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1 – 10 of 237Nesibe Kantar and Terrell Ward Bynum
The purpose of this paper is to explore an emerging ethical theory for the Digital Age – Flourishing Ethics – which will likely be applicable in many different cultures worldwide…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore an emerging ethical theory for the Digital Age – Flourishing Ethics – which will likely be applicable in many different cultures worldwide, addressing not only human concerns but also activities, decisions and consequences of robots, cyborgs, artificially intelligent agents and other new digital technologies.
Design/methodology/approach
In the past, a number of influential ethical theories in Western philosophy have focused upon choice and autonomy, or pleasure and pain or fairness and justice. These are important ethical concepts, but we consider “flourishing” to be a broader “umbrella concept” under which all of the above ideas can be included, plus additional ethical ideas from cultures in other regions of the world (for example, Buddhist, Muslim, Confucianist cultures and others). Before explaining the applied approach, this study discusses relevant ideas of four example thinkers who emphasize flourishing in their ethics writings: Aristotle, Norbert Wiener, James Moor and Simon Rogerson.
Findings
Flourishing Ethics is not a single ethical theory. It is “an approach,” a “family” of similar ethical theories which can be successfully applied to humans in many different cultures, as well as to non-human agents arising from new digital technologies.
Originality/value
This appears to be the first extended analysis of the emerging flourishing ethics “family” of theories.
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The purpose of this paper is to describe and critique ways in which the threats from confirmation bias have been rejected.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe and critique ways in which the threats from confirmation bias have been rejected.
Design/methodology/approach
Dismissals of the existence of, or threats from, confirmation bias are identified from a review of literature across a very wide range of disciplines. The dismissals are robustly examined.
Findings
The dismissals are categorised as: (1) radical scepticism (2) consequentialism: and (3) denial. Each type of dismissal, it is argued, is flawed.
Originality/value
The three-fold structuring of confirmation bias dismissal is novel. In addition to drawing from organisation, management and wider social science literature, the article also uses arguments and examples from the creative arts.
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F. S. Grodzinsky, K. Miller and M. J. Wolf
We contend that software developers have an ethical responsibility to strive for reliable software. We base that obligation on long standing engineering traditions that place the…
Abstract
We contend that software developers have an ethical responsibility to strive for reliable software. We base that obligation on long standing engineering traditions that place the public good as a central tenant and on the professional relationship between a software developer and the users of the software developed.
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The justification of punishment is an age-old debate which continues unresolved. In late twentieth century several attempts were made to reconcile the two opposing justifications…
Abstract
The justification of punishment is an age-old debate which continues unresolved. In late twentieth century several attempts were made to reconcile the two opposing justifications: retributivism and consequentialism. But these attempts focused narrowly on merely one manifestation of punishment, i.e.: criminal punishment carried out by the state. To the extent that these mixed justifications are successful, they relate to only one (undoubtedly important) manifestation of punishment. But clearly punishment can occur in many different institutional contexts, and the institutions in each context vary dramatically in complexity and relevance. I recommend analyzing punishment in its manifold manifestations.
Ifzal Ahmad and M. Rezaul Islam
This chapter explores the vital connection between ethics and community development, underlining the fundamental role of ethical considerations in shaping fair, just, and…
Abstract
This chapter explores the vital connection between ethics and community development, underlining the fundamental role of ethical considerations in shaping fair, just, and sustainable communities. It begins by emphasizing that community development is inherently ethical and delves into the concept of ethics, examining ethical theories like consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics in the context of community development. Real-world case studies from diverse countries, such as South Africa, Australia, and India, are interwoven throughout the chapter to provide practical insights. These case studies illustrate the complexities of ethical implementation in community development, from navigating power dynamics to addressing conflicts of interest and balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability. The chapter also explores macro-level considerations, highlighting the need for systemic change to create a more just and equitable society. It guides practitioners on integrating ethics into their work, establishing a strong moral framework for community development. Continuous learning, reflective practice, and adaptability are underscored as essential in responding to evolving societal contexts, norms, and challenges.
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Professional ethics is explored with three main foci: a critique of codes of conduct and the value of creating a global code for information and communication technology (ICT); a…
Abstract
Purpose
Professional ethics is explored with three main foci: a critique of codes of conduct and the value of creating a global code for information and communication technology (ICT); a critique of ICT professional certification; and the debate over whether ICT is really a profession.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual reflection on the current state of the ICT industry internationally, informed by the literature.
Findings
Compared to a mature profession, such as health, ICT is a young profession. This is evidenced in the disparity of domains of practice, the lack of agreement on universal values governing the industry and the ongoing difficulties in creating international certification.
Originality/value
Until now, there has been little recognition of the corporatisation of ICT professionals and the effect that has on their ability to engage in appropriate professional ethics. More research is needed to explore appropriate ways in which ethical behaviour can be encouraged in the corporate workplace, including how professional development can be strengthened through building learning organisations.
