Where It Begins

A Compilation of Reviews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By:

Fort Sta.Ana Paclarin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where It Begins, A Compilation of Review by Fort Paclarin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at itsmefortpaclarin.pbworks.com.

 

 

 

Dedication

 

 

 

 

This book is dedicated to God for his guidance, love and protection.

 

 

 

Also, I dedicate this book to my family and friends that continues in supporting and giving me inspiration in making this book.

 

 

 

This is also for my Mother and my sister Meryll.

 

 

 

-          Fort Paclarin

 

Preface

 

           

The content of this book is a Review compilation of The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics that has twenty-seven chapters. This book, entitled Where It Begins A Compilation of Reviews contains Concepts, Methodologies and Principles about Information and Computer Ethics and in each chapter of this book it has:

Quotation. A Quotation that will somehow describe or give overview of Chapter.

What I expect to learn. Things or idea that I’m expecting to learn from each Chapter.

Review. The review or concept that I’ve got from each chapter.

What I learned. The things or idea I’ve learned from each chapter.

Integrative Questions. The questions that I’ve asked that is connected to the things I’ve learned.

 

 

This book also contains review on Contemporary Moral Ethics. On each section, you’ll find my answers to the Review Questions and Discussion Questions.

 

 

I recommend this book to be read by students who are taking up Ethics class, I know this book will be helpful them in guiding throughout course.

 

Chapter I – Foundations of Information Ethics

 

Quote: “Our task must be to free ourselves from our prison by widening our circle of compassion

to embrace all humanity and the whole of nature in its beauty.” – Albert Einstein, 1954.

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review

            According to Floridi, we call our society as “information society” because of the essential role played by intelligence, intangible assets, information-intensive services, and public sector. And as part of the society and our lives, the information society made it to a point that this will be possible through cluster of information and communications technologies (ICTs) infrastructure. Since the full expression of techne, the information society already faced its basic ethical problems whose complexity and global dimensions are continuously increasing and developing. At the present time, the vital task is to formulate an information ethics that can treat the world of data, information and knowledge with its own essential life cycles in the infosphere which humanity will going to be flourishing. With this, an information ethics should be able to address and solve the ethical challenges arising in the infosphere – this statement is more problematic as it seems to be. In the recent years, “Information Ethics” has come to mean different things to different researchers working in variety of disciplines, including computer ethics, business ethics, medical ethics, computer science, the philosophy of information, social epistemology ICT studies, and library and information science. Floridi said that this occurrence is not surprising. Given the innovation of the field, the urgency of the problems it poses, and the multifarious nature of the concept of information itself and of its related phenomena will always going to be inevitable. This has generated some confusion about the specific nature, scope, and goals of IE. Fortunately, the problem is not permanent, there is a unified approach that can help to explain and relate the main senses in which IE has been discussed in the literature.

            He also discussed the RPT (Resource Product Target) Model as a useful tool that explains why an technology drastically alter the “life of information” that has to do with the deep moral implications for any moral agent. This model sets right the excessive emphasis which placed on specific technologies through getting our attention to a more fundamental phenomenon of information with its varieties and long tradition. It is said that Information Ethics (IE) was claimed to be the study of moral issues arising from one or another of the three different “information arrows” in the RPT model. The first stage was that IE as an Ethics of Informational Resources, according to Froehlich; the expression “information ethics” was introduced and used as a general label to discuss issues like confidentiality, reliability, quality and usage in information. The second stage was that IE as an Ethics of Information Products, it is to be said that IE began to have connection with computer ethics only in the 1990s. This is when the ICT revolution became widespread to give rise to new issues concerning not only to managing information as a resource but also in the distributed and pervasive creation, consumption, sharing, and control of information. In the last stage, Floridi discussed IE as an Ethics of the Informational Environment were in the emergence of the information society has the further reason behind the expansion of the scope of IE. He added that as when more people get used to living and working within digital environments, it will be easier to talk about the new ethical issues that surrounds in informational realities. As the discussion goes on, he talks about the limits of any microethical approach to information ethics by giving arguments like, the RPT model was said to be too simplistic and insufficiently inclusive. As this portion of discussion went through, Floridi introduced the fourth stage, which was Information Ethics as a Macroethics. He summarized IE as a patient-oriented, ontocentric, ecological macroethics. These technical expressions are spontaneously explained by comparing IE to other environmental approaches. As Floridi ends up the discussion, he gave a passage from one of Einstein’s passage the summarizes the perspective advocated by IE which is “A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space..”

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What are the two concurrent objections against IE?
2.  What are the four stages that somehow define IE?
3.  How does the Computing Values related to Human Values?
4. How did moral agents cope up with the situation with the applications of Information Ethics?
5.  Why RPT is said to be too simplistic and insufficiently inclusive?

 

Chapter II – Milestones in the History of Information and Computer Ethics

 

Quote: “..identified “great principles of justice” that every society should follow, and he

employed a practical strategy for analyzing and resolving information ethics issues wherever they might occur”- Tyrell Ward Bynum

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            According to Terrell Ward Bynum, in the middle of the Second World War the origin of the academic field of information was introduced unintentionally and almost accidentally. During that time, philosopher/scientist Norbert Wiener was working with other group of scientist and engineers who helped him in the invention of digital computers and radar as well as the creation of new kind antiaircraft cannon. With the insight and foresight, he realized that what he was working on, together with his colleagues would have enormous potential for good and for evil. Wiener predicted that after the war, the new information technology would bring dramatic change to the world just as much the Industrial Revolution had done in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. He also predicted a “second industrial revolution”, and “automatic age” that would bring overwhelming number of new ethical challenges and opportunities.

            When the war was ended, Wiener wrote a book about the science of “cybernetics” that he himself together with his colleagues had created and with its second book, it talks about social and ethical impacts of the new information technologies. These two books laid the foundations of information ethics and computer ethics. Bynum discussed how Wiener introduced foundation of Information Ethics starting with its groundbreaking book entitled, The Hunan Use of Human Beings, which happened to be said explored the impacts of information technologies upon central human values such as life, health, happiness, security, freedom, knowledge, opportunities and abilities. Especially nowadays that “Internet age” and the search for “global information ethics” were using the concepts and procedures that Weiner introduced in identifying, analyzing and even resolving social and ethical problems linked with information technologies of all kinds. Given Weiner’s concerns and applicability of his ideas and methods to every kind of information technology, the term “information ethics” is a suitable name for the field the he introduced. As we all know, Computer ethics is a subfield of Wiener’s information ethics. The ethical issues that Wiener tried analyzing still get the interest of scholars and learners today. In this chapter, Weiner also account a good life. As what Bynum said, according to Wiener, to have a good life human beings must be free to interact in creative and flexible actions that maximize their full potential as intelligent, decision-making beings in charge their own lives. He also added that people have various and different level of talent and possibility, so each and everyone were different from each other. With this view of the purpose of a human life, Wiener led in adopting what he called “great principles of justice” which the society should built. He believed that in following this principle, this would maximize person’s ability to flourish human actions.

            As a summary, since the development of computer and information ethics in 1995, it has been exponentially propagate with new conferences and conference series as well as different tools and medium in letting other people know about this. The comparison of the field of computer an information ethics is very young as what other scholarly disciplines have introduced. It has existed in the mid-1940s, when Norbert Wiener created and introduced it in public. At first, his idea was far ahead from everyone else’s which caused to grow very little in three decades time. But talking about it now, computer and information ethics has made it expand and grow exponentially especially in the industrialized world; it started and will continually be notice in the coming decades, computer and information ethics will surely grow and flourish as well.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  Through Bynum, I was able to learn the “Principle of Freedom”, “Principle of Equality”, and the “Principle of Benevolence”.
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What do we need to do to have a good life?
2.  What is great principle of justice?
3.  When Wiener did introduced the foundation of Information Ethics?
4.  How did this introduction affect the so called “Internet Age”?
5. How Wiener does viewed good life? What are his Principles and Methodology on achieving good life?

Chapter III – Moral Methodology and Information Technology

 

Quote: “We can use it to simulate, communicate, recreate, calculate, and so much more; it can

be applied to all domains of life.” – Jeroen Van Den Hoven

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            Joroen Van Den Hoven thought that the way we ought to proceed in the ethics of Information Technology is not at far from the way we ought to proceed in the other departments of ethics of technology and engineering. He added that although there are differences between moral problems and different types of technology, we have to consider the moral thinking of certainly specific properties of computers to be accommodated. He also said that IT is ubiquitous and pervasive, and IT comes closest to being a “universal technology” because of its “logical malleability”. He also defines IT as metatechnology, an essential ingredient in the development and use of other technologies. He also pointed out that IT might also be called as constructive technology that coconstitutes the things to which it is applied. Lastly, Hoven said that we tend to forget that IT is about information which has a special properties that make it difficult to accommodate in conceptual frameworks concerning with tangible, material goods, distribution and use. According to him, we need to give computers and software their place in our moral world. We also need to look their effects on other people, how it limits and allow us, how it changes our experiences, how it effects the way we think. He added that the properties of IT may require us to revisit the traditional conceptualizations and conceptions of privacy, responsibility, property; but it doesn’t require a new way of moral thinking or a radically new moral methodology, which is to be said different from other fields of technology and engineering ethics. Neuroscience, nanotechnology, and gene technology will provide us with problems that we never encounter before, but our moral thinking has revolved in the past and will revolve in the future, around a familiar and central question. In this chapter, Jeroen Van Den Hoven, discussed and elaborated Applied Ethics. He pointed out that there has seen notable changes in Ethics in the past 100 years. Ethics focused on questions concerning the meaning of ethical terms like “good” and “ought” and its cognitive content and truth of moral propositions that contains this. It is to be said that there has been a longstanding and central debate in practical ethics about methodology.  The debate is about those people who think that general items play a significant role or even central one in our moral thinking – this point of view is often referred to as generalism. According to Generalism, “the very possibility of moral thought and judgment depends on the provision of a suitable supply of moral principles”.  According to Hoven, the simplest way to be a generalist is to think that there are fairly accurate general moral rules or principles that may be captured and codified which can be applied to particular cases. There is also a view that says that general items play no special or significant role in our moral thinking – this view is referred to as particularism. Hoven said that Particularists in ethics oppose the search for universally valid moral rules. Jonathan Dancy defines particularism in Ethics Without Principles as “the possibility of moral thought and judgement does nott depend on the provision of a suitable supply of moral principles”

 

What I learned:

1.  
2. I’ve learned about the Value Sensitive Design (VSD).
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is applied ethics?
2. What is Value Sensitive Design?
3. How we ought to make use of technology to benefit mankind?
4.  How to prevent harm to human beings, other living creatures, and the environment?
5.  Who showed that software could easily come to contain biases, arbitrary assumptions and such?

