabilities
to live in happiness.
 Humans are supposed to discover & then develop those
capabilities.
 The capabilities become the benchmark for actions
 Actions judged on how much they measure up to those
capabilities
 According to the famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, an
individual committing an evil action is lacking in some
capabilities.
4. Relativism

 There is no existence of universal moral norm

 Right and wrong are relative to society, culture, or the individual.
 Moral norms are not fixed in time.
5. Hedonism

 One of the oldest ethical theories

 Pleasure is the only good thing in human life
 End of life is the highest good
 Maximize pleasure or minimize pain
 2 types
 Psychological – what people seek each day is pleasure
 Ethical – people ought to seek pleasure & pleasure is the moral good
 Modern hedonism pleasure = happiness
6. Emotivism

 Ethical statements are neither true nor false

 Ethical statements cannot be proven
 Ethical statements are really only statements about how someone
feels
 E.g: Using concealed gun.
15 Ethical Theories

 These theories are used as engines to help understand and justify

human actions
 Theories have not changed but the premises surrounding human
actions are changing with time and with every new technology.
 Theories are used in layers of reasoning to justify all human actions.

Ethical and Social...J.M.Kizza

Ethical Reasoning

 Reasoning – human cognitive process of looking for ways to

generate or affirm a proposition
 Cognitive processes – mental processes
 Logic – tool for distinguishing between truth and falsehood
 Ethical Reasoning – integrating ethical principles in the reasoning
process
Ethical Decision Making Process

 Recognize inherent ethical conflict through

 Comprehension
 Appreciation
 Evaluation of all ethical dimensions of problem
 Know the parties involved
 Being aware of alternatives
 Demonstrating knowledge of ethical practices
 Understanding how the decision will be implemented
 Understanding who will be affected
 Understand and comprehend the impact
 Information Resulting from the
Ethical Decision Making
 Confirmation that the problem is really an ethical problem
 Additional facts are or are not needed to resolve the problem
 Key ethical theories, principles, and values identified
 Strength and validity of the ethical theory chosen

 To make an ethical decision you must “weigh” the argument against the alternatives
and chose the “best”
 Often must layer the reasoning.
Code of Ethics

 Regiment rules or guidelines followed by members of a

respective group.
 Can take any of the following forms
 Principles which may act as guidelines for some document
 Public policies including aspects of acceptable behavior, norms, and
practices of a society or group
 Codes of conduct which may include ethical principles
 Legal instruments which enforce good conduct through courts
ACM Code of Ethics &
Professional Conduct
 8 general moral imperatives
 8 more specific professional responsibilities
 6 organizational leadership imperatives
 Affirmation of compliance with the code
Objectives of Code of Ethics

 Disciplinary: ensures professionalism and integrity

 Advisory: good source of tips and offer advice
 Educational: educational tools
 Inspirational
 Publicity
Reflections on Computer Ethics

 What makes computer ethics the same/different from traditional

ethics:
 Changing premises
 Different temptations(see page 58-59)
 Different means of delivery
 Complacency
 Ethical muddles
Technology and values

 Technology is influencing the ethical and moral values of societies.

 Successful technological advances have created tempting
situations by:
 Adding value
 Removing value
 Changing value
Technology and Values…

 To keep society’s values we need to:

 formulate new laws to strengthen existing values ( made obsolete by
technological advances)
 Construct a new conceptual model in which to apply the changing
value system
 Launch massive education campaigns
Ethical and Ethical Analysis
Scenario

Should We Clone Humans?