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Moral minimum
- Compare and distinguish the idea of the supererogatory with that of the moral minimum.
- The difference is between that which is morally exemplary versus that which is just over the threshold of wrongdoing.
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"I suggest that moral minimums are best understood as negative standards, universally agreed upon “bottom lines” beyond which it is morally questionable to act. For example, it is almost always wrong to deliberately harm or contribute to harming another person or persons; to deliberately violate their rights to freedom, life, or property; to treat individuals or classes of individuals with disrespect; to compete or cooperate unfairly; not to honor promises or contract; or to be dishonest or deceitful. Whereas these moral minimums do not define goodness, fairness, or benefit, or define the positive content of rights, they set minimum guidelines for behavior that most people everywhere might agree on…." (Werhane, 1999: 122).
- Werhane, P. (1999). Moral Imagination and Management Decision-Making, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Moral exemplar criteria in computing
- Either a sustained commitment to moral ideals or ethical principles in computing that include a generalized respect for humanity or sustained evidence of moral virtue in the practice of computing.
- A disposition to make computing decisions in accord with one’s moral ideals or ethical principles, implying a consistency between one’s actions and intentions and between the means and ends of one’s actions
- A willingness to risk one’s self interest for the sake of one’s moral values.
- A tendency to be inspiring to other computer professional and thereby to move them to moral action
- A sense of realistic humility about one’s own importance relative to the world at large, implying a relative lack of concern for one’s own ego.
- Huff, C. and Barnard, L. (2009). “Good Computing: Moral Exemplars in the Computing Profession”, IEEE Technology and Society Magazine: 47-54.
Responders and idealists
- This quotation from Blum provides a nice characterization of "moral responders."
- "the 'responder' moral exemplar does not, prior to confronting situations in which she manifests moral excellence, possess a set of moral principles which she has worked out explicitly, committed herself to, and attempted to guide her life by."
- "the responder respnods to the situations she faces and to individuals in a 'morally excellent way.'".
- Blum, L. (1994). “Moral Exemplars: reflections on Schindler, the Trochmés, and others”, Moral Perception and Particularity, Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press: 65-97.
Idealists
- According to Blum (and Hailie), Magda Trochme is a responder while her husband, Andre Trochme is an idealist. Both perform morally exemplary and supererogatory actions but out of different motivations.
- "To be an idealist [one] must see these ideals as more than merely personal goals or a personal conception of the good. They must be formulated as general values, and regarded by the agent as having some kind of intrinsic worth or general validity.
- Blum, L. (1994). “Moral Exemplars: reflections on Schindler, the Trochmés, and others”, Moral Perception and Particularity, Cambridge, Mass.: Cambridge University Press: 65-97.
Source:
OpenStax, Introduction to business, management, and ethics. OpenStax CNX. Aug 14, 2016 Download for free at http://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11959/1.4
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