Chapter IV – Value Sensitive Designs and Information Systems

 

Quote: “the good, the end, the right, obligation, virtue, moral judgment, aesthetic judgment, the

beautiful, truth, and validity” (Frankena, 1972, p. 229).

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3. I expect to learn about Cookies and Informed Consent in Web Browsers

 

Review:

            Batya Friedman, Peter Kahn Jr., and Alan Borning, defines Value Sensitive Designs as a theoretically grounded approach to the design of technology that accounts for human values in a principled and comprehensive manner throughout the design process. This employs an integrative and iterative tripartite methodology, consisting of conceptual, empirical and technical investigations. They explained Value Sensitive Design through three case studies: in the first study was about information and control of web browser cookies through implicating the value of informed consent, the second study was about the usage of high-definition plasma displays in an office environment provide a “window” to the outside world through implicating the values of physical and psychological well-being and privacy in public places, and the third study was about the integrated land use, transportation, and environmental simulation system that supports public deliberation and debate on major land use and transportation decisions through implicating the values of fairness, accountability, and support for the democratic process as well as a highly various rage of values that might be held by different stakeholders. According to Friedman, Kahn, and Borning, there is a primitive interest in designing information and computational systems that will support long-term human values. Many researchers have focused on the value of privacy, ownership and property, physical welfare, freedom from bias, universal usability, autonomy, informed consent and trust. And still, there’s a need for theoretical and methodological framework to handle the value dimensions of design work.

            As a conclusion, there is a growing number of interests and challenges to address values in design. The goal in this chapter is to give enough details about Value Sensitive Design to be able to use by other researchers and designers in critically examining, using and even extending this approach.  Friedman, Kahn, and Borning hopes that this approach can contribute to a principled and comprehensive consideration of value in the design of information and computational systems.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is Value Sensitive Design?
2. What is tripartite methodology?
3. Why Credibility, Openness and Accountability important in designing?
4.  How to apply and use Value Sensitive Design?
5.  When Value Sensitive Design introduced?

Chapter V – Personality-Based, Rule-Utilitarian, and Lockean

        Justifications of Intellectual Property

 

Quote: “Nobody could think himself injured by the drinking of another man, though he took a

good draught, who had a whole river of the same water left him to quench his thirst…”

- Locke, J. (1960)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  I expect to learn the Personality-Base Justifications  of Intellectual Property
2.  I expect to learn the Rule-Utilitarianism Justifications  of Intellectual Property
3.  

 

Review:

            In this chapter Adam Moore will present and examine personality-based, rule-utilitarianism, as well as Lockean justifications for intellectual property. He defined Intellectual Property as generally characterized as nonphysical property that is a product of cognitive processes and whose value is based on some idea or collection of idea. As he said, typically rights don’t surround the abstract nonphysical entity of intellectual property rather it surrounds the control of physical manifestations or expressions. The systems of intellectual property protect rights of ideas through protecting rights to produce and control physical embodiments of those ideas.

            A person that defends Personality-based justifications of Intellectual Property believes that it is an extension of individual personality. According to Hegel, the external actualization of the human will requires property. Also, in his book entitled Elements of the Philosophy of Rights Hegel wrote that “The person must give himself an external sphere of freedom in order to have being as idea”. Personality theorists like him, maintain that individuals have moral claims over their own talents, feelings, character traits, and experiences. Property rights are important according to this view: first through controlling and manipulating objects both tangible and intangible our will takes form in the world and we will obtain the measure of freedom, and second through our personality becomes infused with an object which moral claims to control feelings, character traits, and even experiences may be expanded to intangible works. But there are four problems arise from this view: first it is not clear whether we own our feelings, character traits and even experiences, second it does not follow that we have moral claims when personalities become infused in tangible or intangible works, third let’s assume that moral claims could be expanded to tangible and intangible items it still needs an argument that will support property rights, and finally there were a lot of intellectual innovations that has no evidence of the creator’s personality.

            Among the three strategies that were presented for justifying intellectual property rights, Moore believes that although it was plausible personality-based theories seems to be the weakest because it’s the least well developed among above mentioned. However, Rule-utilitarian incentives-based justifications of intellectual property are much stronger than the latter, although it depends on empirical claims that are difficult to determine. Although Moore didn’t present any reasons that support on his belief that among the three he believes that the Lockean justification of intellectual property is the strongest.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is Intellectual Property?
2. What is Personality-Based Justifications of Intellectual Property?
3.  How the long term benefits of Rule-utilitarian affects this moral claim?
4. Why Lockean justification somehow follows a Pareto-Based Proviso?
5. How these moral claims take shape our legal systems?

Chapter VI – Informational Privacy: Concepts, Theories, and Controversies

 

Quote: “We demand recognition of our right to privacy, we complain when privacy is invaded,

yet we encounter difficulties immediately [when] we seek to explain what we mean by

privacy..”- H.J. McCloskey (1985, p.343)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  The Concepts behind Informational Privacy
2.  The Theories that covers Informational Privacy
3. The Controversies that arises from Informational Privacy

 

Review:

            In this chapter Herman Tavani, examined some key concepts, theories, and controversies affecting informational privacy. As Tavani said, McCloskey identified some of the difficulties that one faces when attempting to give a clear and coherent account of privacy. And still, getting an adequate understanding of privacy is important because of the significant role that informational privacy played in social and political thought. This would give impressions that privacy is not simply as static concept but it is a dynamic component. According to Moor (2006, p.14) privacy is “an evolving concept” and its consent is often influenced by the “political and technological features of the society’s environment. According to Parent (1983a), we cannot frame an adequate of privacy unless we are first familiar with the “ordinary usage” of that term. He added that the familiarity he’s talking to is not sufficient because our common ways of talking and using language are “riddled with inconsistencies, ambiguities and paradoxes”. While Parent and McCloskey believe that privacy can be as understood as unitary concepts which are basic and capable of standing on its own, others have argued that privacy is best understood as a “derivative” concept.

            Philosophers generally distinguish between intrinsic values as values for their own sake, and instrumental values where things are valued due to a means for achieving some ends. Due to the reason that privacy is difficult for it to interpret and defend as something that has intrinsic value, it would seem by default that it must be viewed as an instrumental value. However, Fried (1990) and Moor (2004) put efforts that attempts to stand on both side in the division between intrinsic and instrumental values of privacy. Fried believes that privacy is unlike most instrumental values of privacy that is important on some human ends, and achieves it with trust and friendship. Moor also suggests that privacy is more than simply an instrumental value, but he uses a different strategy that Fried used. Moor argues that privacy can be understood as the articulation, or expression, of a “core value” which he believes is essential across cultures for human flourishing.

            In this chapter Tavani have examined various definitions and conceptions of privacy that come together on controversies that affect informational privacy. In analyzing the informational privacy, it is also said that he examined some traditional and contemporary theories, including recent relevant information/computer technologies that was introduced information privacy concerning four broad category: namely as consumer privacy, medical privacy, employee privacy and location privacy.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What kind of interest is a privacy interest?
2.  What does that interest protect?
3.  How privacy is best defined?
4.  Why is privacy valued, and thus worth protecting?
5. Why is there a difference between interest-based conceptions and rights-based conceptions of privacy?

 

 

Chapter VII – Online Anonymity

 

Quote: “the main characteristic of anonymity is noncoordinatability of traits such that a person      is (or persons are) nonidentifiable by others in at least some respect(s)”

– Kathleen Wallace

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            According to Kathleen Wallace, the term anonymity is used to denote a number of related things: namelessness, detachment, unidentifiability, lack of recognition, loss of sense of identity or sense of self and so on. Anonymity can also brought about in a variety of ways and there are many purposes that could be positive and negative. On the positive side, it is said to be that promoting free expression and exchange of ideas, or protecting someone from undesirable publicity. While, the negative side, hate speech with no accountability, fraud or other criminal activity. Anonymity and privacy are considered to be related to each other, with anonymity being one means of ensuring privacy.

            It is important to note that recent concerns about anonymity may be an expression of a widespread feature of contemporary social organization and of the extent to which technological feature of that organization affect with whom we interact, how we should interact with one another , and how we think of ourselves as related, socially and ethically, to others. Anonymity may be intentionally required or something that occurs spontaneously from the complexity of life. The concept of anonymity has been taken as a mean of “un-name-ability” or “namelessness” but said to be too narrow as a definition. Anonymity assumes social and communicative relations; it is to be said that anonymity is relative to social contexts in which one has the capacity to act, affect or be affected by others, or which the lack of knowledge or the knowledge of a person is relevant to their acting, affecting, or being affected by others.

