Engineering Ethics

Lecture 1
Morality and Ethics

Umar Faiz
Department of Computer & Information Sciences
Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Ethics and Morality

Morality and ethics have same roots:
Mores which means manner and customs from the Latin, and
Etos which means custom and habits from the Greek.
Robert Louden, Morality and Moral Theory

The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably. However,
there is a distinction between them.

Ethics and Ethical Behavior

Morality
Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern an
individuals behavior and choices.
(a) What ought or ought not to be done in a given situation?
(b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a situation?
Right correct, true, accurate, exact, precise
Wrong incorrect, mistaken, erroneous, not right, immoral, dishonest, unethical

(c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals involved?
Goodness decency, kindness, honesty, integrity, righteousness

Ethics and Ethical Behavior

The philosophy of morality is ethics.
Ethics
A code of moral standards of conduct for what is good and right as
opposed to what is bad or wrong.

Ethics and Morality

Morality
First-order set of beliefs and practices about how to live a good life.
It is a praxis a process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted,
practiced, embodied, or realised.

Ethics
Second-order, conscious reflection on the adequacy of our moral beliefs.

Ethics and Morality

Morals
What is it?
It defines how things should work
according to an individuals' ideals and
principles.
Source
Individual/Internal
Why we do it?
Because we believe in something being
right or wrong.
What if we don't Doing something against one's morals
do it?
and principles can have different
effects on different people, they may
feel uncomfortable, remorse,
depressed etc.
Flexibility
Usually consistent, although can change
if an individuals beliefs change.

Gray Areas

Ethics
It defines how thing are according to the
rules.
Social system/External
Because society says it is the right thing to
do.
We may face peer/societal disapproval,
or even be fired from our job.

Ethics are dependent on others for

definition. They tend to be consistent
within a certain context, but can vary
between contexts.
A Moral Person may choose to follow a A person following Ethical Principles may
code of ethics as it would apply to a not have any Morals at all.
system.

Amorality
Having no moral sense or being indifferent to right and wrong.

Immorality (Non-moral)
The immoral person knowingly violates human moral standards, the
amoral person may also violate moral standards because he or she has
no moral sense.
Examples:

Is Killing Immoral?
Is downloading copyrighted material off a web site immoral?
Is misrepresenting someone else immoral?
Is undercutting someone else work immoral?

Branches of Ethics
Descriptive Ethics
It involves describing, characterizing and studying morality
What is

Normative Ethics
It involves supplying and justifying moral systems
What should be

Applied Ethics
How moral outcomes can be achieved in specific situations.

Types of Moral Values

Universal Values
It has the same value or worth for all, or almost all people.
Examples: sanctity of human life, peace, and human dignity.

Instrumental Values
These are values that can be used to get something else.
Example:
Freedom (Through which we can get dignity and/or self actualization)
Knowledge (which helps us to get economic prosperity, and progress).

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Types of Moral Values

Intrinsic Values ( Opposite to Instrumental Value)
Something has intrinsic worth simply because of what it is, and not
necessarily what it will lead to. We value them because they are an
important aspect of life.
Examples: Beauty, Artistic expression and Happiness.

Prerequisite Values
These are values that are necessary before you can get to some bigger
goal.
Example: Justice (which is needed before we can move onto equality).

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Types of Moral Values

Paramount Values
It is the value which is above all other things.
Example:
Freedom (which many people have given up their lives for and see as
essential to a decent life).
Martyrdom

Operative Values
These types of values are the ways that we make judgments on how to
live the rest of our lives and tell us what is always right and wrong.
Examples: Integrity, Honesty, and Loyalty.

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Sources of Moral Values

Fellow
Workers
Family/
Friends
Culture
Law

Customs/
Beliefs

The Individual

Regions of
Country
Profession

Conscience

Employer
Religion

Society at
Large
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Sources of Moral Values

We restrict ourselves to the following sources:

Religion
Science
Culture
Law

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Sources of Moral Values

Religion
Religion is the greatest source of values. Religion also teaches us how to
behave and acts as a unconscious policing action.
For example, Islam religion teaches us to promote peace, preservation of
human sanctity, rights of minors and women, not eating pork, etc.

Science
Sciences main objective is to prove certain facts, phenomenons and other
things right or wrong.
For example, it is scientifically proven smoking is injurious to
health. Thus, science helps us realize that there are better ways to live
and thrive in our environment.
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Sources of Moral Values

Culture
Culture refers to a set of values, rules & standards transmitted among
generations and acted upon to produce behaviors that fall within
acceptable limits. These rules and standards always play an important
part in determining values.
For example, its good to show respect and give place to elderly people.

