Chapter 1 – Critical Reasoning and Moral Theory

Objectives

●​ What are ‘ethics’ and ‘morality’? How do they differ?​

●​ Why do societies strive to create an environment that is considered ‘moral’?​

●​ What theories do they rely on to create this ideal environment?​

Moral Theories

●​ Why an answer is better than another​

●​ Why it’s difficult to agree with others​

●​ Why I might think I’m right, but others disagree​

●​ Influences: Utilitarianism | Deontological ethics | Virtue ethics​

●​ Shaped by: Culture | Upbringing | Religion | Personal experiences​

Morality and Ethics

●​ Ethics: set of morally permissible standards for a group (Davis)​

●​ Morality: set of standards everyone wants everyone else to follow (Davis)​

●​ Ethics = Rules (right/wrong based on reason)​

●​ Morals = Principles/standards (right/wrong)​

Ethics (“Ethos”)

●​ System of moral principles​

●​ Derived from Greek ethos = custom, habit, character, disposition​

●​ Covers dilemmas:​
 ○​ How to live a good life​

○​ Rights and responsibilities​

○​ Language of right/wrong​

○​ Moral decisions (good/bad)​

●​ Values: Loving | Caring | Respectful | Charity | Integrity | Honesty​

Morality (“Mos”)

●​ System of behavior regarding standards of right/wrong​

●​ Includes:​

1.​ Moral standards (behavior)​

2.​ Moral responsibility (conscience)​

3.​ Moral identity (capacity for right/wrong action)​

Examples of morals: Do not gossip | Tell the truth | Do not vandalize | Have courage | Keep
promises | Do not cheat

●​ Basis: Ten Commandments​

Comparison – Ethics vs Morals

●​ Ethics: External rules (social system, may vary)​

●​ Morals: Personal principles (rarely change)​

●​ Why we do it:​

○​ Ethics → society says it’s right​

○​ Morals → belief in right/wrong​

●​ Origin: Ethics – “ethos” (character) | Morals – “mos” (custom)​

Conflicts

●​ Lawyer: ethics (defend guilty) vs morals (murder is wrong)​

●​ Doctor: ethics (no euthanasia) vs morals (right to die)​

●​ Therapist: ethics (confidentiality) vs morals (prevent harm)​

Moral Theories (Normative)

●​ Define morality​

●​ Help figure out right/wrong actions​

●​ Example: Doctor advertising fees → unethical but morally permissible​

Religious Ethics

●​ Standards for followers of religion​

●​ Right thing achieved by obeying dictates of religion​

Divine Command Theory

●​ God decrees what is right/wrong​

●​ Morally good/bad solely because of God’s will/commands​

●​ Question: Can a non-religious person act morally?​

●​ Thinkers:​

○​ Plato: “Is goodness loved by the gods because it is good, or good because loved
by gods?”​

○​ Aquinas: “Things are good in and of themselves”​

Cultural Relativism
 ●​ No universal criterion for right/wrong​

●​ Members of one culture should not judge another​

●​ Promotes tolerance but criticized for excusing immoral acts (e.g., Nazis)​

●​ Universals in culture: Morality & Language​

Virtue Theory

●​ Nature of virtue & what it means to have virtue​

●​ Questions:​

○​ What does it mean to be good?​

○​ How does one become good?​

●​ Aristotle: Ideal Man = courageous, friendly, modest​

●​ Ideal Mean = balance between extremes​

●​ Virtues:​

○​ Intellectual (education, curiosity, attentiveness)​

○​ Character (habitual actions: honesty, respect, kindness)​

●​ Focus: character of decision-maker (agent-centered)​

Consequentialism & Utilitarianism

●​ Consequentialism: morality based on consequences, not motivation​

●​ Utilitarianism: greatest happiness for the greatest number​

●​ Jeremy Bentham (father), John Stuart Mill (proponent)​

●​ Happiness = pleasure & absence of pain​

●​ 2 Forms:​
 1.​ Act Utilitarianism → each act judged by happiness it produces (Utilitarian
Calculus)​

2.​ Rule Utilitarianism → follow rules that maximize happiness (e.g., Bernard Gert’s
rules: do not kill, do not cheat, obey the law, etc.)​

