Course Syllabus

PHIL 103.01 Business and Computer Ethics

Mendocino 1005, MWF 11-11:50am

Since about 1800, the world has witnessed astonishing economic growth with per capita income increasing by a factor of 10. That’s not 10 percent, that’s 10 times more bread, pens, education and whatever since 1800. For countries like Australia, Germany and the United States that have been able to take greater advantage of modern innovations, it is more like a factor of 30—or on the order of 3000%. It is the Great Enrichment and what is remarkable about the wealth explosion is that, despite the rise and fall of civilizations and empires, it had never happened before. — Deirdre McCloskey

Instructor

Office hours

I will be available for office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays 12-1:20pm in Mendocino 3030, Zoom, and by appointment.

Reasonable Accommodation

If your circumstances require accommodation or assistance in meeting the expectations of this course, please let me know as soon as possible. You may need to provide documentation to the University office of SSWD (in accordance with the University policy outlined here: https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/centers-programs/services-students-disabilities/).

Course Description

From the catalogue: Analytical treatment of controversial moral issues which emerge in the business world, e.g., affirmative action, corporate responsibility, the global economy, industry and environmental damage, social effects of advertising, the computer threat to personal privacy, ownership of computer programs. Discussion will focus on basic moral principles and concepts relevant to these issues.

More!

Commercial activity has been and is a source of productivity, innovation, technological advancement and wealth. It contributes to the well-being of society. One big question we will take up is how it does this.

But corporations and business leaders engaged in commercial activity also behave immorally and irresponsibly.

Ideally, we’d have more of the former and less of the latter. This course supposes that the tools of ethical analysis can be of some help in explaining some of these problems and proposing ways to avoid them. It can, first, at a micro-level:

Why aren’t people more morally virtuous more often? Why do morally decent people do bad things?
Are there ways we could make use of discoveries in moral psychology to improve our ethical performance?
What moral virtues and moral principles ground good business practices that lead to more people leading better lives?

At a macro-level the issues more concern what commercial activity would look like in a just society:

Do corporations have any special moral duties or obligations? What is “corporate social responsibility”? To whom are corporate managers (CEOs) primarily responsible? What kind of responsibilities do they have?
What are the moral foundations of commercial activity and a market society? What virtues, if any, are on display in such activity? Why should we have private property and a system that allocates scarce resources with a competitive price system?
What are the moral limits of markets? Are there some things that should not be bought or sold? Why? In what ways would commercial activity be constrained or regulated in a just society?

Objectives and outcomes

By the conclusion of this course, it should be true that students (a) understand the moral and political issues that affect questions of the appropriate role of corporations in a just society and are able to (b) apply this understanding to make sense of existing social practices and institutions (c) analyze current problems and controversies and (d) evaluate proposed solutions to them. You will need to give evidence of your ability to understand, apply, analyze and evaluate in your writing and contributions to class discussions.

Phil 103 is a GE course in area D (https://www.csus.edu/undergraduate-studies/general-education/_internal/_documents/area-d-learning-outcomes.pdf). Area D learning outcomes are that you:

Describe and evaluate ethical and social values in their historical and cultural contexts.
Explain and apply the principles and methods of academic disciplines to the study of social and individual behavior.
Demonstrate an understanding of the role of human diversity in human society, for example, race, ethnicity, class, age, ability/disability, sexual identity, gender and gender expression.
Explain and critically examine social dynamics and issues in their historical and cultural contexts.

Text

There is no text to purchase. All required readings are pieces available as links or .pdf documents in Canvas. The schedule is below.

Class procedures and conduct

You must come to class each scheduled meeting prepared to discuss the assigned readings in an intelligent and informed way. This requires you to have read and thought about all materials assigned for that meeting. Moreover, you should expect to be required at each scheduled class meeting to put these preparations on display as an active participant in the lectures, discussions, assessments, activities, contests and games. Please avoid disrupting class meetings and other ways of being rude. This means that you shouldn’t use electronic devices, carry on private conversations with people around you, sleep, read, arrive late or leave early.

