Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T15:21:35.438Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Social issues in computer ethics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Luciano Floridi
Affiliation:
University of Hertfordshire
Get access

Summary

Introduction

Social issues in computer ethics are manifold. This chapter will concentrate on three of them: the question of intellectual property, issues related to digital divides, and issues arising out of employment and work. This choice can be justified by the prominence that all three of them enjoy in current computer ethics debates. Other possible issues, such as security (see Chapter 8), gender (see Chapter 9) or globalization (see Chapter 10), are discussed elsewhere in the book. All three of the topics developed in this chapter have in common that they are strongly influenced by economic or commercial considerations. They are, as a consequence, characterized by ethical issues arising from property, ownership, distribution and power, which will point the way to possible approaches to understand and address them.

Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a pervasive issue of ethical relevance that touches many aspects of modern societies. Questions include whether software or content can or should be owned, how they can be protected and how protection mechanisms can be enforced. On a day-to-day level, these questions raise numerous debates, which are played out in the media and courts of law but which are also heatedly discussed in classrooms, parliaments and pubs. The multitude of voices and sheer volume of debates often drown out the fact that, at the bottom of often very different discussions, there are important philosophical arguments.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×