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Pragmatism in the sense of harmonizing rules and reality for the sake of appropriate problem solving and overall performance is a ubiquitous phenomenon in organizational life. As…
Abstract
Pragmatism in the sense of harmonizing rules and reality for the sake of appropriate problem solving and overall performance is a ubiquitous phenomenon in organizational life. As such it has been generalized as an everyday requirement of making organizations work and a virtue of human decision making under the condition of complexity, strategic dilemmas or “wicked problems.” This chapter addresses both the theoretical and the normative dimensions of pragmatism in organizations, public administration in particular. The main statement is that the necessary theoretical clarification concerns the distinction between pragmatism and what is referred to as a logic of appropriateness while the normative limits of pragmatism refer to the necessity of ranking logics of appropriateness and related values plus the ability to act on the basis of accurate judgment which is primarily, even if not exclusively, a matter of leadership.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce, in the project management field, an Aristotelian ethics lens moving beyond the classical deontological and consequentialism approaches…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce, in the project management field, an Aristotelian ethics lens moving beyond the classical deontological and consequentialism approaches underlying the current ethical practices and codes of ethics and professional conducts. In doing so, the author wishes to pose the premises of a debate on the implications of a conscious ethical perspective for the structure and agency relationship within the project management field.
Design/methodology/approach
Project management is a knowledge field on its own right. However, the current perspectives applied to make sense and develop the field (modernism vs postmodernism) leads to dichotomous thinking rather than recognizing the merits and contextual validity of both sides. The author calls for Aristotelian ethics as a way of moving beyond this dichotomous thinking. The author introduces briefly Aristotelian ethics and its consequences in term of relation theory – practice, means and ends, facts and values and finally politics (i.e. being part of a community of practitioners). Then the author illustrates some consequences for the field taking PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and APM Code of Professional Conduct as supports for discussion.
Findings
The author suggests a need for revisiting and/or redesigning the codes of ethics and professional conducts for project management according to an Aristotelian perspective, in order to move beyond the normative limitations of classical deontological (conflict between competing duties, exemplified by PMI Code) or consequentialism (focusing on the “right” outcome to the detriment of duties, exemplified by APM Code) approaches (both, in fact, leading to a disconnection means and ends, and facts and values). This implicates shifting the view from the question “what is my duty”? to the questions “why should I undertake my duty”? and “how ought I act in this situation”?
Practical implications
Raising professional bodies, industry and education institutions awareness and consciousness and leading them to rethink about codes of ethics and the implications for the way they conceive practice and research, bodies of knowledge, credentialing, education, etc.
Originality/value
To the best of the author's knowledge, this kind of discussion has not yet been conducted within the project management field, and considering the implication of project management in the life and for the well-being of the society, an ethical debate may present some value(s).
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The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the mechanics of the neoliberal mindset is governed paradigmatically by a peculiar notion of “time,” which leads, in turn, to a kind…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to suggest that the mechanics of the neoliberal mindset is governed paradigmatically by a peculiar notion of “time,” which leads, in turn, to a kind of amoral consequentialism that projects meaninglessly and amorally into the future. The author proposes, in comparison, the pre-modern and ancient sense of the temporal which has the potential to yield moral insights for guiding policy thinking.
Design/methodology/approach
The author employs a philosophical approach and historical approach. The authors analyze philosophically the notion of the temporal in the consequentialist neoliberal agency, and draws on continental, ancient and medieval philosophical sources of temporality to develop an alternative.
Findings
The author argues that a rich notion of the temporal can be retrieved from medieval sources. This notion of the temporal is located in our experience of changing embodied beings, or physis, and gives rise to thuamazein or awe, which shows moral insights. The latter is a valuable source of guidance in policy thinking.
Research limitations/implications
This paper also suggests that epistemological commitment to an authority as numbers, feeding a policy as numbers, needs to be challenged. This paper does not draw on empirical data but nevertheless aspires to develop a thoughtful conceptual case on behalf of its conclusions.
Practical implications
A moral, neoliberal consequentialism is harmful to professional agencies. This paper offers a different way to think policy that puts what truly matters in front of us.
Social implications
Neoliberalism breeds the terrors of performativity that forgets what as a society we need to aim for on behalf of happiness, and instead drives us to compete without restraint after particular quantitative achievements. By challenging this paradigm, it is possible to offer policy thinking a different set of conceptual tools with which to think ourselves out of this performative irrationality.
Originality/value
This paper retrieves a medieval notion of time that is related with the showing of moral insights, opposed to amoral neoliberal consequentialism. In this way, there is a proposal of an alternative to neoliberalism, and not merely the worry of its damaging effects. It is also an original developmental study of Heidegger’s retrieval of ancient philosophy’s sense of temporality and its connection with ethics in the light of the resources in medieval philosophy.
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