AENG 223 Professional Ethics and Conduct

1. AENG 223Professional Ethics and Conduct Lecture 2 Philosophical Ethics A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

2. Philosophical Ethical Analysis • Claim, then give reasons / arguments and critically evaluate them – can we support our claim? • Consistency is crucial. • From initial belief move to argument, from argument to better (or reformulated) argument, from theory to case. • A definitive conclusion not always made. • However, understanding of our moral beliefs might be improved, deeper and more consistent beliefs might be developed. A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

3. Descriptive and Normative Claims • Descriptive claims: What people think and do (behaviour and thoughts). Are drawn after empirical data examination and report of the findings. • Descriptive claims do not tell us what is right / wrong, what people should think and do, or describe how people behave. • Normative claims: Philosophical ethics is normative. Its aims are to explore what people ought to do, evaluate arguments, reasons and theories and finally report on what types of behaviour are good or bad, right or wrong, as well as help us understand what rules and policies should be applied in computer and information technology. A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

4. Philosophical Ethics • Philosophical Ethics: • Ethical Relativism. • Utilitarianism. • Act and rule utilitarians. • Deontological Theories and Kantianism. • Rights. A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

5. Ethical Relativism • Ethical Relativism: ethics is relative. • Is ethics relative? What might be wrong / right for you might not be so for me? • Negative claim: If they are relative, then there are no universal moral norms or rights / wrongs. • Positive claim: Right / wrong is relative to the society we live. • Positive Claim: - different cultures consider right / wrong in a different way. - moral norms of a society change over time. - upbringing and experiences determine our moral ideas (when, where, how, by whom we were raised). A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

6. Ethical Relativism • However, diversity of opinion about right / wrong does not tell us that right or wrong is relative. (consider the earth’s shape example) • Also, the fact that our social environment shapes our moral beliefs, does not mean that they are right or wrong. (consider sexism and racism) • Theory of ethical relativism is self-contradictory: - Right / wrong relative to the social context, then our moral ideas are determined solely by the rules of the society, so we should do what our society directs us. While ethical relativists deny the existence of universal rules, they assert one. - Right / wrong is determined by the culture of people and the time when they lived. So, different moral beliefs should not be judged, arrogant behaviour is not accepted, only respect is, so we ‘ought to’ behave in a certain way. Thus, they again assert a universal rule. Case illustration : Hitler A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

7. Utilitarianism • Utilitarianism: we should act in such a way so as to bring about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people. • Instrumental goods are valued as they lead to something else ex. Money (want x as it leads to y, then y is what values, not x). • Intrinsic goods are valued for what they are ex. Knowledge, beauty, nature, the ecosystem etc. • Utilitarians: happiness is the ultimate intrinsic good, valued for what it is, everybody wants to achieve happiness. A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

8. Utilitarianism • Individuals facing a dilemma: consider alternatives (A, B, C etc), predict consequences of each, choose the action that will bring about the most happiness (not egoism: good consequences for yourself). • Rule-utilitarians: difficult to predict consequences, have to act quickly so no time, not practical. Certain rules should be applied and followed in order to maximize happiness. • Act-utilitarians: actions are emphasized, rules are rejected. • Everybody is equal in happiness. Self-contradictory: acceptable to sacrifice the happiness of one to achieve the happiness of the many? Case illustration : Kidney dialysis machine A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1

9. Deontological Theories • Deontological Theories: some actions are morally obligatory regardless of the consequences. If an action is done from a sense of duty, then it is right. • Immanuel Kant: people rational, make choices as have the rational capacity, do not merely act in accordance with the law (plants) but in accordance with the conception of the law. Never treat another human being merely as a means, but always as an end (they have the right to choose). • Rights: Every individual must be respected as valuable, have rights ex. not to be killed, enslaved, to be given freedom, make decisions, be allowed to own and so on. A.Parperi AENG 223: Professional Ethics and Conduct Slide1