An Opening Orientation

The words “computer ethics” sometimes evoke the quip: “‘Computer ethics…isn't that an oxymoron?” Indeed, the computer has received a great deal of bad press over the years because of its association with things like spam, fraud, and impersonalization, but the computer itself is not to blame for these things. Obviously, it is the people who misuse computers who are to blame. They are the unethical ones, not the computers. This book shows that there is indeed an ethics that governs the use of computers. It examines the basis for ethical decision-making and presents a methodology for reaching ethical decisions concerning computing matters. Finally, it concentrates on the theory and practice of computer ethics, using a case-based approach.

An Outline of This Book

Chapter 1 considers a brief history of computers and the Internet, the meaning of ethics, the distinction between law and ethics, the subjects of ethics, and whether computer ethics is a unique kind of ethics. This chapter, and the rest of the chapters in the book, ends with a chapter summary and a “your turn” section soliciting student response to material covered in the chapter.

Chapter 2 deals with the computer as a humanizing agent. This chapter shows that the computer is not – as it is sometimes accused of being – the antithesis of what it means to be human.

Chapter 3 gives a systems approach to ethics. Here you can study the philosophies of Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, Existentialism, and Philosophical Analysis.