Cyberethics: Outline of Instruction


by David Vance,
Department of Management and Information Systems,
Mississippi State University.

This syllabus was developed under a research grant from the
Pontikes Center for the Management of Information at Southern Illinois University

INTRODUCTION

(Reference Questions That Matter, Ed. L. Miller, 1992, McGraw Hill)

Define philosophy.

Define ethics and how it fits into philosophical thought.

  • Describe the fields of philosophy:
    metaphysics.
    epistemology.
    value theory.
    ethics.
    aesthetics.
    logic.

Define "second order" inquiries in the field of philosophy.
Define the terms "rational" and "critical" as they concern philosophical thought.
Contrast the speculative and analytic approaches to philosophy.
Compare and contrast science and philosophy.
Compare and contrast "idealism" and "materialism".

MORALITY

Define "morality".

Explain the following challenges to Morality:
1. Logical positivism.
2. Relativism.
3. Existentialism.
4. Determinism.

Define Teleology.
Compare and contrast the teleological viewpoints of hedonism and utilitarianism.
Define Deontology.
Compare and contrast teleological and deontological ethical norms.

ETHICS IN SOCIETY

Compare and contrast liberalism as portrayed by Locke and Marxism.
Describe the concept of social justice as portrayed by Rawls, Nozick and MacIntyre.

INFORMATION SYSTEMS ETHICS (Cyberethics)

Define Cyberethics.
Ethical issues in computers and computer technology: Deborah Johnson
Describe philosophical challenges to Cyberethics as characterized by:
James H Moor.
Donnald Gotterbarn.

Describe the unique ethical problems in Information Technology:
Reasons for the study of Computer Ethics (Cyberethics)

CASE READINGS

Computers, Ethics, And Social Values, Johnson and Nissenbaum, 1994 Prentice Hall