Module 1: What is Ethics?

• THREE DEFINITIONS OF ETHICS

1. Ethics is derived from the Greek term "ethos" which means character or custom.
   Example: In Japan when eating noodle soup it is fine to slurp. In fact, louder the noise the more one acknowledges that the soup is good. This is totally inethical in the west or even in the Philippines.
2. Ethics is the study of the morality of human actions.
   Example: An engineer downloaded a 30-day trial version of the software application. He continued to use it even after the trial period because the software still functioned properly after 30 days. It is unethical to continue using the software beyond the trial period without paying for it.
3. Ethics is an area of philosophy that deals with man's pursuit of the "good life"
   Example: A programmer does something ethical if he eases the workload of the users by providing them with a very good system.

• MEDICAL ETHICS
  Medical ethics is one of the most controversial fields of ethics. It may be because it deals with human life. In an article entitled "The acceptability of ending patient's life" a study that aimed to clarify how lay people and health professionals accept ending of a terminally ill patient. WIth 115 lay people and 72 health workers, the results showed that life ending interventions are more acceptable to lay people than health professionals. For both, acceptability is highest for intractable physical suffering; is higher when patients end their own lives than when physicians do so; and, when physicians are the actors, is higher when patients have expressed a desire to die (voluntary euthanasia) than when they have not (involuntary euthanasia). In contrast, when patients perform the action, acceptability for the lay people and nurse’s aides does not depend on whether the patient has expressed a desire to die, while for the nurses and physicians unassisted suicide is more acceptable than physician assisted suicide. As a conclusion, lay people judge the acceptability of life ending actions in largely the same way as do healthcare professionals.

• RONA'S CASE
  Because Rona copied the computer software in community B, where the a law on infrigement of intellectual property rights is being enforced, I would say that Rona's action was unethical. Thus, she violated the law in community B. She failed to abide with the law prevailing in community B. According to the definition of Ethics, it deals with the basic principles of right action especially with reference to a particular person, profession and others." Others here can be a community. Also, ignorance of the law is never an excuse.

• OWN DEFINITION OF ETHICS
  Ethics is a standard defined by a particular social group that determines what is good or bad action/behavior. It is not based on one's own belief but on the belief of the larger group one belongs in.
  
  For example, Rona may have believed in all her heart that she did not commit any crime because of the background that she had in community A. But as soon as she enters into community B, she not only becomes a visitor and she in fact becomes part of that community for a short while, and thereby she has to abide with the prevailing norms of that place while she is present there.

• FIVE COMPUTING ETHICAL NORMS
  1. Share only useful information
  - Avoid spamming unnecessary information.
  2. Refrain from using offensive words
  - Use words that encourages.
  3. Regard for the rights of others
  - Consider the rights of others to speech and the like.
  4. Respect privacy
  - Do not go into other people's account information.
  5. Report violations
  - In order to stop any misconduct, we have a responsibility to report offenses.