Chapter 1

Social, Professional and Ethical
issues in Information Technology

Chapter – One
Introduction
• Every society forms a set of rules that establishes the
boundaries of generally accepted behavior.
• These rules are often expressed in statements about how
people should behave and the individual rules fit together
to form the moral code by which a society lives.
• Unfortunately, people are sometimes uncertain about
which rule to follow.
• For instance, if you witness a friend copy someone else’s
answers while taking an exam, you might be caught in a
conflict between loyalty to your friend and the value of
telling the truth.
What is "Critical Analysis
• In the social sciences such as business and management,
there is usually no single right answer to an assignment
question.
• These tend to involve many ‘grey areas’ rather than simple,
‘black and white’ distinctions.
• A spectrum of different possible interpretations to any topic
emerges from the evolving debates in that subject area
because academics are continuously extending, qualifying and
challenging the ideas of others.
• Critical analysis involves you in exploring these many shades
of grey across that debate by comparing and contrasting the
range of different views on your topic.
What is ethics?
• Ethics is a set of beliefs about right and wrong
behavior within a society.
• Ethical behavior conforms to generally
accepted norms—many of which are almost
universal.
• People develop habits that make it easier for
them to choose between what the society
considers good or bad.
What is Morality
• The term morality refers to social conventions
about right and wrong.
• However, individual views of what behavior is
moral may vary by age, cultural group, ethnic
background, religion, life experiences, education,
and gender.
• There is widespread agreement on the immorality
of murder, theft, and arson, but other behaviors
that are accepted in one culture might be
unacceptable in another.
The Difference Between Morals, Ethics, and
Laws
• Morals are one’s personal beliefs about right and wrong
• Ethics describes standards or codes of behavior expected of an
individual by a group (nation, organization, profession) to which
an individual belongs.
• Law is a system of rules that tells us what we can and cannot do.
• Legal acts are acts that conform to the law.
• Moral acts conform to what an individual believes to be the

right thing to do.
• Laws can proclaim an act as legal, although many people may
consider the act immoral—for example, abortion
Moralities, Values, and Needs
• In a narrow sense, the word “value” refers simply to
the economic worth of an object.
• Eg. value of a computer could be 20,000ETB.
• Broader meaning of value refers to what a person or
group of people consider important in life. People
find many things of value, their children, friendship,
money.
• Values describe what is important in a person's life,
while morals prescribe what is or is not considered
appropriate behavior in living one's life.
Mill’s liberty Presumption
• Mill’s liberty principle (also known as the harm principle) is the idea that
each individual has the right to act as he/she wants, as long as these
actions do not harm others (Mill, 1860).
• This principal (applicable both to political and individual morality) holds

that not the state, nor anybody else, should interfere in anyone’s activities
unless those activities will harm somebody other than themselves (he
believed people should be free to hurt themselves if they wanted).
• Mill’s liberty principle appeals to many people in Western liberal

democracies as it aligns with values of freedom and individualism.
However, his work cannot be used as a complete guideline for our society
because it contains a number of grey areas and contradictions.
Discussion of Mill's "On Liberty"
• Scholars have argued that the harm principle doesn't provide a narrow scope of
which actions count as harmful towards oneself or the population and it cannot be
used to determine whether people can be punished for their actions by the state.
• A state can determine whether an action is punishable by determining what harm

the action causes.
• The harm principle has an ambiguous definition of what harm specifically is and
what justifies a state to intervene.
• This ambiguity can lead to a state defining what counts as a harmful self-regarding
action at their own choice.
• This freedom might allow for an individual's own liberty and rights to be in danger.
• State intervene for an action balancing population vs an individual.
Liberty-limiting principles
• Sometimes the pursuit of pleasure by some individuals conflicts
with the pursuit of pleasure by others.
• This causes natural conflict between private and public interests. So
over the years, philosophers have proposed a variety of liberty
limiting principles.
• Libertarians recognize only one liberty limiting principle, harm to
others.
• Philosophers have proposed a number of liberty-limiting principles;
such as: harm to others, harm to self, offense, and legal moralism.
• Legal Moralism believe that the liberty of individuals can be
justifiably limited by a moral code imposed and enforced by
government.
Comparative Justice and Distributive Justice
• Justice refers fairness, equality, and lawfulness.
• There are two types justice
1. Non-comparative justice concerned with making sure people gets
what they are entitled to.
2. Comparative justice is concerned with the distribution of benefits
and burdens in society.
Distributive justice explores morally best means to distribute scarce
or limited resources amongst individuals or groups.

The Nature, Kinds, and Grounds of Rights
• Court rulings and legislation worldwide are recognizing

rights of nature to be protected and preserved.
• Recognizing these rights also entails the recognition
that nature has the right to stand in court and to be
represented for its defense.
• Within this doctrine, rivers seem to be on the spotlight
and court rulings on the rights of rivers are the ones
setting precedent.
• These cases have taken place in New Zealand, Ecuador,
India, and Colombia.
Human Rights, Derivative Moral Rights.
• Human right is basic right that people in all countries and
cultures expected to have simply because they are people.
• It aim to secure for individuals the necessary conditions for
leading a minimally good life.
• Eg. rights against torture and rights to health care.
• Human rights originate as moral rights but that the
successful passage of many human rights into international
and national law enables one to think of human rights as, in
many cases, both moral rights and legal rights.
• Human rights are themselves derivative of the concept of a
right.
Kant's Ethical Formalism and Rawls Social
Justice Ethics
• One of ethical logic systems is Kantian logic,
which is a deontological theory formulated by
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804).
• The word deontology comes from the Greek
word ‘deon’, meaning “obligation” or “duty.” It
is an ethical system primarily concerned with
one’s duty.
• It is also known as ethical formalism or
absolutism.
Cont’d…
• Kant believed that the end result is not of
primary importance; rather, the real
importance is in determining the moral intent
of a decision or action itself.
• Kant would assess the morality of one’s action
and disregard the consequences.
The End

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Social, Professional and Ethical

issues in Information Technology

• Moral acts conform to what an individual believes to be the

• This principal (applicable both to political and individual morality) holds

• Mill’s liberty principle appeals to many people in Western liberal

• A state can determine whether an action is punishable by determining what harm

• Justice refers fairness, equality, and lawfulness.

• There are two types justice

1. Non-comparative justice concerned with making sure people gets

what they are entitled to.

2. Comparative justice is concerned with the distribution of benefits

and burdens in society.

Distributive justice explores morally best means to distribute scarce

or limited resources amongst individuals or groups.

• Court rulings and legislation worldwide are recognizing

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