Laws
Laws are rules of conduct, approved by legislatures that guide human
behavior in any society. They codify ethical expectations & keep changing
when new evils emerge. But laws cannot cover all ethical expectations of
society.
For example, law forbids stealing.
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Morality and Law

There are four kinds of law:

Statutes
Regulations
Common law
Constitutional law

Morality and Law

Statutes
Laws enacted by legislative bodies. Congress & state legislatures enact
statutes.
Example: The law that defines & prohibits theft is statute.

Administrative regulations
Legislatures often set up boards/agencies whose functions include issuing
detailed regulations of certain kinds of conduct.
Example: state legislatures establish licensing boards to formulate
regulations for the licensing of physicians & nurses.

Morality and Law

Common law
Laws applied in the English-speaking world when there were few statutes.
Courts frequently wrote opinions explaining the bases of their decisions
in specific cases, including the legal principles they deemed appropriate.
Each of these opinions became a precedent for later decisions in similar
cases.

Constitutional law
Refers to court rulings on the requirements of the Constitution & the
constitutionality of legislation.
Although the courts cannot make laws, they have far-reaching powers to
rule on the constitutionality of laws & to declare them valid.

Morality and Legality

People sometimes confuse legality and morality the legality of an
action does not guarantee that it is morally right.
An action can be illegal but morally right.
An action that is legal can be morally wrong.

Approaches to Morality
Two approaches to the study of morality
1.
2.

The Scientific, or Descriptive Approach

The Philosophical Approach

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Approaches to Morality
1. The Scientific, or Descriptive, approach is used in the social sciences, and is
concerned with how human beings do behave.
2. The Philosophical approach is divided into two parts
a. Normative or Prescriptive Ethics deals with norms or standards
b. Meta-ethics or Analytical Ethics this approach is analytical in two ways.
(meta- means go beyond).
Analyzes language
Analyzes the rational foundations of ethical systems, or the logic and reasoning of various
ethicists.

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Four Aspects Related to Morality

1. Religious Morality
It is concerned with human beings in relationship to supernatural beings (aka
theists).

2. Morality from Nature?

It is concerned with human beings in relationship to nature.

3. Individual Morality
It is concerned with human beings in relation to themselves.

4. Social Morality
It is concerned with human beings in relation to other human beings.

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Stages of Moral Development

Pre-conventional Level
Whatever benefits oneself or avoids punishment.
Conventional Level
Uncritical acceptance of societys rules.
Post-conventional Level
Moral autonomy. Autonomous individuals think for themselves and
do not assume that customs are always right.

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Foundations of Moral Behaviour

How to Become Moral?
1. Rationality
2. Intellectual virtues
3. Moral theories
4. Moral knowledge
5. Appropriate thoughts
6. Close relationships
7. Experience
8. Spiritual exercises

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

1. Rationality
Cambridge University Press chooses to define being rational as
The kind of thinking we would all want to do, if we were aware of our
own best interests, in order to achieve our goals.
The ability to reason requires us to understand logic either consciously or
unconsciously. The ability to apply logic to our reasoning is aided by an
explicit understanding of logic and experience with reasoning.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

2. Intellectual Virtues
To have intellectual virtues is to be willing and able to be reasonable. A
person with intellectual virtues will reject irrational beliefs and refuse to
reject rationally required beliefs.
It is irrational to believe that 1+1=3 and it's rationally required to
believe that 1+1=2. Intellectual virtues include appropriate open
mindedness and appropriate skepticism.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

3. Moral Theories
Good moral theories are the result of years worth of moral debates and
moral reasoning. Philosophers have now been discussing morality and
moral theories for thousands of years, so a great deal of progress has
been made.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

4. Moral Knowledge
Ideally moral theories, moral reasoning, and intellectual virtues can lead
to moral knowledge. Once we know right from wrong we can potentially
be motivated to do the right thing.
Much of the time moral knowledge seems sufficient to motivate us to do
the right thing because we already want to do the right thing.
Virtuous people are usually motivated to do the right thing, so we are all
motivated to do the right thing insofar as we are virtuous.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

5. Appropriate Thoughts
Appropriate thoughts are guided by moral knowledge, and appropriate
emotions and actions tend to be a result of appropriate thoughts; but
inappropriate thoughts can lead to inappropriate emotions and actions.
Anger management classes teach people to count to 10 when becoming
enraged.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

6. Close Relationships
Other people are just as real as we are, and we aren't the center of the
universe. It is pretty natural once we establish close relationships with
others. Most people learn to love and care for their parents, siblings, and
friends. It doesn't take long to realize that their lives, happiness, and
suffering also have value. This can help us attain appropriate emotions,
such as empathy.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

7. Experience
We need to learn to be sensitive to particularities found in each situation
to know what actions will have the best results.
For example, driving on the right side of the road is appropriate in the
USA, but not in the UK due to the laws and behavior found in each of
these societies.

