Programming Ethics Into Our Lives A book review on “The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics” and Contemporary Moral Problems” Copyright 2011 By: Carlos Alberto I. Osorio This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Philippines License Preface The book review on The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems offer the readers a glimpse on how ethics could be put into practice in our lives today which revolves with technologies. With the emergeing technologies in our world today, problems have also emerged to challenge our code of ethics not only in the real world, but in the computer world as well. The book has shared different concepts and theories in order for us to know how to handle certain problems when dealing with information and computers. It will teach the readers everything that they need to know in order to have proper knowledge in being able to protect themselves. Not only that, it will also give them a moral standards and know their limitations once they have entered the IT world. Through these book reviews, they will be able to guide themselves as well into having proper ethical manners which would also strengthen their moral values in life. Page 2 Dedication This book review is first of dedicated to my family, specially my parents who has provided for my education and has always inspired me along the road. No matter what, they have always believed in my talents and capabilities. I also want to dedicate this book to my fellow classmates and friends who have been exerting a lot of effort and has been working hard as well in order to finish their respective book reviews. Most important of all, I want to dedicate this book to my girlfriend who has been an inspiration to me, and has encouraged me all throughout my journey in writing this book from the first chapter up to the very end. Even though there were a couple of obstacles along the way, her motivation has helped me get through them in able to finish writing this book. Page 3 Acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge the following people for making it possible for me to finish this book: Professor Paul Pajo Alvin and Emelie Osorio (Parents) Nicole Faustino (Girlfriend) My friends around the world It-Ethic Classmates Page 4 Table of Contents Contents Contemporary Moral Problems Questions .................................................................................................... 7 James Rachel: Egoism and Moral Scepticism ................................................................................................ 8 John Arthur: Religion, Morality, and Conscience .......................................................................................... 9 Friedrich Nietzsche: Master- and Slave- Morality....................................................................................... 10 Mary Midgley: Trying Out One’s New Sword ............................................................................................. 11 John Stuart Mill: Utilitarianism ................................................................................................................... 12 James Rachels: The Debate over Utilitarianism .......................................................................................... 13 Immanuel Kant: The Categorical Imperative .............................................................................................. 14 Aristotle: Happiness and Value ................................................................................................................... 14 Joel Feinberg: The Nature of Value of Rights .............................................................................................. 15 Ronaldo Dworkin: Taking Rights Seriously .................................................................................................. 16 John Rawls: A Theory of Justince ................................................................................................................ 17 Annette Baier: The Need for More Than Justice ........................................................................................ 17 The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics Book Review ........................................................... 19 Chapter 1: Foundation of Information Ethics – Luciano Floridi .................................................................. 20 Chapter 2: Milestone in the History of Information and Computer Ethics – Terrel Ward Bynum ............. 21 Chapter 3: Moral Methodology and Information Technology – Jereon van den Hoven ............................ 22 Chapter 4: Value Sensitive Design and Information System – Batya Friedman, Peter H. Kahn Jr, and Alan Borning ........................................................................................................................................................ 23 Chapter 5: Personality-Based, Rule-Utilitarian, and Lockean Justifications of Itellectual Property – Adam D. Moore ..................................................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter 6: Information Privacy: Concepts, Theories, and Controversies – Herman T. Tavani ................... 25 Chapter 7: Online Anonymity – Kathleen A. Wallace ................................................................................. 26 Chapter 8: Ethical Issues Involving Computer Security: Hacking, Hacktivism, and Counterhacking – Kenneth Einer Himma ................................................................................................................................. 27 Chapter 9: Information Ethics and the Library Profession – Kay Mathiesen and Don Fallis ...................... 28 Chapter 10: Ethical Interest in Free and Open Source Software – Frances S. Grodzinsky & Marty J. Wolf29 Chapter 11: Internet Research Ethics: The Field and It’s Critical Issues – Elizabeth A. Buchanan & Charles Ess ............................................................................................................................................................... 30 Page 5 Chapter 12: Health Information Technology: Challenges in Ethics, Science, and Uncertainty .................. 31 Chapter 13: Ethical Issues of Information and Business – Bernd Carsten Stahl ......................................... 32 Chapter 14: Responsibilities for Information on the Internet – Anton Vedder .......................................... 33 Chapter 15: Virtual Reality and Computer Simulation – Philip Brey .......................................................... 34 Chapter 16: Genetic Information: Epistemological and Ethical Issues – Antonio Marturano .................... 35 Chapter 17: The Ethics of Cyber Conflict – Dorothy E. Denning ................................................................. 36 Chapter 18: A practical Mechanism for Ethical Risk Assessment – A SoDIS Inspection – Don Gotterbarn, Tony Clear, and Choon-Tuck Kwan ............................................................................................................. 37 Chapter 19: Regulation and Governance of the Internet – John Weckert and Yeslam Al-Saggaf .............. 38 Chapter 20: Information Overload – David M. Levy ................................................................................... 39 Chapter 21: Email Spam – Keith W. Miller and James H. Moor .................................................................. 40 Chapter 22: The Matter of Plagiarism: What, Why, and If – John Snapper ................................................ 41 Chapter 23: Itellectual Property: Legal and Moral Challenges of Online File Sharing – Richard A. Spinello .................................................................................................................................................................... 42 Chapter 24: Censorship and Access to Expression ..................................................................................... 43 Chapter 25: The Gender Agenda in Computer Ethics – Alison Adam ......................................................... 44 Chapter 26: The Digital Divide: A Perspective for the Future – Maria Canellopoulou-Bottis and Kenneth Einar Himma ................................................................................................................................................ 45 Chapter 27: Intercultural Information Ethics – Rafael Capurro .................................................................. 46 Page 6 Contemporary Moral Problems Questions Page 7 James Rachel: Egoism and Moral Scepticism Review Quetions: 1) Explain the legend of Gyges. What questions about morality are raised by the story? The legend of Gyges is about a sheperd who found a ring, which could turn you invisible upon wearing it, in a fissure opened by an eartquack. So he used this ring to in order to be invisible that gave him the power to enter the Royal Palace where he seduced the queen and murdered the king. This story raised two questions on what a rouge and a man with virtue will do when given the power to be invisible. How their actions might differ or be the same whether they will use this power to give them advantage or to help others. 2) Distinguish between psychological and ethical egoism. Physical egoism is the view that all men are selfish in everything that they do and the only motive from which anyone ever acts is self interest, while ethical egoism is a normative view about how men should act. It’s