Ethical Concepts and Ethical Theories Free-Samples for Students

Question: Demonstrates an excellent ability at applying Ethical theories to the Ethical Issues. Answer: Introduction The United States led by the Pentagon in 2015 commissioned the developed of a stealth drone machine that was set to revolutionise surveillance and payload delivery. In fact, according to an article written by Cathy Burke (October 2015), these drones would have vampire-like capabilities vanishing into thin air after accomplishing their mission. Furthermore, the government was ambitious on the project putting out over $8 million as the initial budget for the 26-weeks design project. Now, this short report will outline the ethical issues and dilemmas associated with this project as presented by Cathys article. Moreover, the analysis will be done in relation to four classical ethical theories. Vanishing drones According to the specification of the proposed device, the drone would deliver resources to personnel in areas that are hard to reach. Furthermore, it would be able to drop payloads (type unknown) to different areas and hide in convenient locations. In addition to this, the drone will conduct surveillance duties free from the watchful eye i.e. at extremely high distances in the air (Newman, 2015). Even without going into many details consider the countless acts of violation on ethical components of privacy, security and intellectual property. First, the drones will operate without the knowledge of civilians. Yes, the military may have the right to conduct surveillance operations but the question is to what extent. Utilitarianism A simple definition of the concepts of utilitarianism states that an action is outlined as ethical or moral if its outcome maximises the good. Drones may have the overall intention of safeguarding human life where in an age characterised by terrorism and other acts of insecurities will provide the necessary intelligence to stop criminals. However, how the acts conducted by the military or surveillance teams are monitored is in question i.e. who monitors those who monitor others. Furthermore, equality is essential, some hard-hit areas like the Middle East may suffer the most particularly, innocent civilians because their fate is judged based on the actions of a few individuals. Their own counts of happiness should not be subject to vanishing drones that may drop bombs based on surveillance collected in secrecy (Lacewing, 2014). Deontology On the other hand, consider the duties held by those in power especially the military who are set to govern the proposed device. Legally, they are obliged to follow certain rules or policies in their actions. However, based on past experiences, these rules will always align with the actions they take regardless of whether they are right or wrong (McNaughton Rawling, 2011). Therefore, in the long run, the implementation and usage of the vanishing drones will depend on the moral standards of the users. Now, consider a situation where a military personnel is under orders to conduct surveillance in a foreign land and execute the appropriate actions based on his judgement on the prevailing security conditions. It is hard to expect a critical assessment particularly from a person whose is miles away from the ground, which again raises some serious ethical dilemmas. In essence, two contrasting deontological ethical issues are exhibited; constraints and duties. The said technology and its users are constrained by their ethical standards to treat others equally regardless of their relationship (even terrorists). However, its their professional duty to protect others with all means necessary. Therefore a conflict will always resonant regardless of the measure put in place to govern the operations executed (Lacewings, 2014). Virtue According to DARPA (The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency), the forefront runner in acquiring the proposed contract, theses drones will only perform good or righteous acts. In fact, they give an example of food and medical delivery systems where the drones will travel to hard to reach areas. However, looking at history many technologies started as a means or way of improving our way of lives but fell short of the course, best example atomic and nuclear bombs (Newman, 2015). So, the people involved from the developers to the end users (military personnel in an enclosed cubicle) are subject to their moral standards. In fact, their character development and standards will outline the ethical outcomes. In essence, their decisions to use the technology will determine the moral outcomes of the project. Furthermore, its the purpose and functions of the people to take moral decisions particularly those that affect other people (Saschina, 2011). Nevertheless, consider the minimal resources that would be used if the righteous acts (delivering food) were conducted in conjunction with other military operations for instance surveillance. First, the privacy of the affected is violated, secondly, their security is compromised if the wrongdoers discover