1 introduction to ethical systems and the ieee code of ethics

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Introduction to Ethical Systemsand the IEEE Code of Ethics

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Overview

Definitions Ethical Systems IEEE Code of Ethics Ethics & Member Conduct

Committee (EMCC) Member Conduct Cases Promoting Ethics within IEEE

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Definition

Ethics Study of Morality (a.k.a. Moral Systems) Transcends Moral System Discipline of Philosophy Science Universal

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Definitions

Society Association of people organized under a system of rules Rules: advance the good of members over time

Morality A society’s rules of conduct What people ought / ought not to do in various situations

Ethics Rational examination of morality Evaluation of people’s behavior

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Definitions

Moral System System of Rules for Guiding Human

Conduct Informal (Evaluated by Peers) Different for Different Groups of People Inspires and Partially Overlaps Legal

Systems

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Definitions

Legal System System of Specific Rules to Enforce Specific

Behavior Deviant Behavior is Sanctioned Formal (Evaluated by Judges)

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Features of a Moral System

Public Rules are Known to All Members

Informal No Formal Judges Enforce the System

Rational Based on Principles of Logical Reason

Accessible to All Members Impartial

Applied Equitably to All Members

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Deriving (Grounding) Moral Rules

Consider the Rule“Do not Steal” Present in Virtually Every Moral System Why is stealing morally wrong? Rules must be justified by general

principles. Three Sources of Grounding

Religion Law Philosophical Ethics

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Deriving (Grounding) Moral Rules

Grounding in a Religious System Stealing is wrong because it violates one of

God's commandments Grounding in a Legal System

Stealing is wrong because it violates the law Grounding in a System of Philosophical

Ethics Stealing is wrong because it is wrong

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Scenario

Alexis, a gifted high school student, wants to become a doctor. Because she comes from a poor family, she will need a scholarship in order to attend college. Some of her classes require extra research projects in order to get an “A”. Her high school has a few older PCs, but there are always long lines of students waiting to use them during the school day. After school, she usually works at a part-time job in order to support her family.

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Scenario

On some evenings, Alexis goes to the library of a private college a few miles from her family’s apartment, where she always finds plenty of unused PCs connected to the Internet. On the few occasions when the librarian asks her if she is a student at the college, she says “Yes” and the librarian leaves her alone. Using the resources of this library, Alexis efficiently completes her extra projects, graduates from high school with straight A marks, and gets a full ride scholarship to attend a prestigious university.

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Questions

Did Alexis do anything wrong? Who benefited from Alexis’s course of action? Who was hurt by Alexis’s course of action? Did Alexis have an unfair advantage over her high

school classmates? Would any of your answers change if it turns out

Alexis did not win a college scholarship after all? In what other ways could Alexis have accomplished

her objective?

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.

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More on Ethics

Ethics: rational, systematic analysis “Doing ethics”: answers need explanations Explanations: facts, shared values, logic

Ethics: voluntary, moral choices Workable ethical theory: produces

explanations that might be persuasive to a skeptical, yet open-minded audience


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Ethical Systems (Sample)

Kantianism Categorical Imperative (Golden Rule)

Utilitarianism Increasing Happiness

Divine Command Supreme Authority

Social Contract Theory Liberty vs. Security

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Kantianism

Good will: the desire to do the right thing

Immanuel Kant: Only thing in the world good without qualification is good will.

Reason should cultivate desire to do right thing.


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Categorical Imperative (1st Formulation)


Act only from moral rules that you can at thesame time will to be universal moral laws.

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Illustration of 1st Formulation Question: Can a person in dire straits make a

promise with the intention of breaking it later? Proposed rule: “I may make promises with the

intention of later breaking them.” The person in trouble wants his promise to be

believed so he can get what he needs. Universalize rule: Everyone may make & break

promises Everyone breaking promises would make promises

unbelievable, contradicting desire to have promise believed

The rule is flawed. The answer is “No.”Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.

