Introducing ethics in Information and Computer Sciences

Although ethics is often viewed as an academic specialism or an add-on to training programmes in technology and science, it is in fact an area of the utmost relevance to professionals and, indeed, everyone. This free course, Introducing ethics in Information and Computer Sciences, draws upon examples taken from dialogues, plays and the media to discuss ethics and ethical issues within the context of Information and Computer Sciences. The course explores the importance of language and the role of rhetoric in everyday ICS practice, providing a resource of interest to ICS students and professionals alike.

• Introduction
• Learning outcomes
• 1 Good, bad, right or wrong?
• 1 Good, bad, right or wrong?
• 1.1 ‘People, not guns, kill people’?
• 1.2 Ethical examples
• 1.3 Your thoughts
• 1.4 What is ethics?
• 1.5 Reasons
• 1.6 Final vocabulary
• 1.7 Ideology
• 1.8 ‘Ethics’, ‘ethical’ and authority
• 1.9 Final vocabularies in context
• 1.10 The story so far
• 2 It's not all Greek to me!
• 2 It's not all Greek to me!
• 2.1 Introduction
• 2.2 Three Greek dialogues
• 2.3 Style and rhetoric
• 2.4 Relationships and conduct
• 2.5 The story so far
• 3 Relationships, emotions and ethics
• 3 Relationships, emotions and ethics
• 3.1 Introduction
• 3.2 Relationships and ethics
• 3.3 Emotions and judgements
• 3.4 Negotiation and adaptation
• 3.5 The story so far
• 4 Ethics everyday
• 4 Ethics everyday
• 4.1 Introduction
• 4.2 The good, the bad and the loyal
• 4.3 Can theft be right?
• 4.4 Legitimacy vs rights
• 4.5 Torture
• 4.6 What matters?
• 4.7 The story so far
• 5 Landscape with Weapon: an allegory
• 5 Landscape with Weapon: an allegory
• 5.1 Introduction
• 5.2 The characters
• 5.3 Ethics and ethos: ‘does mum know?’
• 5.4 Intellectual property rights and value
• 5.5 Rhetorical devices
• 5.6 Identification
• 5.7 The story so far
• 5.8 Rights
• 5.9 Ethical reasoning
• 5.10 Conscience
• 5.11 Promises
• 5.12 Interests
• 5.13 The final Act
• 6 Conclusion
• 6 Conclusion
• 7 Summary
• 7 Summary
• References
• Acknowledgements