            As a conclusion, other ethical theories might give interpretation about anonymity as desirable, permissible or as even obligatory to the extent that anonymity is a means to privacy. A moral value respecting persons might be advanced by anonymity that aims to preserve the sense of privacy, where in it involved issues such as noninvasiveness or autonomy or even both. According to Allen (1999), due to reasons that there are many forms of anonymous communication and activity, as well as variety of purposes that anonymity may serve, it is important that we were able to distinguish what type of communication or activity is involved, rather than to have a single legal policy or ethical stand toward anonymity.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is Online Anonymity?
2. What is the concept of Online Anonymity?
3.  How do Data Mining, Tracking and User’s Presumption of Anonymity affect society?
4.  How do the Ethics of Anonymity affect the way we think about Anonymity?
5.  How does theft related to anonymity?

 

Chapter VIII – Ethical Issues Involving Computer Security: Hacking, Hacktivism, and

Counterhacking

 

Quote: “..in defense of the idea that it is permissible for private individuals to undertake various

active defense measures”- Mitchell and Banker (1998)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            This chapter will discussed and examine whether and/or to what extent of various types of unauthorized computer intrusions by private persons and groups are morally acceptable. However, this will not cover other security-related issues such as intersection of computer security and privacy, anonymity and encryption. In the first section, Kenneth Einar Himma discussed prima facie general case against intrusions. The second section talked about intrusions motivated by malicious intentions through benign intentions like the intention to expose security vulnerabilities. The third section considered hacktivism, while the fourth considered counterhacking also known as hackbacks. According to Himma, assumptions about “hacker” and related terms should be explicit. Although these terms were once used to refer to accomplished programmers as well as their achievements, this term are now being used to refer unauthorized computer intrusions and to the persons who commit them. To interpret, “hacking” is referred to acts in which one person gains unauthorized entry to the computers of another person and “hacker” is referred to someone who committed the act of hacking.

            In the Prima Facie case against hacking, it is said that at first glance it might seem that hacking is wrong. Although the more malicious of these acts it involves more wrong doings because of the harm it brings, it said to be wrong because they comprise a digital trespass onto the property of another person. This argument brings two problems namely as: first, assuming that hacking is a type of trespass it doesn’t follow that all hacking is wrong because not all trespasses are wrong and second, this is said to be more important because it is not clear that the concept of trespass properly applies to digital intrusions. The term “trespass” was referred to acts in which one person enters upon physical space owned by another person, but in a sense of a hacker, it is not in any literal sense of entering into a physical space owned by another person.

            To conclude, as what Himma were saying that the aggressive measures are not likely to conduce the protection of the victim in any reasonably sophisticated attack. As he mentioned in his discussion on the latter part of the chapter, aggressive countermeasures are not usually calculated to result in the termination of the attack but instead causing it to aggregate the attack. The countermeasures that he was saying cannot succeed in a pure defensive objective. Unluckily, philosophers cannot succeed in achieving legitimate disciplinary objectives in attacks staged from innocent machines.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is Prima Facie case?
2. What is Hacktivism?
3. How Benign Intrusions prevent waste?
4. Why Hacktivism is connected to Political Motivated Activism?
5. How does the tenets of the “hacker ethic” helpful?

 

Chapter IX – Information Ethics and the Library Profession

 

Quote: “libraries are supposed to be places where children learn, where they are protected,

where responsible adults offer reasonable guidance” – Otis (2001)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            According to Fourie and Dowell (2002), libraries are organized depositories of documents that exist since the time of the Sumerians. According to Mathiesen and Fallis, Librarianship is a distinct profession that is relatively a recent development. In general, we can define that the role of the librarian is to make the information available though librarians have various activities that depends on the goal of each access. Most of the interesting ethical issues are arising in the public library given its complexity that it served.  Basically, this chapter will give emphasis in public library.

            Mathiesen and Fallis said that they consider the challenges in fulfilling librarian’s professional duties that has to do with selection and organization of these materials. The role of a librarian that he plays in society will determined his ethical obligations a professional librarian. With this reason, we need to understand the mission and values of librarian in order to understand the real sense of ethical obligations. In the particular section of this chapter, it characterizes the mission of the library profession and discusses the core values related to their mission. The drawback of this approach is that it failed to explain how come that different values are related to each other.

            Some of the most annoyed issues that tackle public libraries are concerned with children’s access to information. According to a recent poll during this study made, “by a 57% to 35% margin, American adults believe that protecting children from indecency is more important than freedom of speech” (Rasmussen Reports, 2007). This is about the importance of protecting children rights of speech that are extended in libraries. According to American Library Association, the most common initiator of a challenge to materials in public libraries is parents and the challenges are most commonly in regard to works that the challenger considers sexually explicit that contains offensive language and not suitable for young audience or too violent. With this reason, it clearly suggests to protect children from those kinds of literary works or any materials that can be found inside libraries to be move or removed.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2. I’ve learned about Selection, Bias and Neutrality of Librarian
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is the Library Profession?
2. What are the Five Laws of Library Science?
3. How is ALA connected to Children’s Access to Information?
4. How do librarians provide a “value added service”?
5. How should librarians respond to the fact of social injustice within the society it serves?

 

Chapter X – Ethical Interest in Free and Open Source Software

 

Quote: “Everyone will permitted to modify and redistribute GNU, but no distributor will be

allowed to restrict its further redistribution” – Richard Stallman (1985)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

            In 1980s, Richard Stallman developed the concept of Free Software (FS) which served as foundation for important and related movements that have become possible due to Internet. More importantly, Eric Raymond who broke from FS group analyzed the concept rooted in the software methodology that brought the birth of Open Source Software (OSS) movement. This chapter examined the histories, philosophies and development of both OSS and FS. Also, this chapter tackled important issues that affect ethical interest of users as well as those who took influence of software whether if its FS or OSS. This also covered philosophical and social important distinction between FS and OSS with the help of four main people to give emphasis on its history namely as: Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds, Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens. This chapter reviewed the difference GNU General Public License (GPL) version 2 and the current draft GPL version 3 during the study has been made.  To be able to identify that software is free software, GPL is being used by the software community to establish this.

            The history of Free Software began due to the close ties that software developers had with academia. But as it began to mature, its bonds with academia and its ideals of sharing also began to fade and weakened. With this, Stallman frustration grew more and more as software was not free anymore in a sense of financial, free in a way that was allowed for its inspection, running, and modification. Having this kind of predicament, Richard Stall stands still and began the GNU project in 1984. Its goal was to establish a software development community that was dedicated in developing and promoting software.  He also established Free Software Foundation (FSF) in supporting his plan of creating an operating system that has a full functionality of tools that are needed in editing, compiling and running software.  On the other hand, Open Source Software made its way after the introduction of Internet as well as Linus Torvalds’ Linux as free software. It was not quite popular until Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens teamed to create the Open Source Initiative in 1998. However, in 1997 Perens published the Debian Social Contract to verbalize the commitment of developers to open source software and to its users.

            To formally close the discussion of this chapter, The distinction that Free Software and Open Source Software brings, gave positive effects to software development community as well as to the larger online community. The Free Software movement can be credited for providing a drive in establishing notion of freedom for other and different types of digital media, such as the Creative Commons.

 

What I learned:

1.  
2.  
3.  
4.  
5.  

 

Integrative Questions:

1. What is Open Source Software?
2. What is the Ethical Responsibilities of Software Developers?
3. How Open Source Software affects the Commercial Software in the market?
4. Why Open Source Software considers as Public Good?
5.  How expensive will it cost to maintain the software?

 

Chapter XI – Internet Research Ethics: The Field and Its Critical Issues

 

Quote: “These models take both national and international declarations of human rights as their

foundation”- Michelfelder (2001) & Reidenber(2000)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

          In the first chapter, DiVanna defines Banks as a “service to the general public and business while acting as a means of public trust” (DiVanna, 2004, p6). He also pointed out that Banks is not merely a business; it is an establishment and maintenance of a relationship that facilitates interactions between members of society and international business entities governed by laws and rules that span geopolitical boundaries. It also discussed in his book some of the reason behind the change of the nature of retail banking. Discussion starts in the post-dot-com era, saying that the significant factor banking services must incorporate into a competitive strategic context is that of changing cultural tastes as a result of globalization and technological disintermediation. One of the new challenges that retail banking were facing is to educate customers on the advantages or maintaining a total relationship with the institution. The other reason that was given was the importance of demographic change in the demand for increased small business services, augmented consumer awareness and more globally focused regulation (Smith, 1990. p.178). According to DiVanna, these factors must be divided into subsegments in order to develop comprehensive strategies that are measure. He also added that these must be viewed in the context of the geographic and cultural markets they served. It also argued how Technology affects retail customer behavior and its use to leverage the relationship with the customer for providing them an alternative to account shopping. Divanna said that “Banks are realizing that for branches to remain viable and effective channel to customer, the strategic investments must occur: skills set within branch must be upgraded, the physical structure of the branch must be altered to accommodate new approaches to various customer market segment and investment in brand identity”.

            Chapter one also cover historical view of intermediaries that have provided banking services to establish the fundamentals of the retail banking value proposition. Retail banking is the product of a long history of organizations that have in one way or another acted as a financial intermediaries in the facilitation of commerce and exchange between people and business (DiVanna, 2004. p.14). Looking back at the history of banks identifies significant socioeconomic behaviors which are timeless lesson that can help to shape the future of retail banking services.

