ethics & individuals
Think about yourselves as you listen to this
Our buggy moral code | Dan Ariely
Is individual ethics a thing apart, or something that varies according to the situation?
Some of history’s greatest philosophers, then, agree that wrongdoing tends to be motivated by self-interest. ... Although most assume that an immoral person is one who’s ready to defy law and convention to get what they want, I think the inverse is often true. Immorality is frequently motivated by a readiness to conform to law and convention in opposition to our own values. In these cases, it’s not that we care too little about others; it’s that we care too much. More specifically, we care too much about how we stack up in the eyes of others.
The desire to fit in is the root of almost all wrongdoing | Christopher Freiman
You don't have to read these unless you wish to, but we might touch upon them in conversation
- Read the blog posting on vaccines and values and think about the issues in the article in terms of individual ethical values in relation to the ethical values of the individual's organization
- Read the Making Ethical Decision: A Practical Model | John R. Schafer and ask yourselves if you agree with it, or if not, why not.
- Read the As I See It - Assault on Officership | John R. Schafer and ask yourselves if you agree with it, or if not, why not.
things we'll talk about
- how can we perceive the issue of lying, deceit, and subterfuge from an individual's point of view?
- what kinds of things motivate individuals to behave ethically within organizations?
- what kind of consequences for the organization can occur when one individual does not behave ethically? can you think of any recent examples?
- how have technological developments empowered individuals to do more damage if they don't behave ethically?
- what risks can unethical information technology professionals pose to people's privacy and well-being?
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