Review Sheet for Essay Exam 1
The exam will be held in Hinde Auditorium in the Student Union on February 27 from 12 PM to 1:15 PM. Part I of the exam is to be done in the exam room in a blue book. Part II (see below) is to be handed in to me at the start of the exam. No late exams or late short essays will be accepted.
Part I:
You will select from the 15 items listed below 10 items for which you
should prepare answers. The answer for
each of the items must consist of the following two parts (A and B).
- State the meaning of the
words, or phrases, or sentences that compose the item. That is, explain
what the item means. You may use words
from the outline view on which the item appears. But make sure that your explanation is
clear, complete, and concise.
- For each of the items
that you explain, state as a single
question the moral issue studied by us in class that is related to
the item. The moral issue is the question that is stated at the top of
the outline view on which the item that you have selected appears. The
moral issue related to the item is the main issue that we discussed or debated in the class in which
the selected item was one of the secondary points mentioned.
Click
here to see Sample Answer for Part 1 of Exam.
Base your answer on readings in the course reader and lecture notes in the
course pack. Use complete sentences. These items and the issues that is related
to each item can be found by studying the lecture outline views that are
collected in Philosophy 103 Course Pack. (70%)
- "Inequalities as
defined by the institutional structure or fostered by it are arbitrary
unless it is reasonable to expect that they will work out to everyone’s
advantage and provided that the positions and offices to which they attach
or from which they may be gained are open to all."
- "The traditionalist
account over-simplifies the task of computer ethics insofar as it suggests
that extending old norms to new situations is a somewhat mechanical …
process….This hides the fact that….the first step is to clear up the
conceptual muddles."
- "When a corporate
executive… spends… for ‘social purposes’… he becomes, in effect, a public
employee."
- Reasoning by Analogy
- Algorithm, source code,
object program
- "On the grounds of
consequences, can the corporate executive in fact discharge his alleged
‘social responsibilities’? He is presumably an expert in running his
company… But nothing about his selection makes him an expert on
inflation."
- Stakeholders
- Stakeholder Paradox
- "Ethical issues
surrounding computer and information technology are a new species of
general, or traditional moral issues."
- There are two types of
situation in which the simple rule of maximizing profits is not in the
best interest of society: the case in which it takes a long time for a
society to be paid back for its loses, and the case in which the seller
has considerably more knowledge about is product than the buyer,
particularly with regard to safety and performance.
- Veil of Ignorance
- "The socially
responsible firm’s problem is that by cooperating in one-shot dilemmas, it
receives a lower payoff than do firms that defect… I will describe five
possible areas in which the socially responsible firm might compensate for
that disadvantage."
- "Suppose that
cooperators were distinguishable at a glance from defectors. …the
cooperators would pair off systematically with one another to reap the
benefits of mutual cooperation."
- "Software is
intelligible as a nontangible entity."
- Consequentialist framework
for analyzing the property right issues surrounding software.
Part II: To be handed in at the time of the exam, about 2 typewritten
pages in which you (30%):
- Briefly describe a recent
work-related situation which created a moral conflict for you and briefly
describe how you resolved the conflict.
- Briefly explain what moral
principles, values or considerations guided your decision regarding how to
resolve the conflict.