 

What I learned:

1.  I’ve learned about the Brief History of Internet Research Ethics (IRE).
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Integrative Questions:

1. What is Internet Research Ethics?
2. What are the Philosophical Foundations in IRE?
3. How will they acknowledge copyright holders?
4. Should the researcher protect their screen name from potential identification by using pseudonym?
5.  When considering public and private spaces, a researcher should consider his or her role within that online space?
6.  

XII – Health Information Technology: Challenges in Ethics, Science and Uncertainty

 

Quote: “Whatsoever I shall see or hear in the course of my profession, as well as outside my

profession in my intercourse with men, if it be what should not be published abroad, I

will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.” – Clendening (1960, 1942) 

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

          The types of banking services being offered during the fourteen century are impressive by today’s standard, as they provide an array of international commerce services from banking, currency exchange and many more. According to DiVanna, Medieval banks are armed with superior technologies that brought rapid grew as well as rapid collapse thirty months after 1343. He also added that medieval bankers were opportunist because their acquisition was calculated to provide a wider selection of goods and services. It was presented that there were three key factors that have caused medieval bankers to fail: excessive loans, a reverse in the gold to silver ratio and sudden change in international trade. Looking at the macro-level of banking services, we can see that banks perform six fundamental functions and they are as follows: facilitating exchange with services, providing risk management, business funding and sourcing, transferring purchasing power, scrutinizing the performance of borrowers and disseminating information on the relative supply and demand for credit.

From customer’s view, retail banking have a confusing array of products, requiring continual diligence in understanding fee structures in order to keep abreast. The key to future of retail banking is to anticipate customers’ interest, needs and desires and make appropriate offers, linkages and other mechanisms to facilitate and transactions that follow customer behavior. It was stated that during Industrial Revolution, establishment of the assembly line offered efficiency by separating process into its component parts. According to DiVanna, compartmentalization of work activities unfortunately will lead in a compound bureaucracy. This distances front-line retail banking personnel from understanding the banks total product portfolio which leads the ability of frontline personnel in providing services to meet customers’ needs without handling them over to another division of labor within the bank. The next evolution for retail banking is to use computer software to re-establish business process understanding and reduce compartmentalization, reconnecting the actions taken by individuals who perform the work with the total customer experience. ­­­­Retail Banks are striving to develop a generic global value proposition in order to optimize costs and lower total operating expenses.  A generic value proposition can be based on a set of societal values that transcends cultures and geopolitical boundaries (Divanna, 2004. p.55).

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What steps should be taken to ensure that computers are not used for inappropriate access?
2. How should an engineer manage complexity?
3. When is it appropriate for a physician to use a computer to render a diagnosis?
4. What kinds and levels of oversight, accountability, and responsibility should computers is used to make medical decisions?
5. Does the patient value life so much that he is willing to endure diminished mental capacity for the rest of that life?

 

XIII – Ethical Issues of Information and Business

 

Quote: “Globalization as an ethical challenge is thus of high relevance to scholars of computer

and information ethics” – cf.  Johnson (2000)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            In the second Chapter, DiVanna view on what is happening with the products, services and customer behavior and other external factors. It also discussed on that chapter on how to develop an understanding of the future state of the competitive marketplace based on the visions of banks and technology companies found in all geographies. As what DiVanna were saying, creating a vision and a sustainable proposition demands that an organization must continually think ahead. It was said in this chapter that it is not an easy task to do a vision just like firm’s value proposition is continually changing, reacting to customer and market demands. In the development of vision and value proposition requires a defined approach. Nowadays, customers are looking for a retail bank that has global breadth but local depth to meet the needs of their changing lifestyles. As the next wave of competition becomes more complex, retail banks will center their efforts along two distinct lines of business: becoming a retail banking utility that provides services to traditional banking customer and/or becoming a financial services hub or aggregator of banking products from other providers and intermediary services. As retail banking evolves into a network of value-added partnerships, association and affiliations, the organization will become dependent as transforming data into information and information into knowledge about customers. These three elements will lead to increased business wisdom. The foundation for services that advice customer comprises two key elements: the ability to sense customers’ needs and market trends and a comprehensive approach to information management. In order to achieve a higher degree of customer intimacy, customers must have a sense of trust and security that the retail bank’s use of their data will not be taken lightly, and that confidential information will not be haphazardly divulged to their partners in the network value. As like what the author said, Trust is not a commodity; it is a component within a relationship that must be earned and learned. Before, trust was earned by the physical attribute of the banks, while nowadays computer technologies offer an electronic version of these physical attributes. The inability of an organization to sense social changes that occur over long periods and develop a competitive response to the marketplace is not limited to financial services nor is it an inherent problem within retail banking. In the global competitive marketplace for banking services, sensing movement in the marketplace and assessing changes in the customer needs often result in organizations making costly mistakes, when consumer trends and customer data are not understood in the context of long-term socioeconomic behavior.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. How can the ethical theories outlined earlier help us address the question of privacy and employee surveillance?
2. How does the situation change when copying is undertaken in countries where IP is not well regulated?
3. What if the main purpose of copying is the generation of profits?
4. How Macrolevel Influence of Business affects Ethics and Information?
5. How Microlevel Influence of Business affects Ethics and Information?

 

XIV – Responsibilities for Information on the Internet

 

Quote: “..What is reliable, trustworthy, justified is a matter of what we already know”

– Vedder and Wachbroit (2003)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

There are three key factors that cause the fundamental shifts in social attitudes: attitudinal transformation, specific event or social shifts. Financial services organizations must evaluate the impact of changes in society in term s of relative value on their portfolio of banking products. Institution engaged in retail banking activities must develop capabilities to rapidly assess the cultural and socioeconomic behaviors of consumers and weigh any change against the existing value proposition (DiVanna, 2004. p.64-65).  Furthermore, technology has a prominent place in the value equation due to its ability to effectively gauge customer behavior and identify market trends. However, technology is just part of the equation, we should also take a look of the people within the firm as well as the process for the collection of market intelligence because both has equally important role. In addition, financial institutions have to ensure that their organizational reactions are based mainly of social change not changes in taste (Howcraft et al, 1986. p.53) because this factor are sometimes being overlooked when they incorporate social factors into strategic planning.

            It is also discussed in this chapter how did the future of money, payments and value exchanges affects socioeconomic implications along with sociotechnological ramifications. For customer view’s, the rate at which society accepts new currencies, payments technologies and other emerging forms of value exchange is a function of three essential elements in consumer behavior: an implied or expressed trust greater than or equal to that of the existing currencies or payment vehicles, an increase convenience in the act of payments, deposits and transfers, and as a perceived advantage or derived tangible benefit over cash. Retail banking and investment products play a pivotal role in facilitating the long-term financial health of a nation, a byproduct of the continuous process of customer education and the quality of the financial advice given. Bank must go through a program of continually educating the customer to optimize product to support their lifestyle, inadvertently preparing their customer for the future of retail banking.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What exactly is quality of Information?
2. Why should we care to be accurate when we attribute responsibilities?
3. Should ISPs be blamed for the harm or offense that occurs in the contents that are supplied by others?
4. Do they have any kind of obligation to prevent or to compensate for the harm and offense that may be cause by such matters?
5. What are the two types of problems reliability?

 

XV – Virtual Reality and Computer Simulation

 

Quote: “..virtuality is an inadequate substitute for reality, because of its fundamental ambiguity

and fragility, and lacks the engagement and splendor of reality” – Borgmann (1999)

 

What I expect to learn:

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2.  
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Review:

          Chapter three take a look on how external factors are reshaping the nature of retail banking and which influences these factors on changing the structure of the organization. This chapter links these factors to changing customer behavior and offers methods of qualitative and quantitative measurement. As financial service companies migrate towards offering advisory services, their advice must be measured against customer’s lifestyle choices, goals, and objective. The primary reason for measurement is twofold: it is to assess the effectiveness of the guidance as a hedge against any unforeseen legal actions by customers in the event that financial goals are not met, and it is to assess customers’ use of the advice given relative to their life event choices. Financial services synconomy exists when firms offer retail banking products, investment services and provide infrastructure that facilitate commerce. This is critically important to retail banking because this identifies that few or no traditional institutions will be able to service all markets at all times with all services unless they are part of a network value. Retail banks and financial institutions are often founded on a simple premise; to satisfy a consumer need which manifests itself as a market opportunity.  Today’s organizations that are intermediaries in the financial services industry realize that their perceived ability to add value is beginning to be questions by customers. This market trend is causing many companies to re-examine their definition of the business model and underlying business process. Retail banks that are rethinking their traditional lines of business and associated products discover that the new globally competitive business must excel at providing the customer with service convenience and product clarity. The objective of infrastructure in retail banking is to support the underlying business processes found within each line of business. Other to new banking models center on a higher utilization of the internet.

 

What I learned:

1.  
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Integrative Questions:

1.  What kind of framework of rights and duties should be applied to virtual property? (Burk, 2005)
2. When a user steals virtual money or property from other users, should he be considered a thief in real life?
3. Do games contribute to individual well-being and the social good?
4. What values should the design and use of computer games?
5. Do the computer games contribute to gender inequality?

 

XVI – Generic Information: Epistemological and Ethical Issues

 

Quote: “encompasses an account of the cell.s ability to store, express, replicate, and change

information. These are the fundamental features of life, no less; and a schema that says

something interesting about them all has at least a scope to commend it.”

 – Berlinski  (1972)

 

What I expect to learn:

1.  
2.  
3.  

