Manuel Velasquez, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, S.J., and Michael J. Meyer
Cultures differ widely in their moral practices. As anthropologist Ruth Benedict illustrates in Patterns of Culture, diversity is evident even on those matters of morality where we would expect to agree:
Other anthropologists point to a range of practices considered morally acceptable in some societies but condemned in others, including infanticide, genocide, polygamy, racism, sexism, and torture. Such differences may lead us to question whether there are any universal moral principles or whether morality is merely a matter of "cultural taste." Differences in moral practices across cultures raise an important issue in ethics -- the concept of "ethical relativism." Ethical relativism is the theory that holds that morality is relative to the norms of one's culture. That is, whether an action is right or wrong depends on the moral norms of the society in which it is practiced. The same action may be morally right in one society but be morally wrong in another. For the ethical relativist, there are no universal moral standards -- standards that can be universally applied to all peoples at all times. The only moral standards against which a society's practices can be judged are its own. If ethical relativism is correct, there can be no common framework for resolving moral disputes or for reaching agreement on ethical matters among members of different societies. Most ethicists reject the theory of ethical relativism. Some claim that while the moral practices of societies may differ, the fundamental moral principles underlying these practices do not. For example, in some societies, killing one's parents after they reached a certain age was common practice, stemming from the belief that people were better off in the afterlife if they entered it while still physically active and vigorous. While such a practice would be condemned in our society, we would agree with these societies on the underlying moral principle -- the duty to care for parents. Societies, then, may differ in their application of fundamental moral principles but agree on the principles. Also, it is argued, it may be the case that some moral beliefs are culturally relative whereas others are not. Certain practices, such as customs regarding dress and decency, may depend on local custom whereas other practices, such as slavery, torture, or political repression, may be governed by universal moral standards and judged wrong despite the many other differences that exist among cultures. Simply because some practices are relative does not mean that all practices are relative. Other philosophers criticize ethical relativism because of its implications for individual moral beliefs. These philosophers assert that if the rightness or wrongness of an action depends on a society's norms, then it follows that one must obey the norms of one's society and to diverge from those norms is to act immorally. This means that if I am a member of a society that believes that racial or sexist practices are morally permissible, then I must accept those practices as morally right. But such a view promotes social conformity and leaves no room for moral reform or improvement in a society. Furthermore, members of the same society may hold different views on practices. In the United States, for example, a variety of moral opinions exists on matters ranging from animal experimentation to abortion. What constitutes right action when social consensus is lacking? Perhaps the strongest argument against ethical relativism comes from those who assert that universal moral standards can exist even if some moral practices and beliefs vary among cultures. In other words, we can acknowledge cultural differences in moral practices and beliefs and still hold that some of these practices and beliefs are morally wrong. The practice of slavery in pre-Civil war U.S. society or the practice of apartheid in South Africa is wrong despite the beliefs of those societies. The treatment of the Jews in Nazi society is morally reprehensible regardless of the moral beliefs of Nazi society. For these philosophers, ethics is an inquiry into right and wrong through a critical examination of the reasons underlying practices and beliefs. As a theory for justifying moral practices and beliefs, ethical relativism fails to recognize that some societies have better reasons for holding their views than others. But even if the theory of ethical relativism is rejected, it must be acknowledged that the concept raises important issues. Ethical relativism reminds us that different societies have different moral beliefs and that our beliefs are deeply influenced by culture. It also encourages us to explore the reasons underlying beliefs that differ from our own, while challenging us to examine our reasons for the beliefs and values we hold.
1) In what ways are ethical, social, and political issues connected? Give some examples. Ethics refers to principles of right and wrong that individuals use to guide their behavior. Individuals act within a social environment that, in turn, exists within a political environment. Ethical dilemmas are problems that affect society and often are addressed in the political arena. For example, new computer technology makes it easier to gain private information about individuals, creating an ethical. Society will respond by demanding new laws to regulate the use of data. List and describe the key technological trends that heighten ethical concerns 1) computer power doubling every 18 months 2) rapid decline in data storage costs 3) data analysis advances 4) networking advances and the Internet. Differentiate between responsibility, accountability, and liability. Responsibility means that you accept the potential costs, duties, and obligations for the decisions you make. Accountability is a feature of systems and social
institutions that allows the determination of who is responsible. 2) List and describe the five steps in an ethical analysis 1)identify and describe clearly the facts 2) define the conflict or dilemma, and
identify the higher order values involved 3) identify the stakeholders 4) identify the options you can reasonably
take 5) identify the potential consequences of your options Identify and describe six ethical principles. - Golden Rule suggests doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. - Descartes' Rule of
Change, also known as the Slippery Slope Rule, suggests that if
an action cannot be taken repeatedly, then it is not right to be taken at any
time. 3) Define privacy and fair information practices. Privacy is the claim that individuals have the right to be left alone, free from surveillance or interference from other individuals or organizations, including the state. Claims to privacy involve the workplace as well as the home. Information technology threatens individual claims to privacy by making the invasion of privacy cheap, profitable, and effective. fair information practices is a set of principles governing the collection and use of information about individuals. FIP principles are - notice/awareness - access/participation - security. Explain how the Internet challenges the protection of individual privacy and intellectual property Cookies, Web bugs, and other means of collecting information about Internet users can be shared without the Internet user's consent. This allows information that a user may have given voluntarily for a good purpose, say logging into the Globe and Mail's site, to be shared with some other site. Spamming or email that uses a user's email address is another invasion of privacy. Explain how informed consent, legislation, industry self-regulation, and technology tools help protect the individual privacy of Internet users. privacy law helps regulate the
collection, usage, and disclosure of information in Canada. Some industries'
professional organizations, such as accountants, engineers, and information
systems professionals, have adopted codes of ethics to help regulate what their
professionals do. Information systems center around information rights and obligation ,property rights and obligations, accountability and control, system quality and quality of life. List and
define three different regimes that protect intellectual property rights? he three different legal traditions that protect property rights are: -trade secret -copyright - patent. A trade secret is any intellectual work product used for a business purpose that can be classified as belonging to that business, provided it is not based on information in the public domain. The drawback to trade secret protection is that once an idea falls into the public domain, it can no longer be protected as a trade secret. A copyright is a statutory grant that protects creators of intellectual property against copying by others for any purpose for a period of 50 years. 4) Explain why it is so difficult
to hold software services liable for failure or injury It is very difficult, if not impossible, to hold software producers liable for their software products because it is only when software acts as a part of a defective product that strict liability pertains. If the software is strictly a service (not part of a product), these laws do not apply. As part of a product, software is still considered to be like books, which historically are protected from liability claims by the First Amendment guaranteeing freedom of expression List and describe the principal
causes of system quality problems? The three principal sources of system quality problems are: - hardware and facility failures, - software bugs and errors - poor data quality. Name and
describe four quality-of-life impacts of computers and information systems. -Job can lost when computers replace workers or task become unnecessary in reengineered business processes. -ability to own and use a computer may be exacerbating socioeconomic disparities between different racial group and social classes. -widespread use of computers increases opportunities for computer crime and computer abuse. -computers can create health problems such as repetitive stress injury Define and describe techno-stress and RSI and explain their relationship to information technology. Technostress is defined as stress induced by computer use; symptoms’include aggravation ,hostility toward humans ,impatience ,and fatigue RSI: is avoidable .the management action reduce RSI injuries include: -designing workstations’ for a neutral wrist position -using ergonomically designed devices such as keyboards and mice -promoting and supporting frequent rest breaks and rotation of employees to different jobs |
Which ethical principle states that if an action Cannot be taken repeatedly than it is not right to take at all?
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