Deontological Ethics

●​ From Greek Deon = duty​

●​ Focus: duties, obligations, rights​

●​ Intention > results​

●​ Kant: Only good will is good without qualification​

●​ Categorical Imperative: absolute rule all rational beings must follow​

1.​ Universal law (act as if your maxim is universal)​

2.​ End in itself (treat humans as ends, never means)​

Contractarianism

●​ Political and moral theory (Thomas Hobbes)​

●​ State of Nature: rational beings promote society’s interest to achieve self-interest​

●​ Contract = agreement to give up some items for self-interest​

●​ Related to Game Theory & Prisoner’s Dilemma​

Ethics of Justice

●​ Qualities:​

1.​ Impartiality (equal treatment)​

2.​ Universality (applies to all in similar situations)​

 ●​ John Rawls – Theory of Justice (“justice as fairness”)​

1.​ Maximum freedom for everyone​

2.​ Equal opportunity for desirable positions​

3.​ Socio-economic differences must benefit the least advantaged​

Ethics of Caring

●​ Nel Noddings: morality = caring​

●​ Only inherent good = caring​

●​ Focus: relationships, not universal rules​

●​ Rejects impartiality → only care for those we have relations with​

Ethics of Reasoning

●​ Pure Reason: deductive, establishes truth, simple issues​

●​ Practical Reason: decision-making, complex, resolves ethical issues​

●​ Ethical reasoning roles:​

○​ Highlight acts that enhance well-being​

○​ Highlight acts that harm well-being​

●​ Deliberative Critical Discussion: well-intentioned, informed exchange of opinions​

●​ Avoid: charged language | hyperbole | ad hominem​

Chapter 2 – Computing Professions and Professional

Ethics
Class Expectations
 ●​ Demonstrate knowledge of computing professionals & ethics​

●​ Discuss responsibilities & obligations to organization and society​

●​ Explain role of organizations in ensuring moral behavior​

Technological Associations

●​ IEEE: advancing technological innovation and excellence​

●​ ACM: world’s first scientific/educational computing society (1947)​

Case Study: Therac-25

●​ Radiation therapy machine malfunction (1986–1987)​

●​ Software bugs + lack of hardware safety → overdoses of radiation​

●​ 6 victims: 4 deaths, 2 lifelong injuries​

●​ Responsibility? Developers, engineers, medical professionals, or company?​

●​ Ethical issues: safety standards overlooked, lack of testing, accountability​

Case Study: Toyota Prius Brakes

●​ 2010 Prius: 124 complaints of faulty brakes​

●​ Questions:​

○​ How to balance innovation & safety?​

○​ How to address life-threatening software issues promptly?​

○​ What role should regulators play?​

Case Study: Montero Sport SUA Issue

●​ Sudden unintended acceleration (2015)​

 ●​ Third-party investigation: all cases = driver error (pressing accelerator instead of brake)​

Why Professional Standards Matter

●​ Privacy, safety, well-being depend on software​

●​ Responsibility of IT professionals to uphold ethics​

Code of Ethics (Filipino IT Professionals)

1.​ Promote public knowledge of IT​

2.​ Consider public welfare in work​

3.​ Advertise truthfully​

4.​ Respect intellectual property laws​

5.​ Accept full responsibility for work​

6.​ Make truthful statements on competence​

7.​ Keep confidentiality (unless required by law)​

8.​ Strive for highest quality in products/services​

9.​ Participate in IT development​

10.​Uphold & improve IT standards through continuing education​

Defining Profession

●​ No single definition accepted​

●​ A profession: vocation with specialized training, provides service for compensation, apart
from business gain​

●​ PRC Mission: determine competence of professionals through standards & licensing​

 ●​ Michael Bayles: profession requires training, intellectual effort, service to society,
certification, organization, autonomy​

●​ Kultgen’s Attributes: skill, education, exams, organization, code of conduct, altruism,

responsibility, public good, licensing, impartial service, loyalty, prestige, independence​

A Moral Basis for Professions

●​ Michael Davis: a profession = individuals openly serving a moral ideal in a morally

permissible way​

●​ “A professional puts profession first”​

Case Studies

●​ Case 1: Bribery – Should you report clients bribing officials or keep confidence?​

●​ Case 2: Pornography on University Computer – What should Sheila do after finding

videos on professor’s computer?​