 

Review:

As DiVanna discussed that the evolution of eMarketplaces in the financial services industry as taking three distinct paths: a market maker, market facilitator and market integrator. Likewise, ancillary services represent new opportunities for retail banking to expand; however, the branch is encroaching in other markets and becomes itself a new entrant into an existing market. In addition, retail banking institutions must assess their entry into mature markets because of the high degree of commoditization and low margins. The future of retail banking lies in the effectiveness of the institution’s brand to facilitate the fulfillment of customers; financial wants and needs. In achieving brand effectiveness, organization must develop a deep understanding of customers’ purchase and service behavior. It will takes a large degree of planning and execution to bring to the market many of these visions of the new banking environment and the increasing number of associated products.

Moreover, Chapter four discuss the relativity of the external factors and the changes occurring within financial services companies against the firm’s value proposition and market discipline. The biggest challenge that retail banking institutions were facing is developing a set of cohesive strategic initiatives to enable the efficient performance of the various financial functions required by their customer. In business process redesign with regard to retail banking, the key to redefining process steps is to ask why and how each process step was established. The goal of business process redesign is to streamline the business process and increase its effectiveness in satisfying customer expectations.

 

 

What I learned:

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3.  
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Integrative Questions:

1. What is Genetic Information?
2. What are the notions of Genetic Information?
3. How Syntactic theory of Genetic Information affects us?
4. How Semantic theory of Genetic Information affects us?
5. Why Berlinski called Bacterial Cell as Automata?

 

XVII – The Ethics of Cyber Conflict

 

Quote: “The reasonableness condition requires that the harm produced by the counterattack be

proportional to the harm avoided” – Karnow (2003)

 

What I expect to learn:

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2.  
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Review:

For some financial institutions, when they implement technology they often make fundamental mistakes that can also be found in other industries: they use new advance technologies merely to do the same thing and/or they put wrong people in charge of the application of innovation. As DiVanna discuss further, there is clear difference between implementing new banking products and true banking innovation. Market innovation comes from combining resources to do old things in different ways, new things using old ways, or fundamentally new things in new ways. The idea behind these innovations is a fundamental rethinking of why customers have so many accounts that work at cross-purpose. One of these innovations is the use of Internet in the banking industry that produces new product ideas, new service offerings, redesigns of branches and back-offices and the re-engineering of traditional lines of business. It is also said that technology organizations and the lines of business must work together to deliver one thing, a process that consistently and predictably delivers technological components at regular intervals. Retail banks are using a smart sourcing approach to address three primary business concerns: customer attraction, customer retention and profitability (DiVanna, 2004. p.161).

Chapter five proposes several scenarios of operating states which culminate in the development of operating synergies within the firm and the evolution of the organization into a node on a network of value. According to DiVanna, Retail banking institutions must develop two critical skills: market sensing and rapid market commercialization. The two will help in assessing continually market conditions, customer behavior and competitors’ actions as well as to identify new opportunities continually and more importantly rapidly assess the relativity of those opportunities to the resources of the firm. It follows three steps in the process: the ability to sense conditions in the competitive marketplace, the aptitude to rank these opportunities and the ability to take these opportunities and implement them. In developing synergistic behavior, retail bank can follow a three step namely as: focus on a single product or group of existing product, optimize the internal business process and infrastructure and develop external relationships with supplier, outsourcers  and distributors.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. Can cyber soldiers attack critical infrastructures that serve both civilian and military functions?
2. Can Hacktivists protest the policies or practices of governments or corporations by defacing Web sites?
3. Can they attack vulnerable machines in order to expose security holes with the goal of making the internet more secure?
4. What if the attack is coming from the computers that may themselves be victim s of compromise?
5. When does a Cyber Attack constitute the use of Force?

 

XVIII – A Practical Mechanism for Ethical Risk Assessment – A SoDIS Inspection

 

Quote: “..the inspection model for a particular sector, project, or context is consistent with and

supports a continuous process improvement strategy such as the CMM or CMMI”

– Paulk (1995)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

Synergistic behavior is not simply coupling retail banking products together because they share a common potential to be purchased due to similar consumer behavior (DiVanna, 2004. p.167). in today’s scenario, retail banking market sits at the threshold of an era in which  the industry will undergo three distinct changes: a move towards a value proposition that is transparent, the establishment of corporate competencies that enable dynamic adaption to the needs of consumers and SMEs and a proactive consultative approach. In achieving greater synergies, personnel within organization must fully engage in the process of collaborative strategic thinking. In most cases, synergistic behavior starts with sharing of resources, information or data on the behavior of customers.  Another aspect of synergistic banking that was given by DiVanna was the relationship between the institution and the community it serves. He also believed that was more than just providing public trust as a third-party intermediary. In achieving three steps in synergy they should understand the process of corporate self-awareness, period of quick and deliberate actions and delivers the firm closer to a new operating state. Retail banking is undergoing tremendous changes with amazing advances in technology enhancing the customer experience and providing banking personnel with ever-increasing real banking knowledge (DiVanna, 2004. p.172).

            In reading this book, I can say that my perception towards banking was change. As what DiVanna mentioned in his book, banking is not just there for its customer to save money. Yes, one of its functions is to provide service that help people to save money. But banking, nowadays, offers a lot of services aside the usual fact that people knew. It also links with different organizations same with people to transact easily. Through the technology that the banks were using, it gives effortless transaction, like transaction over the Internet. Though I’m not Finance major or any degree related to it, I find this book very informative especially the way how it was written as well how the ideas are being constructed. The intention of the author of this book will greatly appreciated by the readers because it gives the reader the idea where his point was coming from and he also provides several examples that would give better understanding in discussing his topics.

            I have to say that, in the end, I would recommend this book to someone that wants an understanding of the transformation that is happening in the retail banking industry from the time that banking was used as well as to this time forward.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. How to develop better-quality software?
2. How to systematically apply qualitative risk analysis to software development?
3. How to develop ethically sensitive software that considers the legitimate interests of all stakeholders?
4. How should SoDis inspections be conducted to best effect?
5. How should the SoDis process be adapted for different types of projects?

 

XIX – Regulation and Governance of the Internet

 

Quote: “Internet is different from all other media and so must be treated differentl”

 – Bick (2006), Goodwin (2003) & Jorgensen (2001)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            The Laws of User Experience by Anthony Franco: Anthony Franco established the effective UI. He built it together with his friend. Going to the topic, he explained on how to invest in good user experience. He usually gives this kind of talk to the Executive of different companies and he always asks them at the beginning, there is only one true measure for successful software. According to him it’s very simple -- money.  Probably some of the Companies and Executive is investing big money on Research and Development that could benefit them. They make money out of software and not making software out of money. The second thing he asked was that what is the main ingredient for software ROI? The answer was the USER ADOPTION. Focusing on Good User experience is simply hyper focusing on User Adoption. It also needs to consider the factor of: On time, On Budget and No hard conversation when building software. It’s rare to find a user that shows a great contentment when he once touches a certain software. To define a Good User Experience there are eight criteria: feedback, consistency, familiar, efficient, perform; accomplish goals, elegant and trustworthy. He also introduced that the guiding principle of User Interface is never lose focus on the end user. The first law is Collaborate; it like who’s owns the product. But the important thing is working hand in hand the three important departments are the marketing, design and technology. Here the thing should be enforce was the defining the joint ownership in organization and embrace the conflict that it’s going to bring. Next law is defining success by easily listing down the success criteria. It may sound easy but it’s not. Third law is valuing good design. From the word itself, we should be getting the best design. The fourth law is “it’s not all about the big idea”. In jobs description always inject “EMPATHY” and “HUMILITY”. 

The fifth law is “you are probably not end user”. Some software designer is making software that they’re the one who can use it. The sixth law is: do not try to build for everyone. If you’re going to build for everyone, you will end up building for nobody. The seventh law is gathering feedback through conversation. Talking to your user is essential especially when you are the developer. The eight laws are that users don’t know how to build requirements. Interpreting what your user asks you can help getting the ideas that they want. The ninth laws are rigid plans are plans to fail. When trying to build software, you’re going to make a guess. Lastly the tenth law is “every product needs a single vision”.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What should be governed or regulated?
2. What kinds of restrictions would be morally justified?
3. What kinds of enforcement mechanisms for otherwise justified restriction would be morally permissible?
4. What can be justifiably regulated on the internet?
5. Why not govern the content of the Internet as well?

 

XX – Information Overload

 

Quote: “One has too much of something relative to some (normative) standard that defines what

is an appropriate amount” – Himma (2007)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            The film was set in the Industrial wasteland of Los Angeles in the year 2019, which was the physical and psychological decay appearance of our Planet Earth. In the oil refinery towers the fire belches out and factory smokestacks in the industrial overgrowth. There are thousands of city lights flickering in the misty night air. Futuristic vehicles cruise through the darkened, polluted sky where the sun doesn’t shine at all. There was a constant advertising in the film – “A new life awaits you in the Off-World Colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure”, that promotes people to have a new life in the Off-World for them to begin again.

This Off-World was the other planets around the Solar System that has been colonized by the humans. In the film, a “Blade Runner” is a special police squad that was dispatched by the state to search and had orders to shoot to kill, upon detection, any trespassing “Replicant”. “Replicant” were used Off-World as slave labor, in the hazardous exploration and colonization of other planets. Deckard came out of retirement because the Replicants jumped from a shuttle Off-World and killed the crew and passengers. Now, the job of Deckard is to run after those Replicants and have their retirement. Usually, Retirement means to leave one’s job due of old age or poor health. But in the film, retirement means to kill or to terminate. Replicants escaped from the Off-World colonies and had been slaughtered twenty-three people before hijacking a space shuttle. The advanced NEXUS-6 replicants were designed as the latest and best technological products of the Tyrell Corporation, capable of human qualities that human beings no longer have in the brutal 21st century. But they also have one fatal weakness, a built-in biological obsolescence and fail-safe mechanism - a four-year lifespan with an abrupt termination date. Their four year shelf-life limits them from conducting a Replicant rebellion, running amok, or more positively, from displaying the most human of traits. But they are capable of developing feelings comparable to or better than most humans and wish to find immortality beyond their short life span. A “fail-safe device” is sort of security system that could last a four-year lifespan because after that four-years “Replicants” might developed their own emotional responses like wise to humans emotions.