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Categorical Imperative(2nd Formulation)


Act so that you treat both yourselfand other people as ends in themselvesand never only as a means to an end.

This is usually an easier formulation to workwith than the first formulation of theCategorical Imperative.

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Plagiarism Scenario

Carla Single mother Works full time Takes two evening courses/semester

History class Requires more work than normal Carla earning an “A” on all work so far Carla doesn’t have time to write final report

Carla purchases report and submits it as her own work


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Kantian Evaluation(1st Formulation)

Carla wants credit for plagiarized report Rule: “You may claim credit for work performed by

someone else” If rule universalized, reports would no longer be

credible indicators of students’ knowledge, and professors would not give credit for reports

Proposed moral rule is self-defeating It is wrong for Carla to turn in a purchased report


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Kantian Evaluation(2nd Formulation)

Carla submitted another person’s work as her own

She attempted to deceive professor She treated professor as a means to an

end End: passing the course Means: professor issues grade

What Carla did was wrong


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Case for Kantianism

Rational Produces universal moral guidelines Treats all persons as moral equals Workable ethical theory


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Case Against Kantianism

Sometimes no rule adequately characterizes an action.

There is no way to resolve a conflict between rules.

Kantianism allows no exceptions to moral laws.


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Utilitarianism

Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill An action is good if it benefits someone An action is bad if it harms someone Utility: tendency of an object to produce

happiness or prevent unhappiness for an individual or a community

Happiness = advantage = benefit = good = pleasure

Unhappiness = disadvantage = cost = evil = pain


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Principle of Utility(Greatest Happiness Principle)


An action is right (or wrong) to the extentthat it increases (or decreases) the

total happiness of the affected parties.

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Act Utilitarianism

Utilitarianism Morality of an action has nothing to do with intent Focuses on the consequences A consequentialist theory

Act utilitarianism Add up change in happiness of all affected beings Sum > 0, action is good Sum < 0, action is bad


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Bentham: Weighing Pleasure/Pain

Intensity Duration Certainty Propinquity Fecundity Purity Extent


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Highway Routing Scenario

State may replace a curvy stretch of highway

New highway segment 1 mile shorter 150 houses would have to be removed Some wildlife habitat would be

destroyed


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Evaluation

Costs $20 million to compensate homeowners $10 million to construct new highway Lost wildlife habitat worth $1 million

Benefits $39 million savings in automobile driving costs

Conclusion Benefits exceed costs Building highway a good action


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Case for Act Utilitarianism

Focuses on happiness Down-to-earth (practical) Comprehensive Workable ethical theory


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Case Against Act Utilitarianism

Unclear whom to include in calculations Too much work Ignores our innate sense of duty Susceptible to the problem of moral luck

Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved. 2-31

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Rule Utilitarianism

We ought to adopt moral rules which, if followed by everyone, will lead to the greatest increase in total happiness

Act utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility to individual actions

Rule utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility to moral rules


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Case for Rule Utilitarianism

Compared to act utilitarianism, it is easier to perform the utilitarian calculus.

Not every moral decision requires performing utilitarian calculus.

Moral rules survive exceptional situations Avoids the problem of moral luck Workable ethical theory


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Case Against Utilitarianism in General

All consequences must be measured on a single scale.

Utilitarianism ignores the problem of an unjust distribution of good consequences.

Utilitarianism does not mean “the greatest good of the greatest number”

That requires a principle of justice What happens when a conflict arises between

the Principle of Utility and a principle of justice?


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IEEE

The World's Leading Transnational Professional Association for the Advancement of Technology

More than 395,000 Members, including 90,000 Students, in over 160 Countries.

