OUTLINE FOR A BOOK ON COMPUTER ETHICS
OUTLINE FOR A BOOK ON COMPUTER ETHICS
Author: Robert N. Barger, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Computer Applications Program, University of Notre Dame, and Professor Emeritus, Eastern Illinois University
Contact information: email - rbarger@nd.edu, phone - 574-289-8939, US postal service mail - 1742 W. North Shore Drive, South Bend, IN 46617
Working title: A Guide to Ethics in Computing
Rationale and scope:
This book is meant to equip students to deal with ethical dilemmas in computing, as opposed to legal issues in computing. To that end it first covers ethical theories and then describes how computing dilemmas may be systematically analyzed with a view to resolving them ethically.
Relation of this book to other computer ethics books:
This book differs in several respects from other books on the market. It provides an overview of four basic philosophical ethical theories (…other books summarize only absolutist and relativist theories), together with an inventory which lets the student discover which of these theories coincides most closely with her/his own viewpoint. Besides this philosophical approach, it also considers the psychological side of ethics. It is humanistically oriented. It provides more than forty cases from real life experience which students can analyze. It also provides a worksheet which gives a set of questions on which an ethical analysis may be based.
Chapter outline:
1. Introduction:
A. What is computer ethics (it is a part of philosophy, not science (for the limits on science, see remarks by John Horgan at )
B. Who is affected by computer ethics:
(1) individual persons
(2) moral (corporate) persons (e.g., institutions or organizations)
C. Computer ethics is not essentially different from general ethics, but is unique because of its scope and scale (examples to be included)
D. Law and ethics are not the same thing: an act can be ethical but illegal, or unethical but legal (examples to be included)
2. The computer as a humanizing agent
A. Computers are not the antithesis of what it means to be human
B. Computing can be humanistic in supporting the traits of autonomy, individuality, rationality, affectiveness, responsiveness, and creativity
3. Identifying your philosophy
A. The Ross-Barger Philosophical Inventory
B. Interpretation of Ross-Barger Philosophical Inventory results
4. A systems approach to ethics: the basic philosophic outlooks which give rise to ethical views (each of the following outlooks will be developed in detail):
A. Idealism
B. Naturalism/Realism
C. Pragmatism
D. Existentialism
E. Logical Analysis
5. Some additional problematic philosophical outlooks which affect ethics (with a brief discussion of these outlooks):
A. Eclecticism
B. Historicism
C. Scientism
D. Nihilism
E. Postmodernism
6. Psychological considerations:
A. The diffference between philosophical ethics theories and psychological moral development theories
B. A summary of Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development
7. Can a common viewpoint be found for computer ethics?
A. The problem of finding a unified ethical theory
B. A possible solution: reaching the same ethical judgment...but on different grounds
8. Is the computing field a profession?
A. What are the characteristics of a profession?
B. Is computing a profession?
9. Professional ethical codes
A. The Code of the Association for Computing Machinery
B. The Code of the IEEE
C. The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics ( sponsored by the Computer Ethics Institute of the Brookings Institution, Washington, DC)
10. Ethical areas of concern in computing:
A. Piracy (e.g., parasitic computing, use of unsecured wireless connections)
B. Privacy (e.g., spam e-mail, spyware)
C. Power (e.g., questions of gender, socio-economic class, and third-world access to computing)
11. A framework for making ethical decisions (Ethics worksheet) -
A. What are the ETHICAL issues in this case?
B. Who are the interested parties and what do you suppose EACH of them would like you to do?
C. Propose three possible solutions (two extremes and a compromise). Number them 1, 2 & 3. Give (a) a best-case and worst-case outcome for EACH solution, and (b) for EACH solution, state whether you could tolerate the worst-case outcome.
Choose one of the three solutions (keep its identifying number) and answer questions D thru H about that solution:
D.1. Would you be willing for EVERYONE to be permitted to use this solution? D.2. Does it treat people as ends rather than as means only [Idealism]? Explain.
E. Is this solution in accord with what is natural (not excessive or deficient) Naturalism/Realism]? Explain.
F.1. Would there be majority agreement that this solution is the most efficient means to the end? F.2. Will it produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people [Pragmatism/Utilitarianism]? Explain.
G. Is this solution the one you feel most committed to in your own conscience, regardless of whether or not it benefits you personally [Existentialism]? Explain.
H. Which philosophy do you feel was most influential in your solution to this case? Why?
12. Cases - Forty cases involving ethical dilemmas in computing are included
Intended readership:
The book is intended as a textbook for use in collegiate Computer Science courses and in courses of related majors. Many such majors require an ethics course or component.
Preparation of the book:
I presently have most of the elements of the book on-line as resources for a course that I teach at the University of Notre Dame. The on-line syllabus for this course may be viewed at http:nd.edu/~rbarger/capp40140syl.html. I would estimate the length of the book to be about 200 pages, more or less. I would like the completion date to be negotiable. I would prefer it to be sometime in the Summer of 2007. Although most computer-related books currently have an obligatory CD enclosed, I do not believe that this book would benefit from such ancillary material.
Abbreviated curriculum vita:
I have authored more than one hundred books, chapters, and articles. My last chapter was "Ethics of Parasitic Computing: Fair Use or Abuse of TCP/IP Over the Internet" (principal author with Charles R. Crowell) in Information Ethics: Privacy and Intellectual Property, L.A. Freeman & A.G. Peace (eds.), Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, 2005. My last two encyclopedia entries were "Education: The United States" in Encyclopedia of the Modern World, S.M. Wagley (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, in press, and "A Meta View of Information Ethics" (second author with Charles R. Crowell) in Encyclopedia of Information Ethics and Security, M. Quigley (ed.), Hershey, PA: Idea Group, Inc., in press. I have served as Past Chair of the Technology Committee of the American Educational Research Association. Over the past thirty-six years I have taught at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Eastern Illinois University, University College Cork of the National University of Ireland (sabbatical), and the University of Notre Dame. For more information, see
Relevant sample chapters:
Chapter 2. The computer as a humanizing agent: computer-as-humanizing-agent
Chapter 3. Identifying your philosophy:
Chapter 4. A systems approach to ethics:
Potential reviewers for this proposal:
Charles Crowell, Assoc. Professor, Department of Psychology, and Director, Computer Applications Program, 847 Flanner Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, 574-631-0471, ccrowell@nd.edu
John Halleck, Systems Programmer, Office of Information Technology, Systems and Applications, University of Utah, 585 Komas Drive, Ste 202, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, 801-585-9572, John.Halleck@utah.edu
Thomas Lapp, Network Hardware Engineer, TruePosition, Inc., 1000 Chesterbrook Blvd, Suite 200, Berwyn, PA, 19312, 610-680-1128, tlapp@
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