Transcript COM354__Week.1

COM 354 Week 1 (8/23)
New Media Ethics
Related to my work
“Privacy and Participation in the Cloud: Ethical
Implications of Google’s Privacy Practices
and Public Communications” in Ethics of
Emerging Media (Continuum, 2011)
"This collection provides a rare opportunity to ask
how emerging media affect the ethical
choices in our lives and the lives of people
across the globe.”
OUTLINE
Introduction (course, syllabus, Wiki)
Traditional ethical theories
Spheres of Information ethics
– Group Activity
Central Issues of digital media ethics
Syllabus
Required Text
Basic Structure
Assignments
Grading
Student's Responsibilities
Course Schedule
Key terms
Values - goals and ideals we aspire to and
measure ourselves, others and society by
moral values - values that give voice to the
needs and legitimate expectations of others as
well as ourselves
Ethics - study of moral values, reflection on
how to think about them, and clarify, prioritize,
and/or integrate them.
Morals and ethics
Often interchangeable
Morals – something we hold (static)
Ethics –deliberate process of thinking them
through, criticizing, and revising them (dynamic)
pitfalls
Dogmatism
– Ask why, study other's views, reasons of
opposed positions
– Speak in an open ended way
– Hint of
Offhand self-justification
dogmatism
Ask why, study other's views, reasons of
opposed positions
Speak in an open ended way
• Less categorical, less final
Think in an open ended way
A hint of uncertainty is appropriate
Offhand self-justification
Know that its self-defeating
– rationalizing and making excuses can
perpetuate unintelligent opinions
Observe yourself
– Try not to make excuses just to put questions
to rest
Watch for signs of anger or irritation when
challenged
 Avoid automatic counterattack
– Give yourself space to think
Three families of values
•
Utilitarianism
•
Theories of Right Action
•
Theories of Virtue
1. Utilitarianism
•
J. Bentham, J. S. Mill
– Moral commitment to happiness of all
– “greatest good of the greatest number”
– Typically asks “does it promote the social
good?”
– Involves balancing social costs with social
benefits (a calculation)
– Social utility
2. Theories of Right Action (also
deontology or categorical
imperative)
•
Kant
– Decide what is right independent of social
utility
– Social utility reduces people to a means, a
thing
– People are not “means” but “ends” in
themselves
– Profound sense of equality
2. Theories of Right Action (cont.)
•
Kant
– Decisions often framed as universal laws,
rights, rules applying to everyone, universally
– A law for all to follow
– Can't “make an exception for myself”
(golden rule)
– e.g., Universal Declaration of Human Rights
3. Theories of Virtue
•
Aristotle
– One's function, derived from his/her essential
activity, determines their virtues
– Our function, to bring a complex self into
order “balanced self actualization”
– “means between extremes of emotion and
action” (golden mean)
• e.g., courage is the mean between
cowardice and foolhardiness
3. Theories of Virtue (cont.)
•
Aristotle
– Moral virtues
• Courage, temperance, justice, generosity,
humor
– Vices
• Excesses
3. Theories of Virtue (cont.)
•
St. Thomas Aquinas adapted Aristotle's logic
– Reason a way to know oneself God.
– Theological virtues
• Faith, hope, charity
• Expanded Greek virtues - e.g., temperance
to include humility, patience, chastity
– Deadly sins – fatal to spiritual progress
• pride lust, avarice, etc.)
3. Theories of Virtue (cont.)
•
Alasdair MacIntyre
– Professions have a moral dimension
– Determined by specific function
• e.g., teachers enable and inform
– Virtue is related to professional practice
– Acquired qualities to achieve our goals
• e.g., Bloggers “code of ethics”
3. Theories of Virtue:
•
Ethics of Care
Our practices are rooted in human
relationships
– based on love, care, connecting
– Rooted in awareness of connections btw us
–& recognition of our responsibility for
one another
• Key virtues – imagination, sensitivity,
patience, acceptance, nurturing,
responding
Activity
•
Think about ethical problems:
– Wikileaks
– Online targeted advertising
– Virtual sex in Second Life
Activity
Speak to the issue from within each theory
•
– e.g., how would utilitarians view it,
– how would Kant view it
– what virtues are relevant? (list them)
–
Activity (part two) Declare yourself
•
Which of these theories describes how you
mainly think?
•
Are their good arguments for each?
•
How might you combine them?
•
How would you prioritize them?
•
Spheres of ICT ethics
•
Ethics of informational resources
– issues of availability, access, and accuracy
•
Ethics of Informational Products
– devices, applications, services (SNSs), sites,
games
•
Ethics of the informational environment
– piracy, IP, FOSS, FoE, censorship, filtering,
content control
Central Issues of Ethics in Digital
Media
• Ethics of informational resources
– issues of availability, access, and accuracy
• Ethics of Informational Products
– devices, applications, services (SNSs), sites,
games
• Ethics of the informational environment
– piracy, IP, FOSS, FoE, censorship, filtering,
content control
Central Issues of digital media ethics
•
Mainstream media reports on technology
– “moral panic” to attract attention
– focus on sensational and deep seated fears
• fosters polarized way of thinking
–e.g., technology=good, technology=bad
• short circuits critical reflection
Distinguishing characteristics of
digital media
•
Digital vs. analog (bits easily manipulated)
•
Instantaneous
•
enduring
•
global
Pedagogical approach
•
Case studies
• discussion/writing/reflection/research
•
We'll pursue our own case studies, as well
HWK (Due Monday 8/30)
 Journal #1 (on Wiki)
 Read Chapter 2