Ethics

• this is section 1.4 of The Gift of Fire.
  • You really should read it, I am not an ethicist.
• How do you make decisions when the matter of right or wrong is involved?
  • This is not just restricted to computers and technology, but in general.
  • Does it change for technology?
  • Does it change in your professional life and your personal life?
• Ethics is the study of what it means to "do the right thing."
  • Confucius: What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.
  • You might have seen this one somewhere else too.
• Ethics assumes
  • People are rational
    • IE choices are made based on reason and logic.
    • This is not always the case
    • We even draw a distinction between a "crime of passion" and a premeditated crime.
    • But we will assume for the most part that people are rational.
  • People are free to make choices.
    • Is this true?
    • Do you have free will?
• Ethical rules
  • Attempt to enhance human dignity, peace, happiness and well-being.
  • Apply the same to everyone all of the time.
  • Should respect that we are all unique and have our own personal desires and goals.
  • Should inform our decision making when we have a choice to make.
• She notes that not all ethical systems follow these guidelines
• A large debate
  • Are ethical rules natural or derived by man (god, demon, ...)?
  • This is a long standing debate.
• She points out that behaving ethically is not a burden
  • We are normally honest,
  • we keep our promises,
  • we do not steal,
  • we do our work.
• She points out that violating these norms leads to problems
  • IE if you are not honest, then no one trusts you.
• This applies professionally as well
  • You will not have customers if you do not keep your business promises
  • I believe this less
  • Companies frequently behave immorally and do not pay a price.
• She continues that sometimes it is harder to do the right thing.
  • But a definition of courage is to chose to to do the right thing in a difficult situation.
• Some different ethical systems.
  • Deontological (Greek for obligation or duty)
    • Emphasizes duty and following absolute rules.
      • Do not lie
      • There is no choice, you may not lie.
      • Any time you do not lie, you are following this ethical dictate
      • Any time you lie you are acting in an unethical way.
    • Immanuel Kant is in this school.
      • We should follow rules of behavior that we can universally apply to everyone.
        • If you are not sure you should do something to someone else, consider if it is acceptable for them to do that to you.
        • An example is: It is if you feel it is OK to cheat on your partner, then it is also acceptable for your partner to cheat on you.
      • Logic and reason determines rules of ethical behavior
        • Actions are intrinsically good because they follow from logic.
        • It is good when we act rationally and evil when we act irrationally.
        • We "know" it is bad to lie
          • If everyone were to lie, society would not work.
          • Or at least it would be a bad place.
      • One must never treat people merely as a means to an ends, but rather as an ends themselves.
        • What does this mean?
        • It matters how you do thins, not just that they are done.
        • It would be nice to just "give everyone an A"
          • I would make it through the semester with very little struggle.
      • Kant took an extreme position with ethical rules: You must follow them.
        • Never lie
        • Do I look fat?
        • Someone tells you that they plan to kill Bob.
          • They ask you where Bob is.
          • You know.
          • You tell them. You may not lie.
    • I watched a video recently, Batman is a deontologist.
      • He should kill the Joker.
      • But it is wrong to kill.
      • So the Joker lives to cause mayhem again.
  • Utilitarianism
    • The guiding principle is that moral acts increase happiness or "utility"
      • But for the most people
      • Taking a nap right now would make me happy, increase my utility.
      • But it should impact the utility for all of you.
        • Assuming I do a passing job of teaching
        • And you believe that this is important information.
    • John Stuart Mill is in this ethical camp.
      • When considering an action consider all impacted by that action
      • How many will it decrease utility for?
      • How many will it increase utility for?
      • Pick the wining group.
    • Problems
  • We might not know the consequences of the action and who it will impact.
  • There is little/no respect for individual rights.
    • A doctor has five patients who need a different organ.
• End of star trek II, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one", then SPOCK DIES!