One of the existentialist theory that I’ve noticed was the line “more human than human”, in this particular scene Rachel (one of the Characters), a Replicants, tears well up and flow down to her cheek. Even though that a Replicant aren’t supposed to be emotional and supposed to have feelings. However, she still had tears. Another instance was in the scene when Roy came into Sebastian’s apartment with Pris. At first, Sebastian was surprise and found out that they were Nexus-6. Sebastian also told the two that he had a part of them and asked Roy to show something to him, but Roy replied “We’re not computers, Sebastian, we’re physical”. “I think, Sebastian, therefore I am” – Pris added.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What does it mean to have too much information?
2. What exactly is this information?
3. How does it relate to other seemingly related notions?
4. What exactly are the negative consequences, both practical and ethical?
5.  How can we possibly say without pinning down the phenomenon more carefully?

 

XXI – Email Spam

 

Quote: “Many critics think that CAN-SPAN is flawed and ineffective, and several states have passed their own laws, with their own definitions, against spam” – Scanlan (2005)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            I had a great time watching and learnig from the movie Iron Jawed Angels. Though in the current setup of America's society about the women suffrage, after seeing the movie I felt inspired to find something in my life that I know is worth fighting for. I questioned what my actions would be if I was placed in the same situations as the women suffragists. Iron Jawed Angels enlightened me on the dangerous hardships that women activists endured and gave me a much greater respect for the women who helped women all over.

Iron Jawed Angels showed different ways of how a diverse group of women became involved in the suffragist movement to varying degrees. The two main women character in the story organized parades, collections, and made plans to bring publicity to their cause while many other women did small jobs. Every person's contribution, whether it was time, money, or connections to public officials, was welcome and used in the movement. The film was an eye opener from the oppression of those housewives by their controlling husbands and bosses. The very good example was the housewife of the senator; she was so subservient yet smart. She doesn’t have enough rights, even over to the custody of her children. It was uplifting to see how different classes of women in a society were bonded to form a strong group to fight for their own lives. These women were fighting their own civil war against the obstinate and controlling male sex. The movie showed that no matter where women lived in American society or even in other part of the world they were being controlled like slaves, taxed like prerevolutionary women of the society, and consistently treated with a prejudice of a class lower than any ethnic group in their country.

 

The disturbing scenes with the women in the jail were also instrumental in depicting the extreme suffering and sacrifices all the women in the movement decided to make in order to help women everywhere. The selfless sacrifice of the suffragists contrasted strikingly to the self-righteous politicians who were unwilling to share their supremacy and truly live by the equal rights suggested by the Constitution of the United States of America.

This movie showed a different side of the American Dream which is often depicted as a man's rise in the financial world of success. The women who followed Alice Paul's radical suffragist women's party exemplified the American dream by fighting for their rights and using unique tactics to achieve success. They brought half of the country from political oppression and enabled women to have at least some indirect say in the way their sons were running the country they gave birth to. Iron Jawed Angels was a great historically inspired film that recognized the achievements of those women who made it possible for women to have an almost equal standing with men in this country. I felt that this movie was a wonderful educational tool.

 

What I learned:

1. I’ve learned about the short history of the term “Spam”.
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Integrative Questions:

1. What constitutes spam?
2. What if everyone were allowed to send spam?
3. When emails consider spam?
4.  How the characterization of spam affects us?
5.  Where the term “Spam” was coined?

 

XXII – The Matter of Plagiarism: What, Why and If

 

Quote: “Concealment is at the heart of plagiarism” – Richard Posner

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

As the head of the Manufacturing Company, I will take necessary actions and proceedings with regards to this matter. I will let the security guard documented what he had seen the sexual act done by the two as well as the statement coming from Biggie Maambong who also witnessed the act. The statements can be used as enough evidences when they’re going to file charges against me and the company. Now, I will immediately talk to the person involved in the sexual act, explain to them the charges that might be apply to them with regards to their wrong doings. I will also told them, that two of their co-workers seen them doing such act. I’ll let them to defend and talk for their sides but with enough evidences that I have, soon I’ll TERMINATE the two. You would probably ask why, my answer will be it’s because their acts is such an immoral knowing the fact that they’re working for a Company that manufacture CHILDREN’S APPARELS. I came up with the decision to TERMINATE the two because I don’t want to put the Company’s’ name into shame, I don’t want to hear from the customer and clients, in case they knew what happened, that we are letting kinds of people like the two engaging in sexual acts during working hours. Though, what the two has done was not part of the Company’s policies and guidelines BUT STILL ITS AN IMMORAL ACT and I will not let Immorality runs in the Company that I manage.

On the other hand, I will not just passed by what Biggie has done. The fact that he had seen the sexual act yet he didn’t file any infraction charges against the two. I will let him know that he might be charged also for that instance. Still, I will let him to explain and defend himself for that what he did. But I think part of his Job as the night supervisor are to document and report all the things that are happening during his shift. In line with that, I may give him VERBAL WARNING with his action. Because if I will not give him such sanction, what more can’t he tell to his Head. If it’s not because of the security guard all of this matter will not be unveil.

As my last word, every decision that we will do; we must have enough reasons for doing such, reasons that are in line with the Company’s policies and guidelines as well as with our personal principles in life. In this case, we don’t want to bring out our decision unwise without any further knowledge about the issue that is being talk about.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What is Plagiarism?
2. Is it ethical to plagiarize?
3.  How plagiarisms affect the accountability of an individual?
4.  How plagiarisms affect the credibility of an individual?
5. Why we shouldn’t plagiarize?

 

XXIII – Intellectual Property: Legal and Moral Challenges of Online File Sharing

 

Quote: “the loss of control makes it difficult to ensure performance on a mass scale, to establish

network trust, and even to perform simple tasks like keeping statistics.” – Wu (2003)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

Were there any of your prior knowledge about Buddhism that were confirmed, belied, and rectified?  I do believe in Karma, though in the Catholic Religion is not well believe or there were some that is not believing Karma. I believe in Karma because when I did something good to my fellow men, something better will happen to me. As well as, doing something bad and returning much worse scenario. I also believe in Meditation, a process of searching and looking for a peace of Mind. All of us are always looking for a peace of mind especially when we are in a very stress environment. We want that our mind to calm and have some moment of silence.

On the other hand, I don’t believe in their belief of Reincarnation. Though, I respect on what they believe for. From my point of view, I believe that God only gives life once and our soul is only for our body. I believe that the soul of Man only belongs to that man and not to someone or something else in this world.

In what way similar and difference is Siddhartha Gautama Buddha’s life to ours? As we grow up, we are exposed to real life situation that all of us can experience Hunger, Sickness, Poverty and Old Age. We were able to know that we differ from each and every individual. All of us are similar with Siddhartha because we all have questions about our lives and our existence. However, Siddhartha was able to find his answers to his questions through meditating and through having peace of mind. This is how we differ from Siddhartha’s life. 

Is Buddhism’s call to a life of simplicity and renunciation valid and feasible? As what I see from my point of view, Siddhartha’s call to a life of simplicity is valid and feasible because he chooses to remain his simple life though he’s a prince. He chooses to just eat one piece of grain for a long period of time. He dropped the luxurious things he had even the excessive things he has. However, from my point of view, Siddhartha’s renunciation is not valid and feasible because I believe that there were people and things in our life that we can’t drop just for the sake of having a peace of mind or having the answers we want in our lives. Still, there were people and things that are dependent to us and also our responsibility.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. Are those who copy copyrighted files by means of a P2P system legally responsible for breaking the law?
2. Does their action constitute direct infringement of a copyright?
3. What about the moral proprietary of sharing copyrighted files without permission?
4.  What about the liability of those companies providing the software for this purpose?
5.  Do they cooperate in the wrongdoing in any morally significant way?

 

XXIV – Censorship and Access to Expression

 

Quote: “The right of freedom of speech and press includes not only the right to utter or to print,

but the right to distribute, the right to receive, the right to read” – Martin V. Struthers

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            Human Dignity. In a world warped by materialism and declining respect for human life, the Catholic Church proclaims that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the person is the foundation of a moral vision for society. Our belief in the sanctity of human life and the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all the principles of our social teaching. Community and the Common Good In a global culture driven by excessive individualism, our tradition proclaims that the person is not only sacred but also social. How we organize our society – in economics and politics, in law and policy – directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community. Our Church teaches that the role of the government and other institutions is to protect human life and human dignity and promote the common good.

Rights and Responsibilities. Catholic tradition teaches that human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights are protected and responsibilities are met. Therefore, every person has a fundamental right to life and a right to those things required for human decency. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities -- to one another, to our families, and to the larger society. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable Catholic teaching proclaims that a basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt. 25) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor and vulnerable first.

Participation. All people have a right to participate in the economic, political, and cultural life of society. It is a fundamental demand of justice and a requirement for human dignity that all people be assured a minimum level of participation in the community. Conversely, it is wrong for a person or a group to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to participate in society. In the words of the U.S. bishops, "The ultimate injustice is for a person or group to be treated actively or abandoned passively as if they were non-members of the human race. To treat people this way is effectively to say they simply do not count as human beings." Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers In a marketplace where too often the quarterly bottom line takes precedence over the rights of workers, we believe that the economy must serve people, not the other way around. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected -- the right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, to organize and join unions, to private property and to economic initiative.

