Mapping the foundationalist debate in computer ethics

Ethics and Information Technology 4 (1):1–9 (2002)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The paper provides a critical review of thedebate on the foundations of Computer Ethics(CE). Starting from a discussion of Moor'sclassic interpretation of the need for CEcaused by a policy and conceptual vacuum, fivepositions in the literature are identified anddiscussed: the ``no resolution approach'',according to which CE can have no foundation;the professional approach, according to whichCE is solely a professional ethics; the radicalapproach, according to which CE deals withabsolutely unique issues, in need of a uniqueapproach; the conservative approach, accordingto which CE is only a particular appliedethics, discussing new species of traditionalmoral issues; and the innovative approach,according to which theoretical CE can expandthe metaethical discourse with a substantiallynew perspective. In the course of the analysis,it is argued that, although CE issues are notuncontroversially unique, they are sufficientlynovel to render inadequate the adoption ofstandard macroethics, such as Utilitarianismand Deontologism, as the foundation of CE andhence to prompt the search for a robust ethicaltheory. Information Ethics (IE) is proposed forthat theory, as the satisfactory foundation forCE. IE is characterised as a biologicallyunbiased extension of environmental ethics,based on the concepts of information object/infosphere/entropy rather thanlife/ecosystem/pain. In light of the discussionprovided in this paper, it is suggested that CEis worthy of independent study because itrequires its own application-specific knowledgeand is capable of supporting a methodologicalfoundation, IE.

Links

PhilArchive

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Mapping the foundationalist debate in computer ethics.Luciano Floridi & J. W. Sanders - 2002 - Ethics and Information Technology 4 (1):1-9.
Un-making artificial moral agents.Deborah G. Johnson & Keith W. Miller - 2008 - Ethics and Information Technology 10 (2-3):123-133.
Casuistry and computer ethics.Kari Gwen Coleman - 2007 - Metaphilosophy 38 (4):471-488.
Computer ethics: Its birth and its future. [REVIEW]TerrellWard Bynum - 2001 - Ethics and Information Technology 3 (2):109-112.
Computers: information ethics and the foundation of computer ethics.Luciano Floridi - 2007 - In Jesper Ryberg, Thomas S. Petersen & Clark Wolf (eds.), New Waves in Applied Ethics. Palgrave-Macmillan.
On teaching computer ethics within a computer science department.Michael J. Quinn - 2006 - Science and Engineering Ethics 12 (2):335-343.
Does gender matter in computer ethics?Alison Adam & Jacqueline Ofori-Amanfo - 2000 - Ethics and Information Technology 2 (1):37-47.

Analytics

Added to PP
2014-03-24

Downloads
238 (#77,746)

6 months
100 (#34,871)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author Profiles

References found in this work

What is computer ethics?James H. Moor - 1985 - Metaphilosophy 16 (4):266-275.
Information ethics: on the philosophical foundation of computer ethics.Luciano Floridi - 1999 - Ethics and Information Technology 1 (1):33–52.
Unique ethical problems in information technology.Walter Maner - 1996 - Science and Engineering Ethics 2 (2):137-154.

View all 12 references / Add more references