the subtle acts of the military (Reid, 2015). Contract Finally, the proposed project as outlined by Cathys article inherently does have its contractual obligations to society which in the end may either help or sabotage its course from an ethical point of view. According to Locke Rawls (20th Century philosophies), there exists universal policies or principles that govern our societies. If these rules were absent the outcome would likely be a negative outcome, although at some point rational individuals would eventually develop the said rules. In our case study, the vanishing drone project is likely to have many legal loopholes that are likely to be exploited by selfish individuals having their own agendas. Now, this line of thought is completely justified especially when you consider past and existing experiences where for instance, in the field of cyber-security minimal international laws exist to apprehend and prosecute international cyber-criminals (Donaldson Werhane, 1983). Therefore, a social contract or a critical legal framework must be put in place to guide the users in their functions and also to govern their moral outlooks. Nevertheless, before developing the said rules or laws, the developers (DARPA and U.S. Pentagon) must assess its contractual obligation not only to its immediate society (Americans) bust also to those in foreign lands (Where the drones are used). Conclusion Morality is an overall system that governs people to perform good acts that are free from evil and harm (Gert, 1998). Therefore, ethically upright decisions should promote human life without harming those who are involved, either directly or indirectly. Cathys article raises serious ethical issues in the field of privacy, security and intellectual property. The proposed project is set to revolutionise surveillance where unmanned vehicles (drones) will have extended capabilities than those they currently possess. Yes, they will collect valuable intelligence on security matters such as terrorism however, this information will likely be collected without the consent of innocent civilians. Furthermore, the system is set to have extended capabilities, carrying payloads of enormous weight which raises the serious concerns to the potential of carrying harmful equipment such as ammunition. Moreover, the existing drone projects already have serious ethical concerns where military personnel in foreign lands are used to execute drone strikes that have resulted in serious casualties most of are innocent civilians. In addition to this, the developers i.e. DARPA may have good intentions with the project however, the application could stray from the course to meet other extended operations. Finally, consider the method of operation where stealth mode is proposed. Regardless of the location or region, they are used, the drones will likely infringe on the intellectual property of the residents i.e. their air space. So, who will govern this outcome? What laws or ethical standards will determine the implementation and application of the proposed device? References Burke. C. (2015). Pentagon Creating 'Vampire-Like' Drones That Disappears in Sunlight. Newsmax. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://www.newsmax.com/US/pentagon-creating-vampire-drones/2015/10/12/id/695797/ Donaldson. T Werhane. P. (1983). Introduction to ethical reasoning. Ethical issues in business, 1(7). Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://faculty.tuck.dartmouth.edu/images/uploads/faculty/adam-kleinbaum/introduction_to_ethical_reasoning.pdf Gert. (1998). Ethical concepts and ethical theories: Establishing and justifying a moral system. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://www.dlc-ubc.ca/wordpress_dlc_mu/edcp473/files/2011/12/4340_001.pdf Lacewing. M. (2014). Kants deontological ethics. Routledge Taylor Francis group. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138793934/A22014/ethical_theories/Kant%27s%20deontological%20ethics.pdf Lacewing. M. (2014). Utilitarianism. Routledge Taylor Francis group. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138793934/A22014/ethical_theories/Utilitarianism.pdf McNaughton. D Rawling. P. (2011). Deontological ethics. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://documents.routledge-interactive.s3.amazonaws.com/9781138936485/instr_philosophical/deontological_ethics.pdf Newman. L. (2015). DARPA Wants to Create Delivery Vehicles That Vanish After Dropping Off Their Payload. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2015/10/13/darpa_s_new_icarus_vanishing_delivery_vehicles_program.html Reid. G. (2015). Studies in religion and ethics. Religious studies. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://resource.download.wjec.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/vtc/2014-15/Religious%20St/RS3%20CHR/Eng/WJEC_Studies%20in%20Religion%20and%20Ethics%20_A2.pdf Saschina. (2011). Ethical theories. A comparison of the three main branches of normative ethics. Retrieved 02 May, 2017, from: https://sites.saschina.org/thiessen/files/2011/08/Ethical-Theories-compared.pdf