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. Would there be any other-regarding badness in looking at child pornography?
2. How the concepts of Censorship affect our rights?
3. What are the ways in which one might think that access to information is inherently bad?
4. When does Instrumentally Harmful Access applicable to Censorship?
5.  When does Inherently Harmful Access applicable to Censorship?

 

 

XXV – The Gender Agenda in Computer Ethics

 

Quote: “..gender is a major way of classifying and ordering our world has been propounded by

a number of authors, mainly, although not exclusively, writing from a feminist position”

 – Adam (1998)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            Stewardship of Creation. Catholic tradition insists that we show our respect for the Creator by our stewardship of creation. We are called to protect people and the planet, living our faith in relationship with all of God’s creation. This environmental challenge has fundamental moral and ethical dimensions which cannot be ignored. Solidarity Catholic social teaching proclaims that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers, wherever they live. We are one human family, whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological differences. Solidarity means that "loving our neighbor" has global dimensions in an interdependent world.

Role of Government. Because we are social beings, the state is natural to the person. Therefore, the state has a positive moral function. It is an instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights, and build the common good. Its purpose is to assist citizens in fulfilling their responsibility to others in society. Since, in a large and complex society these responsibilities cannot adequately be carried out on a one-to-one basis, citizens need the help of government in fulfilling these responsibilities and promoting the common good. According to the principle of subsidiary, the functions of government should be performed at the lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed adequately. If they cannot, then a higher level of government should intervene to provide help.

Promotion of Peace. Catholic teaching promotes peace as a positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "Peace is not just the absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It involves collaboration and binding agreements.” There is a close relationship in Catholic teaching between peace and justice. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order among human beings.

            “As a Filipino and as an individual, I need to participate in different issues that our country and the world are facing. Though I’m just a small voice, but by showing to others that I’m reaching out to resolve different issues in my own simple ways, I think I can inspire others to also participate and to help; especially for the sake of next generations . For instance, by participating and joining the right segregation and proper disposal of garbage according to their types. This matter or way can benefit for resolving the global warming problems that everyone else is affected. This is how I can show that I participate and to show that I’m concern for our country and for the mother earth. I hope that all of us can participate.”

 

What I learned:

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Integrative Questions:

1. What gender issues are involved in computer ethics?
2. What contribution may feminist ethics offer computer ethics?
3. What happens if women are penalized for not living up to saintly expectations?
4. What might “Feminist Computer Ethics” offer Feminist Ethics?  
5.  How gender affects our views towards equality especially in Computer Ethics?

 

 

XXVI – The Digital Divide: A Perspective for the Future

 

Quote: “The “digital divide”, which is a new term on its own “right”, occupying a central

component of the global ligua franca for research on the Internet”

– Linchuan Qui (2002)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            The palest ink is better than the best memory. According to one author of the articles I’ve read, a proposal fails to become a project because the documentation lacks concise and expressive language, professional organization and polish. He also added that, it’s not maybe because their inability to deliver, but their inability to express their capability. Most of the executives and professionals before, think that what inside on their minds – as what they called Memory was best enough to say that they can deliver things in a best and successful way. But as the time goes by, as well as new technology and software comes out in the market, this way of thinking was changed. People in the Industry soon find out that the product or software they’re developing lacks some information, information that – should I say, the most important. From this point forward, they realized how it is really important to have and produce a document out of any project they working on. I’m not saying that Industry beforehand was not aware about the needs of Documentation process in the products that they’re developing. It’s just that, they didn’t give too much appreciation on it.

            Documentation serves an important role in the development process of a product or software. Aside from the insights that I’ve shared, documents serve as communication tool. Because when the developer doesn’t understand what the analyst (vice-versa) is trying to say Documentation comes out in the picture. People just have to READ and UNDERSTAND the documentation – and they soon get along. It can also save time and money for Organizations. Through careful documentation, training for people who will answer queries over the phone, that are in the User Manuals will be lessening.

            On the other hand, like any other fad (i.e. Computers, Touch-Technology) Documentation will be part and play a vast role in the lifecycle or processes in the Industry; it’s already starting as of the moment. It just takes a lot of persistent and patient, and people will appreciate the real importance of documentation. At the end, once organizations do it, they can deliver products with a higher level of perfection.

 

What I learned: 

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Integrative Questions:

1. Who would want to be deprived of Internet especially once they had more than just glanced at one of its pags?
2. What effects does Internet use really have in our social life?
3. What is the situation with world poverty today?
4. If we agree that information and communication technologies are tools, should we demand that the research on projects supporting the bridging of the digital divide contain data on issues of cost, returns of investments and sustainability of projects?
5. How Digital Divide affect our learnings?

 

XXVII – Intercultural Information Ethics

 

Quote: “By doing away with universal or conventional interpretations of the meanings ofwords”

– Nishigaki (2006)

 

What I expect to learn:

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Review:

            Real programmers don’t comment their code, if it was hard to write, it should be hard to understand and harder to modify. I don’t know if this statement has to do with the articles that we’re asked to read, but based on my understanding if you are a real programmer you don’t have to say that “you made this and you code that” matter to other people. Because you know to yourself that it was you who made it. And let any other programmers or people to read and understand it. But for the benefit of the doubt, I will also apply what I’ve learned from those articles.

            The fact that writing a Program is really hard thing to do, it clearly depicts that what was written in Documentation should be concise and well-explained, and polish. Because once a program or software is done already and changes are to be made, one has to go back right from the beginning and start developing new codes all over again. In this particular matter, time and money of the Organization were wasted. Since it is hard to write a program and harder to modify, Organizations try to lessen this kind of scenario by using Agile Methodology. So that’s why most of the Organizations choose to include Agile Methodology as part of their developing process. Agile Methodology gives low risk, spells adaptability and good at reducing overheads. Also, changes can be made if necessary without getting the entire program rewritten. Agile Methodology is about light maneuverability and sufficiency for facilitating future development. Though this happens, it doesn’t necessarily means that projects can be done with less documentation; the truth is it’s the other way around.

Statement from the owner of a small industrial control software company: “We do not want our (end-user) documentation to be too clear. We make a lot of money doing training.” Organization doesn’t do documentation for their customers to understand the real essence of the software or product that they developed. Developing software or product needs comprehensive documentation, but it also implies that don’t document more than what you need to document. Beside Documentation is necessary for the end-user, the other reason why Organizations do documentation is because it helps them to communicate. Proper training to their staff and workers doing documentation process gives them the advantage of having successful projects. As what this reflection paper stresses, Documentation plays a very important role in the developing process.

            As what the author concluded in his article, Documentation is not bad. Documenting stuff that you will never use is bad. Documenting stuff that you’ll not need for long time is risky, because according to him trends of that stuff during the time you documented it probably change over a period of time.

            As my general insights about these three statements and the articles I’ve read, I really learned the real importance of Documentation as well as the true value of Agile Methodology. I hope that this knowledge is worth keeping for the future use.

 

What I learned:

1. I’ve learned the Sources of Morality in Intercultural Information Ethics (IIE). 
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Integrative Questions:

1. What is Intercultural Information Ethics?
2. What is the Foundational Debate that tackles IIE?
3. How the contribution of the Philosophers that were mentioned in this chapter affects IEE?
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Contemporary Moral Pages

Section 1 – James Rachels: Egoism and Moral Scepticism

 

Review Questions:

1.  

     The Legend is about a shepherd named Gyges that found a magical ring in a crack made by an earthquake. Whoever wears the ring makes him invisible and enables him to go anywhere and do anything without being noticed. Gyges used the magic ring and its power to enter at the Royal Palace where he seduced the Queen, murdered the King and afterwards seat at the throne. Glaucon asks to determine that there are two rings, one given to a man of virtue and one given to a rogue. Definitely, the rogue will use the ring immorally and do everything on its advantage such as to increase his power and wealth. Behind all of these, the questions raised like “how will so called virtuous man behave?” who’s Glaucon suggest that he will not behave better than the rogue, saying that he will do the same thing as the rogue did. Also question like “what reason is there for him to continue being “moral” when it is clearly not to his own advantage to do so?” were raised.

 

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     Psychological egoisms sees that all men are selfish in everything that they do and the only motive from which anyone ever acts is self-interests. By contrast, Ethical egoisms see a normative way how men ought to act and regardless how they behave, they have no obligation to do anything except what is in their own interests.

 

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               and how does he reply to them?

     The first argument is that, if we’re going to describe one person’s act as selfish and another person’s action as unselfish. We are overlooking the crucial fact that in both cases, the action is done voluntarily; the agent is doing what he most wants to do. The second argument is this, since the so-called unselfish actions always produce a sense of self-satisfaction in the person and this sense of satisfaction is a pleasant state of consciousness, it follows that the point of the action is really to achieve a pleasant state of consciousness, rather than to bring about any good for others. Therefore, the action is “unselfish” only at a superficial level of analysis.

     According to Rachels, the first argument has at least two classes of action that are exceptions to the argument: (1) the set of actions which we may not want to do, but we do anyway as a means to an end which we want to achieve (2) the set of actions are those which we do, not because we want to, nor even because there is an end which we want to achieve, but because we feel ourselves under an obligation to do them. However, in the second argument he did explained that why should someone derives satisfaction from helping others makes that someone selfish and also isn’t the unselfish man precisely the one who does derive satisfaction from helping others, while the selfish man does not.

