PHIL 112: Ethics and the Cybersociety
PHIL 112-DL1: Ethics and Cybersociety
(Fall 2026)
Online
Section Information for Fall 2026
This course provides an introduction to issues in information technology ethics (or "cyberethics"). It aims to develop your familiarity with those issues and your ability to think critically about them using various types of ethical reasoning, as found in Introduction to Ethics - Chapter 2 in the textbook. We will pursue this aim by considering important ethical theories as well as their implications for some of the issues raised by the use of computers and other information technologies. The specific issues that we will consider are:
Intellectual Property and Software Ownership (Guiding Questions: To what extent should software be considered property, if at all? Should software be patented, copyrighted, etc.? Is “software piracy” ever morally permissible?) – Chapter 4 in the textbook
Computer and Network Security – Computer Crimes and Cyberattacks (Guiding Questions: When, if ever, are attacks on computer systems (e.g., computer “hacking,” denial-of-service attacks, virus deployments, ransomware attacks, theft of information) morally permissible? Is it possible to wage a just cyberwar?) – Chapter 7 in the textbook
Privacy and Regulation of the Internet (Guiding Questions: To what extent ought one's activity on the internet be private? What exactly is privacy, and why is it important? When, if ever, is it permissible for one's activity on the internet to be monitored and/or regulated by government or law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI or Homeland Security?) – Chapters 5 and 6 in the textbook
Networked Communications (Social Media) (Guiding Questions: To what extent ought one's activity on social media platforms be deemed “freedom of expression”? When, if ever, is it permissible for the owners of social media platforms, or the government, to restrict or terminate public use of these platforms?) – Chapter 3 in the textbook
Breakthroughs in Artificial Intelligence (Guiding Questions: What is AI’s purpose? What are the advantages of AI? What are the disadvantages of AI? Does AI pose a real danger to humans?) – Chapter 10, Section 3 in the textbook
You will learn to reflect on these issues using the argumentative methods and ethical theories that we will learn in this course. Your reflections will be guided by the case studies and the ethical reasoning presented in the course text. By engaging in online discussions and taking quizzes, you will achieve an understanding of important information technologies and the ethical issues that they raise, as well as a proficiency at engaging in critical reasoning concerning those issues.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, you will be expected to:
•
Be familiar with the vocabulary and methods of information technology ethics
•
Be able to explain and critically analyze major ethical theories in the Western philosophical tradition
•
Understand in detail the specific issues listed above involving computers and other information technologies
•
Be able to apply major ethical theories in the Western philosophical tradition to these ethical issues
•
Be able to present, defend, and critically analyze arguments for specific positions that allegedly answer the course's "guiding questions" (above)
This is an online asynchronous section.
View 1 Other Section of this Course in this Semester »
Tags:
Course Information from the University Catalog
Credits: 1
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.
The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.