Computer Ethics and Neoplatonic Virtue

International Journal of Cyber Ethics in Education, 1(1), 1-11, January-March 2011 1 Computer Ethics and Neoplatonic Virtue: A Reconsideration of Cyberethics in the Light of Plotinus’ Ethical Theory Giannis Stamatellos, University of Copenhagen, Denmark ABSTRACT In normative ethical theory, computer ethics belongs to the area of applied ethics dealing with practical and everyday moral problems arising from the use of computers and computer networks in the information society. Modern scholarship usually approves deontological and utilitarian ethics as appropriate to computer ethics, while classical theories of ethics, such as virtue ethics, are usually neglected as anachronistic and unsuitable to the information era and ICT industry. During past decades, an Aristotelian form of virtue ethics has been revived in modern philosophical enquiries with serious attempts for application to computer ethics and cyberethics. In this paper, the author argues that current trends and behaviours in online communication require an ethics of self-care found in Plotinus’ self-centred virtue ethics theory. The paper supports the position that Plotinus’ virtue ethics of intellectual autonomy and self-determination is relevant to cyberethics discussions involved in computer education and online communication. Keywords: Computer Ethics, Cyberethics, Intellectual Autonomy, Neoplatonism, Plotinus, SelfDetermination, Virtue Ethics INTRODUCTION In online communication (i.e., online chat rooms, internet blogs, forums and social networks), a new tension arises between our bodily existence and our online existence (Capurro & Pingel, 2002). As Sherry Turkle states in her book Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, in the computer-mediated worlds “the self is multiple, fluid, and constituted in interaction with machine connections” (Turkle, 1995, p. 15). The network user is aloof; divided DOI: 10.4018/ijcee.2011010101 in a psychodynamic plurality of digital identities; both alienated from the physical world and connected in the digital realm of cyberspace and cybertime. According to Taylor, “the moment you enter a virtual environment you immediately have at least two bodies: a corporeal and a digital one” (Taylor, 1999, p. 439). The digital self is dispersed in a hybrid state of being; it experiences an individuation of multiple digital identities; a multi-divergency of digital existence that fragments the self-unifying psychic subject in various representations (Stanovsky, 2004). In the digital realm of online communication, traditional ethical questions are reconsid- Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 2 International Journal of Cyber Ethics in Education, 1(1), 1-11, January-March 2011 ered and new aporias arise concerning moral standards for human behavior. According to Forester and Morrison (1994), the three ethical theories of most likely relevance to computer ethics are ethical relativism, utilitarianism and consequentialism (p. 15). It has been supported that classical theories of ethics, such as virtue ethics, are worth knowing, since they provide a useful philosophical background, but, “they have limited relevance to everyday behavior in the IT industry” (Forester & Morrison, 1994, p. 14). However, virtue ethics has been revived in modern philosophical discussions; particularly after the work of Alasdair MacIntyre’s After Virtue, with some serious attempts for application to computer ethics and cyberethics (Moor, 1998; Coleman, 2001; Grodzinsky, 2001; Hermanns, 2007). Computer ethicists usually emphasize the Aristotelian form of virtue ethics. Moor (1998) maintained that Aristotle’s virtue ethics may help us deal with the problem of the “ethics gap” and computer sprawl. Virtue ethics is also relevant to the ontology of online communication and virtual reality. As Rafael Capurro maintains being digital brings forth a new kind of digital ontology with ethical and metaphysical implications (Capurro, 2001). In the world of online communication, the moral agent “should be guided more by an ethics of care and less by utilitarian and/or deontological premises that may lead either to a purely instrumental or moralist view” (Capurro & Pingel, 2002, p. 194). It is such an ethics of care, or more precisely an ethic of self-care, that is found in Neoplatonic virtue and particularly in Plotinus’ self-centered virtue ethics theory. In this paper, I shall argue that current trends and behaviors in online communication require a self-centered virtue ethics standpoint. Plotinus’ virtue ethics offers a self-centred moral theory (Dillon, 1996; Eliasson, 2008; Plass, 1982; Remes, 2006; Smith, 1999; Stern-Gillet, 2009). I support the position that Plotinus’ virtue ethics of intellectual autonomy and selfdetermination is relevant to cyberethics and, particularly, the character-based moral act of moral selfhood applicable in computer education and ‘netizenship’. Ethical Theories in Computing Computer ethics is related to the systematic study of the ethical and social impact of computers and computer networks in the information society (Bynum, 2001; Johnson, 2001; Stamatellos, 2007; Tavani, 2007). In contemporary normative ethical theory, computer ethics belongs to the area of applied ethics dealing with practical and everyday moral issues. It is usually claimed that computer ethics involves discussions on the moral principles that help the individual to make the right decision and act responsibly on a specific ethical problem: how we ought or ought not to act in a particular case. The first systematical treatment of the term ‘computer ethics’ can be found in James Moor’s article ‘What is Computer Ethics?’ (1985). For Moor, an ethical use of computer technology entails an analysis of both the formulation and the justification of social, legal and professional policies. What should we do in cases where existing policies are inadequate to offer an answer to new problems addressed by the information society? Moor points out an important issue: in computer ethics we are confronted with moral decisions both as individuals and as a society as a whole; computer ethics includes consideration of both personal and social policies for the ethical use of computer technology. Moreover, computer ethics is considered to be dealing with practical questions focusing on moral action: how do I know whether an action is morally right or wrong? This question involves two interrelated factors: the moral action and the moral agent. Herman Tavani (2007) correctly identifies four different kinds of ethical theories relevant to computer ethics decision-making procedures (pp. 47-67): (1) consequence-based (utilitarian); (2) duty-based (deontological); (3) contract-based (rights-based); (4) characterbased (virtue-based). A consequence-based or utilitarian ethics promotes personal happiness and social utility by focusing on the consequences of moral action. The philosophers who introduced a consequence-based ethical theory were Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John S. Mill (1806- Copyright © 2011, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. 9 more pages are available in the full version of this document, which may be purchased using the "Add to Cart" button on the product's webpage: www.igi-global.com/article/computer-ethics-neoplatonicvirtue/52096?camid=4v1 This title is available in InfoSci-Journals, InfoSci-Journal Disciplines Library Science, Information Studies, and Education, InfoSci-Select, InfoSci-Technology Adoption, Ethics, and Human Computer Interaction eJournal Collection, InfoSci-Select, InfoSci-Select. Recommend this product to your librarian: www.igi-global.com/e-resources/libraryrecommendation/?id=2 Related Content Social Activism in the ‘Blackosphere': The Jena 6 Case Lynette Kvasny, Fay Cobb Payton and Kayla D. Hales (2010). 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