Intro to PHIL323

ATTENDANCE MANDITORY EVERYTHING HAS A 2 DAY GRACE PERIOD

• one module per week
• each week discussion and quiz
• 3 group ethics in total
• two mini exams (35%)
  • mini exam on moral theory (15%)
• group presentation on one ethic topic (5%)
• final ethics memorandum (10%)

value neutral - whether it is bad or good entirely determined by the purpose which it is use

EX: a fork

• purpose is to be used to eat
• can be unethical in some aspects directly
  • sharpened tongs
  • made out of lead…
• can be unethical in some aspects undirectly
  • made out of plastic
  • use of materials and labor

ULTIMATLEY technology is not a mere tool! because tech is constantly being influenced and influencing social systems and structures.

• spaces

  • plans for cities
  • conceptions of life
    • telecommunications tech
  • information institutions
  • expectations
  • daily lives

technological somnambulism - we “willingly” sleepwalk through the procces of reconstituting the conditions of human existance.

Generally, new tech is accepted and adapted without reflecting on the ethical issues.

ethics of technology is not about whether to permit tech innovation, but about which tech to promote and discourage.

we should invent and adopt and use new technologies

1. liberty
2. tech optimism
3. tech determinism: ongoing tech inovation is crucial in our day of life

RESPONSE

1. liberty does not justify every new tech
2. tech not always a sole driver of improvements
3. tech may be more or less inevitable

ULTIMATLEY our responsibility!

1. Social and political and cultural context
   • human enhancment
2. Across its entire life cycle
   • ex mobile phone disposal
3. Who gains social and political power
4. Forms of life
   • tech imposes responsibilite 4) Forms of life