The document discusses conflicting values and norms in ethical issues. It presents a model for analyzing ethical issues with the following components: 1. The goal of ethical conduct is realizing a good life for people through well-being and desire-fulfillment. 2. There are side-constraints of respecting autonomy, integrity, and justice/fair distribution. 3. Ethical competency and structural factors like legal and economic issues also influence ethical decisions. The model is meant to provide a framework for deliberating ethical issues around information technology uses in particular situations.

1. Conflicting values and
norms
Lars Sandman
Professor, University of Borås

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Ethical issues
 Ethical issues = issues about values and norms
 …but also about facts…
 Factual propositions be true or false
 Value propositions be true or false?
 Nothing ’out there’ corresponding to our
propositions…except our opinions? A relativistic
claim…
 Or…also values and norms can be true or false
 Test what these different assumptions imply – and
whether we act as to fulfil these assumptions
 However – we seem to take ethical issues
seriously and argue around ethical issues when
having different opinions as if they were factual
issues

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Ethical issues
 So…it would seem the assumption that there
might be true or false answers also to ethical
issues fits better with how we deal with these
issues. That will be my assumption here.
 If accepting that assumption – we need to find an
answer to what these values and norms are…a
bit more difficult – here we can resort to peoples
critically analyzed, argued and consistent
opinions about this – hoping that this will bring us
closer to the truth.
 I will present a possible model for how to think
around ethical issues in concrete cases – that
you will have to critically scrutinize

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An ethical model
 The goal of ethical conduct
 Side-constraints to reach this goal
 Ethical competency
 Structural factors

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An ethical model – the
goal
 The goal of ethical conduct is to
realize a good life for people
 Experiential well-being
 Desire-fulfilment
 In what way does this information
technology add to the good of people’s
lives? Who will be benefited and who will
not? Can we assess a total net benefit of
the technology?

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An ethical model – side-
constraints
 Respect for autonomy
 If people are autonomous – competent
 Strong norm which we need good
reasons to go against
 Respect for integrity
 Physical integrity
 Privacy
 According to peoples preferences
 If not possible to assess preferences -
caution

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An ethical model – side-
constraints
 Justice and fair distribution
 Being treated justly – not take into account
irrelevant characteristics of the person
 Scarce resources being fairly distributed
 Different ideas around fair distribution
 Equal distribution – type of goods to be
distributed?
 Some factors should not guide the distribution
 Outcomes or possibilities?
 Needs
 Desert and individual responsibility

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An ethical model – ethical
competency and structural
factors
 Ethical competency
 Skills needed to identify, analyze, argue
and act in relation to ethical issues
 Structural factors
 Factors that normally will influence our
competency and our alternatives
 Legal
 Economical
 Organizational
 Cultural

9. In conclusion
 Some critical remarks
 Provide a structure and joint
framework for ethical deliberation
aroundn the use of information
technology in concrete situations
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