Implementing the Tenth Strand - Page 9 of 18

Lecture topics: (3 hours):

ES3.1 Arguing from example, analogy, and counter-example.
Moral argument often takes place using examples, counter-examples, and analogies. These methods help to clarify issues and to point out the inconsistencies and difficulties inherent in various ethical positions. Ethical argument moves from intuition about the right or the good, to explicit reasoning, and then is tested by being compared to concrete examples and analogies.

ES3.2 Identifying stakeholders in concrete situations.
When considering a particular implementation of a technology, a common mistake is to accept a simple definition of who the relevant affected parties are. It is only afterwards, and too late, that we realize some important parties were not considered or consulted. Students need practice in being able to identify all the stakeholders in a given context as early as possible in the system development process.

ES3.3 Identifying ethical issues in concrete situations.
Another common pitfall is to stop reasoning about a particular decision when we have found one good reason to act or to refrain from action, usually due to the pressure of time and deadlines. Only in hindsight do we determine that other important ethical issues were also at stake. Practice in identifying ethical issues in a situation will train students to have more foresight as practicing computer professionals.

ES3.4 Applying ethical codes to concrete situations.
Professional ethical codes represent the consensus of the field with regard to the responsibilities of those professionals. Students who aspire to be part of the computing profession should be familiar with ethics codes in their application to situations that are likely to occur in professional life. The methods of ethical reflection we are asking students to learn include comparing their intuitions and reasoning to both concrete cases and to established values in the field. Ethical analysis that does not do this is incomplete because it is not anchored in dialogue with the ethical reasoning of other professionals. It should be clear from the way we are proposing dialogue, that we are talking about thoughtful reflection with significant concern for the consensus of the field on ethical issues.

ES3.5 Identifying and evaluating possible courses of action.
Often, ethical mistakes are made more from a failure of imagination rather than a failure of moral principle. If you simply cannot think of alternative courses of action, then you are left with little choice. An important practical aspect of ethical reasoning involves determining if all the available options have been exhausted. Many students will look at a situation and assume that a few obvious and often dichotomous choices are the only choices. Practice in recognizing a range of options can give students insight to think about choices. Practice in evaluating options they have generated can provide students with the confidence they will need to negotiate solutions in actual situations.

Recurring Concepts: complexity, conceptual and formal models, levels of abstraction, trade-off and consequences