Lesson: Ethics and Morality

●Ethics can be defined as

the systematic reflection
on morality
Ethics
● It is also the moral
standards of a
particular group
 ●Actions that ought to be
done

Morality ●Character a person ought

to be

●Values one ought to

adopt
 ● Basic Ethical Values

● Harms Test

● Reversibility Test

● Common Practice Test

Approaching ● Legality Test

Moral Problems ● Colleague Test

● Wise Relative Test

● Mirror Test

● Publicity Test
 ● Personal Ethics is any system
that has been chosen in some
way as a moral guide in the
particular life style

● Social Ethics are Standards

Types of Ethics that govern how members of a
society are to deal with each
other on issues such as
fairness, justice, poverty and
the rights of the individual
 ● Religious Ethics: Most
religions have an
ethical component,
Types of Ethics often derived from
purported supernatural
revelation or guidance
 ● Professional Ethics is
the study of good and
evil, right and wrong,
and just and unjust
actions in the practice
of a profession.
Types of Ethics
● Business Ethics is the
study of good and evil,
right and wrong, and
just and unjust actions
in business.
 ●Is a code in which
organizations (like
companies or
Code of Ethics professional
associations) lay down
guidelines for responsible
behavior of their
members.
Types of Code ●Professional Code
of Ethics ●Corporate Code
 They relate to three
domains:

●conducting a profession
with integrity, honesty and
Professional competency

Codes ●Obligation towards

employers and clients

●Responsibility towards
the public and society
 Elements of Corporate
code:

●The mission
Corporate ●Core values
Codes ●Responsibility towards
the stakeholders

●Detailed rules and norms

 CPN (Computer Profession of Nigeria) Code
of Ethics

1. The public, therefore I shall have utmost regard for its safety, health, and well-being
2. My employer or client whose trust I hold, therefore, I shall serve him faithfully and
loyally, endeavouring to discharge this obligation to the best of my ability, guarding
his interest and advising him wisely and honestly.
3. Fellow members of the Profession, therefore I shall uphold the ideals of the
Profession cooperating with fellow members and treating them with honesty and
respect at all times.
 CPN Code of Ethics

4. The Profession, therefore I shall acquire, maintain and improve professional

competence, promote the advancement of Computer Science as well as the
understanding, effective and efficacious deployment of computational machinery,
computerized machinery and techniques related thereto, and enhance the prestige
of the Profession.
5. My country, therefore, in my personal, business and social contacts, I shall at all
times uphold my nation, respect and honour the chosen way of life of fellow citizens,
be law abiding, transparently honest, of unquestionable
ACM/IEEE-CS Software Engineering Code
1. PUBLIC – Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.
2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER – Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the
best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest.
3. PRODUCT – Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related
modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.
4. JUDGMENT – Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in
their professional judgment.
5. MANAGEMENT – Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to
and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development
and maintenance.
 ACM/IEEE-CS Software Engineering Code

6. PROFESSION – Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of

the profession consistent with the public interest.
7. COLLEAGUES – Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their
colleagues.
8. SELF – Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the
practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice
of the profession.
 ●Self-Interest as it might
bring about
window-dressing

Limitations of ●Vagueness and potential

contradictions
Code of Ethics
●Ethics cannot be codified

●Ethics cannot be lived by

●Enforcement
 ●Consequentailism
focuses on the
consequesnces of the
action rather than the
Basis of Ethical actor or the actions
Theories ●Dentology focuses on the
action – right or wrong

●Virtue Ethics focuses on

the actor
 ●Utilitarianism: advocates
Prominent actions that foster
happiness or pleasure
Ethical Theories and opposes actions that
cause unhappiness or
harm
 ●Kant Theory: "It is
impossible to think of
anything at all in the
Prominent world, or indeed even
Ethical Theories beyond it, that could be
considered good without
limitation except a good
will."
 ●Aristotle Virtue: This
character-based
approach to morality
assumes that we acquire
virtue through practice.
Prominent By practicing being
Ethical Theories honest, brave, just,
generous, and so on, a
person develops an
honorable and moral
character.
 ●Jeremy Bentham was the founder of
utilitarianism

●derived from the Latin utilis meaning

useful

●an action is right if it is useful and

Utilitarianism wrong if it is damaging.

●Moral balance sheet: A balance

sheet in which the costs and
benefits (pleasures and pains) for
each possible action are weighed
against each other. Often called
cost-benefit analysis.
 value of a pleasure or pain
considered by:

●Intensity
Utilitarianism ●Duration
(Contd.) ●Certainty

●Proximity or remoteness

●purity
 ●Pleasure or pain cannot be measured
objectively

●Consequences cannot be foreseen

objectively

●Distributive justice The value of having a

just distribution of certain important
Criticism of goods, like income, happiness, and
career.

Utilitarianism ●utilitarianism ignores the personal

relationships between people.

●certain actions are morally acceptable

even though they do not create pleasure
and some actions that maximize
pleasure are morally unacceptable
 ●Immanuel Kant was the founder of
Kant’s Theory

Kant ●a moral norm is unconditionally

applicable (or categorically
applicable) to everyone in all
circumstances
 ●Universality principle: Act only on that
maxim which you can at the same time
will that it should become a universal
Categorical law.

Imperative ●Reciprocity principle: Act as to treat

humanity, whether in your own person or
in that of any other, in every case as an
Principles end, never as means only.
 ●Does all these laws form an
unambiguous and consistent system of
Criticism of norms.

Kant ●a rigid adherence to moral rules can

make people blind to the potentially very
negative consequences of their actions
 ●popular in ancient Greece with
philosophers like Socrates, Plato,
and Aristotle. First defined by
Aristotle

●focuses on the nature of the acting

person. This theory indicates which
good or desirable characteristics
Virtue people should have or develop to be
moral.

●moral virtues are not given to us at

birth nor are they supernatural; they
can be developed by deeds. In other
words, they can be practiced just like
all arts
 ●expertise/professionalism;
●clear and informative
Virtue communication;

(Engineers ●cooperation;
●willingness to make compromises;
Expectation) ●objectivity;
●being open to criticism;
 ● creativity;

Virtue ● striving for quality;

● having an eye for detail; and
(Engineers
● being in the habit of reporting on
Expectation) your work carefully.
 ●A person’s good character traits do raise
Criticism of expectations, but they do not provide a
measure for judging an action

Virtue ●can a moral virtue be good in itself

without any reservation?
 ●ACM: Association for
Computing Machinery's
Definition of
● IEEE-CS (Institute of
Words Electrical and
Electronics Engineers -
Computer Society)
Questions and Answers
 Further Reading
● Van de Poel, I., & Royakkers, L. (2011). Ethics, technology, and engineering: An
introduction. John Wiley & Sons.

● [Link]

● [Link]
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 Further Watching
● [Link]
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●[Link]
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