Foundations of Moral Behaviour

8. Spiritual Exercises
Spiritual exercises are practices used to become more virtuous that could
be described as moral therapy.
1. Reflect upon your past and find out how things could be improved. Decide if
there are any mistakes you have made that should not be repeated in future.
2. Reflect upon the future and decide how you should respond to various
situations. If you have made a mistake that you don't want to repeat, then this
intention can help prepare us against making the same mistakes again.
3. Talk to others about how you can improve your behavior.
4. If you have inappropriate thoughts and emotions, you can clear your mind
to quench them and prevent them from leading to inappropriate actions.

Moral Reason
All moral beliefs are NOT equal. We should prefer moral beliefs that are
reasonable to those that are unreasonable and those that are probably
true rather than probably false.
The following are the four elements of moral reason:
1. Uncontroversial moral truths
2. Analogies
3. Theoretical virtues
4. Thought experiments

Moral Reason
1. Uncontroversial Moral Truths
There are many highly plausible moral truths that people tend to agree
with, such as the following:
1. Suffering is bad.
2. Happiness is good.
3. If it is wrong for someone to do something in a situation, then it is wrong
for anyone to do it in an identical situation.
4. It is always or almost always wrong to torture anyone.
5. It is often wrong to steal from people.

These truths are often taken for granted during moral reasoning.

Moral Reason
2. Analogies
Analogies let us compare two things to find relevant similarities between
the two.
For example, kicking and punching people tend to be analogous actions
insofar as they are used to hurt people. They are both often wrong for the
same reason. Whenever it's wrong to hurt people, it will be wrong to kick
or punch them in order to hurt them.

Moral Reason
3. Thought Experiments
Moral thought experiments are meant to give us insight into morality.
For example, imagine that an individual puts a loaded gun up to your head
and asks you to give your wallet to her. It seems like the best thing to do
in this situation is to give your wallet. It would be absurd to criticize
someone for giving up their wallet in this scenario.

Moral Reason
4. Theoretical Virtues
These virtues help us determine when a hypothesis or belief is justified.
The virtues are:

Self-evidence
Logical consistency
Observation
Predictability
Comprehensiveness
Simplicity

Moral Reason
4. Theoretical Virtues
Self-evidence
Merely understanding the statement could be sufficient to justify the belief
in it.
For example, consider that torturing is always or almost always wrong.

Logical Consistency
The moral beliefs must not contradict one another (we want them to be
logically consistent). If we have a choice of rejecting an uncontroversial
moral truth that we are certain is true (e.g. torture is usually wrong) and a
controversial belief (e.g. whipping children is usually good), then we have
reason to reject the controversial belief.

Moral Reason
Observation
Observation is relevant to our moral beliefs. We experience that pain is
bad (in some sense), and that experience is an observation that seems to
support the hypothesis that all pain is bad.

Predictability
A hypothesis successful at making risky predictions is more likely to be
true. If I hypothesize that all pain is bad, then my predictions succeed
until I observe that some pain isn't bad.

Moral Reason
Comprehensiveness
The belief that all pain is bad is much more comprehensive than believing
that the pain of touching fire is bad. If all pain is bad, then we could use
that fact to help us do a great deal of moral reasoning as opposed to
merely realizing that burning pain is bad

Moral Reason
Simplicity
The fact that a theory is simple counts in its favor and the fact that it's
complex counts against it.
Simple moral truths, such as it's usually wrong to hurt people give us
more more plausible hypotheses than much more complex moral truths,
such as, it's usually wrong to torture people, to punch people, to kick
people, to stab people, to steal from people, and to shoot people.

Moral Reason
Simplicity
The fact that a theory is simple counts in its favor and the fact that it's
complex counts against it.
Simple moral truths, such as it's usually wrong to hurt people give us
more plausible hypotheses than much more complex moral truths, such as,
it's usually wrong to torture people, to punch people, to kick people, to
stab people, to steal from people, and to shoot people.

Summary
Ethics is the systematic reflection on what is moral and study of
morality.
Morality is the whole of opinions, decisions, and actions which people,
individually or collectively, express what they think is good or right.
Morality can be explained in all these ways:
Morality can be defined as the standards that an individual or a group has
about what is right and wrong, or good and evil.
Moral quality or character; rightness or wrongness, as of an action; the
character of being in accord with the principles or standards of right
conduct.
Morality is individual. The morality of a group decreases as its size
increases.