Ethics and Law¶

Why should we do something or not?
Is it allowed to do it?
Can we explain why something is good or bad?

Questions like those arise when you are working with Crypto / Security. We need Ethics and Laws to answer those questions.

Ethics¶

Meta-ethics - Nature of moral judgements (universal, relative, nihilist). Why be moral?
Normative ethics - Systematical approach to ethical questions
Applied ethics - Answers to specific issues

A few examples of normative ethics are mentioned below:

Virtues¶

A quality considered morally good or desirable in a person. Virtue (de: Tugend) ethics were advocated by Aristotle.

Mercy (de: Barmherzigkeit)
Discipline (de: Disziplin)
Frugality (being economical with money or food) (de: Sparsamkeit)
Industriousness (hard working) (de: Fleiss)
Truthfulness (de: Ehrlichkeit / Aufrichtigkeit)

Plato's four cardinal virtues:

Wisdom (de: Weisheit)
Justice (de: Gerechtigkeit)
Fortitude (de: Tapferkeit)
Temperance (moderation, restrain) (de: Mässigung / Abstinenz)

Vices¶

Immoral or wicked behaviour

Pride (de: Stolz)
Jealousy (de: Eifersucht)
Wrath (de: Zorn)
Sloth (de: Faulheit)
Avarice (greed, material gain) (de: Geiz)
Gluttony (excess eating, greed) (de: Völlerei)
Lust (de: Lust)

Deontology¶

Considering the factors of one’s duties and one’s rights. Deontology holds that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a series of rules, and debates what the rules should be.

Kant's Categorical Imperative¶

Act only according to that maxim by which you can also will that it would become a universal law.

Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end.

Utilitarianism¶

Utilitarianism holds that an action is right if it leads to the most happiness for the greatest number of people.

Law and Ethics¶

We need to write down laws based on "our" ethics. This should be done by a political process. An examples of this is the First Amendment of the United States.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Ethical Case Study¶

Provide a systematic way to determine an ethical cause of action for a particular ethical problem.

Read and examine the case thoroughly
Identify key problems:
- Why do the problems exist?
- Which virtues and vices are implicated (at the center, or peripherally)?
- Which laws or rules are implicated (at the center, or peripherally)?
- What are the potential consequences (direct, indirect)?
Uncover possible resolutions. Carefully consider the implications of those.
Propose an ethical resolution and justify it.
For dilemmas, propose strategies to avoid them in the future.

Hacker ethics¶

The hacker ethic refers to the feelings of right and wrong, to the ethical ideas this community of people had — that knowledge should be shared with other people who can benefit from it, and that important resources should be utilized rather than wasted.” –Richard Stallman

Different ethics exist:

Steven Levy
CCC (Chaos Computer Club)
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

A few examples:

Sharing
Decentralization
Beurteile einen Hacker nach dem, was er tut, und nicht nach üblichen Kriterien wie Aussehen, Alter, Herkunft, Spezies, Geschlecht oder gesellschaftliche Stellung.
To reject bribery in all its forms
To improve the understanding by individuals and society of the capabilities and societal implications of conventional and emerging technologies, including intelligent systems

links: AC1 TOC - Intro - Index