331 Sections in Ten Geographic Regions Worldwide

More than 1,800 Student Branches at Colleges and Universities in 80 Countries

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IEEE

38 Societies and 7 Technical Councils Representing the Wide Range of Technical Interests

148 Transactions, Journals and Magazines

More than 1100 Conferences Worldwide Each Year

About 1300 IEEE Standards Active and Under Development

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Drafting the IEEE Code of Ethics

Problems with Grounding Religions Differ Across and Within Countries Legal Systems Differ Across Countries IEEE as a Transnational Organization Can

Only Rely on Philosophical Ethics Consequence: The IEEE Code of Ethics

is Broad and Unspecific Not an Algorithm Does not Relieve You from Thinking

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IEEE Code of Ethics has a Long History

1912 – Code adopted by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE).

1963 – IEEE endorsed “Canons of Ethics of Engineers” after AIEE/IRE merger.

1974 – Board of Directors approved “IEEE Code of Ethics for Engineers”.

1979-89 – Code underwent a few revisions. 1990 - Board of Directors approved simplified IEEE

Code of Ethics. 2006 – Board of Directors approved revision to the

IEEE Code of Ethics.

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IEEE Code of Ethics

We the members of IEEE, in recognition of theimportance of our technologies in affecting the quality of life throughout the world and in accepting a personal obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: To accept responsibility in making decisions consistent

with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

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IEEE Code of Ethics (cont.)

To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;

To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;

To reject bribery in all its forms;

To improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences;

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To maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

To seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;

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To treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin;

To avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;

To assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.

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IEEE Ethics & Member Conduct Committee

Reports to the IEEE Board of Directors. Recommends policy & educational

programs to promote ethical behavior of members and staff.

Administers proceedings relating to member & officer discipline.

Administers requests for ethical support. Fosters an awareness of ethical issues.

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Summary of Handling Member Conduct Complaints

EMCC receives complaints from members about the conduct of other members.

EMCC conducts preliminary investigation. If the EMCC finds that the facts can be

proven and constitute cause for censure, suspension or expulsion a Hearing Board is convened.

Hearing Board deliberates. Board of Directors takes final action.

See: Bylaw I-110, I-111 & Policy 7.11

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Ethical Support

Members placed in jeopardy as a consequence of adhering to the IEEE Code of Ethics, may receive support from IEEE in the form of an amicus curiae (friend of court brief).

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Promoting Ethics within IEEE

EMCC booth available on loan for IEEE meetings, conferences, etc.

Brochures & Codes of Ethics Cards Resource page: www.ieee.org/ethics Student Ethics Competition

http://www.ieee.org/ethics

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Student Ethics Competition

Developed by IEEE EMCC in 2004 For use at IEEE student events At Regional or other student events First event held at Region 2 Student

Activities Conference, 8 April 2005 Provides $600 US for prizes for up to 10

events per year Provides tools & recommendations

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SEC Goals

Foster familiarity with IEEE Code of Ethics and concepts

Promote a model for discussing and analyzing ethical questions

Learn about ethics in a “fun” context Provide experience in applying ethical

concepts to hypothetical professional situations

Supplement Regional/Sectional ethics programs

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Guidelines & Requirementswww.ieee.org/ethics

Funding for maximum of 10 events per year spread among the 10 IEEE Regions

Competition is suggested to be between 4 to 6 teams made up of 2 to3 IEEE Student/Graduate members

Each team represents their student branch or similar Each team is sequestered & given a period of time to

prepare a presentation and defense of an ethical situation provided by the sponsor

Each team’s presentation/defense will be judged by a group of 3 to 6 judges using a standardized judging form.

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First Competition

The first SEC was held in April 2005 in Region 2

Hosted by IEEE Student Branch at Rowan University

Temple University was the winner ($400) Penn State Harrisburg was the runner-up ($200) Host utilized its theater department to stage the

common case study via a 7-minute playlet Competition among 9 teams Case did not have a right or wrong answer Program was a great success as viewed by

competitors, sponsors and attendees

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Contact/Web Information

Email: [email protected] For inquiries or resource material.

(booth, brochures, etc.)

Web: www.ieee.org/ethics

1 introduction to ethical systems and the ieee code of ethics

Documents

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