 

1. What three commonplace confusion does Rachels detect in the thesis of psychological egoism?

     The first is the confusion of selfishness with self-interest. This is because selfish behavior is behavior that ignores the interests of others, in circumstances in which their interests ought not to be ignores. This concept is telling that to call someone “selfish” is not just to describe his action but to condemn it. The second confusion is the assumption that every action is done either from self-interest or from other – regarding motive. The third confusion is the common but false assumption that a concern for one’s own welfare is incompatible with any genuine concern for the welfare of others.

 

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The argument that saying the ethical egoism is inconsistent would be “Of course it is possible for people to act altruistically, and perhaps many people do act that way – but there is no reason why they should do so. A person is under no obligation to do anything except what is in his own interests”. I think, Rachels believes that egoist would not be such a bad man; he would be a kindly and considerate as anyone else, because he would see that it is to his own advantage to be kindly and considerate. 

 

1. According to Rachels, why shouldn’t we hurt others, and why should we help others? How can the egoist reply?

According to Rachels, one ought not to do actions that would hurt others because it will hurt other people. He also said that one ought to do actions that would benefit other people because it will benefit the people. The point is that the welfare of human beings is something that most of us value ‘for its own sake’, and not merely for the sake of something else. So for further reasons to be demanded for valuing the welfare of human beings, we cannot point to anything further to satisfy this demand. It is not that we don’t have any reason for following these policies, but that our reason is that the policies are for the good of human beings. Well obviously, egoists will not be happy with this. He will protest that we may accept this as a reason, but in any way he does not.

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Has Rachels answered the question raised by Glaucon, namely, “Why be moral?” if so, what exactly is his answer?

         Rachels were able to answer the question which was raised by Glaucon in the Legend of Gyges , specifically the question Why be moral?. Rachels answered this through explaining Psychological and Ethical Egosim. In his view on Psychological Egoism, he say that even when men are acting in ways apparently calculated to benefit others, they are actually motivated by the belief that acting in this way is to their own advantage, and if they did not believe this, they would not be doing that action. He also added that according to ethical egoist, a person is always justified in doing whatever is his own interest, regardless of the effect on others.

 

1. Are genuine egoists rare, as Rachels claims? Is it a fact that most people care about others, even people they don’t know?

        Genuine egoists are people who really don’t care at all about anyone other themselves, and as Rachels claims they’re rare. He also said that it is important to keep this in mind when thinking about ethical egoism; it is easy to forget just how fundamental to human psychological makeup the feeling of sympathy is. He mentioned that man without any sympathy at all would scarcely be recognizable as a man and that is what makes ethical egoism such a disturbing doctrine in the first place.

 

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         For non-egoists, he will accept ‘it would harm another person’ as a reason not to-do an action because he cares about what happens to that other person. But when egoists say that he will not accept such reason, same with he is like saying something quite extraordinary. He is saying that he has no affection or can’t feel any pity or compassion for other and he doesn’t care to anybody else as long as he’s not the one suffering. Through the statements that I mentioned, I can say that this view towards altruism is somewhat immoral.

 

Section 2 – John Arthur: Religion, Morality, and Conscience

 

 Review Questions:  

1. According to Arthur, how are morality and religion different?

According to Arthur, a moral code tends to assess the conduct of other people and to feel guilt at certain actions we perform them. However, religion involves beliefs in supernatural forces that created and perhaps also control nature, the tendency to worship and pray to supernatural beings and the presence of organizational structures and authoritative texts.   The practice of morality entails our attitudes toward a variety of behavior which normally expressed using the ideas of rules, rights and obligations. While the practice of religion normally comprises prayer, worship, beliefs about the supernatural, institutional forms and authoritative texts.

 

1. Why isn’t religion necessary for moral motivation?

Arthur said that religious motives are far from the only ones people have. In making decision in doing the right thing comes with a wide variety of reasons.  Arthur also said that to say that we need religion to act morally is mistaken. For him, many of us don’t give too much of a thought to religion when making moral decisions. There’s no reason to assume that people can’t be moral and at the same time irreligious, he added.

 

1. Why isn’t religion necessary as a source of moral knowledge?

            According to Arthur, looking to revelation for guidance often creates more questions and problems. It gives a wise impression to address complex moral problems like abortion, capital punishment, and affirmative action directly, considering the pros and cons of each other rather than to look for answers through the controversial and difficult route of revelation.

 

1. What is the divine command theory? Why does Arthur reject the theory? --

          The divine command theory explains that God has the same sort of relation to moral law as the legislature has to law it enacts: without God’s commands there would be no moral rules, just as without a legislature there would be no law. For Arthur, he thinks that the divine command theory faces problems and one of those is that we would need to say much more about the relationship between morality and divine command. The expressions is commanded by God and is morally required doesn’t mean the same thing. According to him, people and even the society can use moral concepts without understanding any reference to God.   

 

1. According to Arthur, how are morality and religion connected?

According to Arthur, many philosophers have felt that morality rests in its own perfectly sound footing, either be it in reasoning, human nature, or natural sentiments. For him, morality cannot rest on anything but religion. And it is possible that morality doesn’t have any foundation or basis at all.

 

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According to Arthur, The existence of morality presumes that we have a socially acquired language within which we think about our choices and which alternatives we ought to follow.  He also said that morality is social because it governs relationships among people, defining our responsibilities to others and same with us. Morality provides the standards we rely on in gauging our interactions with family, lovers, friends, fellow citizen and even strangers. And lastly, he pointed out that morality is social because we are subjected to criticism for our actions.  

 

Discussions Questions: 

1. Has Arthur refuted the divine command theory? If not, how can it be defended?

Arthur did not disprove the divine command theory. He just gave his opinion where in his reader will realize the pros and cons of divine command theory. Because according to the explanation of divine command theory, it says that God commands can provide an objective basis for moral judgment. He also gave some consequences of the divine command theory as a proof that morality can somehow show that it doesn’t rest on anything but religion.

 

1. If morality is social, as Dewey says, then how can we have any obligations to nonhuman animals?

Duties to animals rest on sympathy and compassion while human moral relations are more like Dewey describes, resting on morality’s inherently social nature and on the dictates of conscience viewed as an assembly of others. We are created in the image and likeness of God, as one of the highest form of being that God created we have the obligations to care of nonhuman animals as well as other form life. 

 

1. What does Dewey mean by moral education? Does a college ethic class count as moral education?

According to Hume, moral education is part of the practice of morality itself. Morality cannot exist without the wider, social perspective introduced by others, and this social nature ties in it. Through that way, with education and with public discussion, both on actual and imagined: “Private” moral reflection taking place independently of the social world would be no moral reflection at all; and moral education is not only possible, but essential. I could consider that the College Ethic class can be counted as moral education because it teaches us to do what is right from what is wrong.

 

 

Section 3 - Saint Thomas Aquinas: Natural Law 

Review Questions:

1.  

Eternal law is a divine law that gives everything a purpose. This law is being used by God in governing the world. While Natural law is a moral law that tells us what is right and good. Both law are endowed by us human with the light of natural reason that enables us to discern the eternal law which includes the natural law. 

 

1. What are the precepts of the natural law? Especially what should we do, and what should we avoid?

According to Aquinas, the most basic precept of the natural law is the self-evident truth that good ought to be done and evil ought to be avoided. He also said that all the precepts of natural law are derived from this fundamental principle. Aquinas said that because good is an end, all things to which humans have a natural inclination are good. He mentioned three natural inclinations: to preserve human life, to animal sexual intercourse, to education of the young and etc., and general inclinations to good that includes knowing of the truth, avoiding offense to others, and so on. 

 

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you agree that everything in the world has a purpose? If so, can you discern it using reason alone?

     Yes, there are things in our life that has a purpose but cannot be separated from reasoning alone, in a sense that we are doing or using things without reason because we know in ourselves that it is necessary for us to do without further questioning of its purpose.

 

1. Are all natural inclinations good? Why or why not?

     Yes, because I think there is no natural inclination that violates any form of right to life or that brings us to evil. If it has, it is up to Human’s decision to do things using the natural light of reasoning. 

 

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     Yes, in particular situation we always have the choice and has to decide to do things either in good or bad way we wanted. As from the definition of natural law that tells, what is right and good. 

 

Section 4 – David Hume: Morality is based on Sentiment

Review Questions:

1. According to Hume, how do morals have an influence on action?

As what Hume was saying, moral judgments are not based on reason but on sentiment, feelings of approval or disapproval. According to him, reason deals with relations of ideas or matters of fact.

 

1. Explain Hume’s argument about incest?

Hume argues that there’s no difference in the relations of ideas or in the basic facts. The only difference is that we disapprove of incest in humans and not in animals. Hume finds this argument to be entirely decisive.

 

1. What is Hume’s point about “is” and “ought”?

Hume was surprised when he found out that instead of the usual combinations of propositions, “is and is not” it is not connected to with an “ought or ought not”. It expresses some new relation or affirmation, it is also necessary that it should be given for what seems inconceivable.

 

1. How does Hume explain ingratitude?

Hume explained ingratitude as the weight of doing good or bad things, which we did by our own reason alone through its demerit or blame. He also said that we will never come to a point of coming up with any issue or conclusion.

 

Discussions Questions:

1.  

We always have the choice in coming up with our actions or decisions in life, with that there are      things we know that is morally wrong but somehow right at the society where we belong. As what Hume      says, which I somehow agreed upon, that our morality is not based on relations of ideas or matters of      fact but on sentiments – the feeling of approval or disapproval.

 

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According to Hume, incest on animals is right but does it follows that human incest is also right.