Transcript 6. Why Bother

AIT, Comp. Sci. & Info. Mgmt
AT02.98 Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in Computing
September Term, 1999
6. Doing Right – Why Bother?
Objectives of these slides:

try to persuade the skeptics that ethics are
useful (actually essential) for them
1
Overview
1. What’s in Ethics for me?
2. Health and Ethics
3. The “Wages of Sin”
4. Self-Actualization
5. Moral Development Theory
6. The Ethics of Care
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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1. What’s in Ethics for me?
 The skeptic says: “What’s the point of being
ethical (doing right) unless it makes my life
better?”
 Ethical behaviour usually affects your
friends/colleagues, making them happier. As a
result, they will treat you better.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
continued
3
 A good person is liked because:



they are dependable
they keep their word
they are not under the control of money, power,
popularity
 “Virtue (moral excellence) is its own reward.”
 A good person is more advanced, mentally
healthier, and more mature than an evil person.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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Why More Advanced?
 A good person can accurately evaluate the ethics
of their actions, and so can choose and control
those actions better.
 A good person is more sensitive to the ethical
actions of others, and so can help/guide those
people.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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2. Health and Ethics
 What does it mean that the mental health of a
person’s character depends on their ethics?
 Bad acts (e.g. lying) reinforce bad behaviour in
our personalities




Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
initial reservations are forgotten
we lose the ability to look beyond self-interest;
we become childish
our judgement becomes impaired
we believe we are stronger/wiser, but are not
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3. The “Wages of Sin”
 Saint Augustine wrote of sin:

“Lust dominates the mind, despoils it of the wealth of
its virtue, and drags it, poor and needy, now this way
and now that.”
 In short, sin (doing wrong) -->
an unhappy, tortured, and an unsatisfied life
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
continued
7
 Our minds don’t work as well as before (we
defend what’s false as though it were true), and we
lose control over our lives (our desires govern us).
 The two wages (results) of sin (evil):


Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
ignorance (not knowing what is right)
difficulty (the inability to act ethically)
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The Skeptic’s Response
 “But cheating/lying/stealing/etc. work.
I get ahead of others.”
 These techniques work because you have not
played by the ethical rules that others follow.
 The long-term effect is that everyone may stop
playing by the rules:

Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
you lose; society loses
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Saint Augustine (354 - 430)
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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4. Self-Actualization
 Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist,
studied the connection between ethics and mental
health. He identified a hierachy of human needs:
self-actualization
esteem
belongingness and love
increased
priority
safety
physiological
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
continued
11
 Ethical thinking appears first in self-actualized
people.
 Some characteristics of self-actualization:

committed to causes; creative;
well-integrated personalities;
independent but socialable; a spiritual side
 Most of the self-actualized people studied
agreed on the key elements of human good

Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
that suggests that ethical judgements may be
universal and objective
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5. Moral Development Theory
 Lawrence Kohlberg (another American
psychologist) claims there are 3 levels of moral
reasoning, each with 2 stages.
 He has found these present in people across a
range of cultures.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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Preconventional (Level 1)
 Good and bad is seen in terms of reward,
punishment, and power.
 Stage 1: “good” is what the person with power
says it is.
 Stage 2: “good” is what is good for me.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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Conventional (Level 2)
 Good and bad is defined by family or society.
 Stage 1: “good” is what pleases or helps others.
 Stage 2: “good” is respecting authority.
Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
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Postconventional (Level 3)
 Good and bad are based on moral principles.
 Stage 1: “good’ is evaluated using some form of
utilitarianism.
 Stage 2: “good” is derived from universal moral
principles

Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
very act-oriented
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6. The Ethics of Care
 Carol Gilligan (third and final American
psychologist) argues for male/female ethics:

male: ethics based on justice
Everyone should be treated the same.

female: ethics based on care
Base your response on the need of the person (equity).
 She identifies three levels of care:

Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
care for one self; care for others;
care based on moral principles
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Two Ethical Voices
 Gilligan believes that the two ethics are
complementary, and should both be part of our
moral reasoning.
 Ethics of care == results-oriented approach

focusses on the consequences of actions
 Ethics of justice == act-oriented approach

Comp. Ethics:
Bother/6
focusses on the person’s rights
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