Assessment

Please do not cheat. If you do then at a minimum you will be marked with a zero on the assignment. Multiple and/or flagrant violations will lead to me assigning a failing grade for the course and initiating disciplinary action through the Office of Student Affairs. Familiarize yourselves with the University’s Academic Honesty Policies and Procedures document (here: https://www.csus.edu/student-affairs/student-conduct/academic-dishonesty.html).

Your final grade is determined by how many total points you earn, with these grade thresholds: 93 points=A, 90 points=A-, 87 points=B+, 83 points=B, 80 points=B-, 77 points=C+, 73 points=C, 70 points=C-, 67 points=D+, 63 points=D, 60 points=D-, and F = all scores less than 60 points.

There are these ways of earning points:

1. Be an active and thoughtful participant in class meetings. (35 possible points)

Someone who earns all these points would:

Demonstrate familiarity with the readings;
Offer original and thoughtful ideas and perspectives;
Share relevant perspectives and experiences;
Pose good questions; and
Take stands and defend them with references to readings and discussions.

I will assess this in a variety of ways in class throughout the semester. I may ask for a summary and/or response related to the assigned reading or some other activity or “thought question” that requires you to engage with the course material. These aren’t always announced ahead of time. You’re either in class to earn the points, or you aren’t.

2. Answer questions on a scheduled midterm exam based primarily on readings and classroom lectures/discussions since the beginning of the semester. (30 possible points)

Exam is October 19.

3. Answer questions on a scheduled final exam based primarily on readings and classroom lectures/discussions since the midterm exam. (35 possible points)

Exam is TBA.

Schedule (see the reading list in "Modules" folder):

DATE

TOPIC/ACTIVITY

READING/ASSIGNMENT

Aug 29	Course overview This is a class in applied ethics, but applied ethics is a little suspicious…	Syllabus
31	How moral are we?	Frankena, Why be moral?
Sept 2	Continued
7	People are bad and awful	Milgram, The perils of obedience
9	Continued
12	Why are we so bad?	Ariely, (Dis)honesty: the truth about lies Bazerman & Tenbrunsel, Ethical breakdowns
14	Continued
16	How can we do better?	Cooperation game
19	More cooperation	Smith, Of the division of labor
21	The great fact	Ridley, When ideas have sex Swan and Vargas, Lockean property rights
23	Continued
26	How do markets work?	Taylor, The guidance of production in the socialist state Hayek, The use of knowledge in society)
28	What it costs to do something	Bastiat, What is seen and what is not seen
30	Continued
Oct 3	How it kind of works	Trading game
5	Private property in ideas?	NPR's This American Life, Patent trolls
7	Intellectual property and tech	Posner, The law and economics of intellectual property
10	Continued
12	Internet expression	Sec. 230 of The Communications Decency Act
14	Continued
17	Cyber-coordination	The state of nature
19	MIDTERM EXAM
21	Internet privacy	Mayes, Privacy in a transparent age
24	Continued
26	Surveillance capitalism	Zuboff, A digital declaration
28	Continued
31	Blockchain technology	Berensten and Schar, A short introduction to the world of cryptocurrencies
Nov 2	More on the blockchain	No new reading
4	Net neutrality	Swan, Upgrade to dance of reason prime!
7	Neutrality and the consumer	Becker, et al., Net neutrality and consumer welfare
9	Continued
14	What are the social responsibilities of business?	Friedman, The social responsibility of business is to increase profits
16	Corporate governance	Heath, A market failures approach to business ethics
18	Continued
21	Market and government failures	Jaworski, An absurd tax on our fellow citizens
23	Even more failure	Munger, Market failure and sensible regulation
28	Moral limits to markets	Sandel, What money can't buy
30	More commodification	Anderson, Is women's labor a commodity?
Dec 2	Special Ethics Center Event
5	Even babies?	Hall, An argument for "selling" babies
7	Markets in everything	Brennan and Jaworski, Markets without symbolic limits
9	"Cushion" Day/Review	No reading
TBA	FINAL EXAM