Ethics and Cyber-Ethics - Book Report/Review Example

Ethics and Cyber-ethics College Ethics and Cyber-ethics Cory Doctorows Little Brother is a science fiction novel that borrows much from the political science, technology and ethics in the society. Incidentally, though the novel is in the fiction genre, it clearly demonstrates the happenings in the contemporary American with a high degree of vividness. The book is particularly about cyber ethics in examining how technology has aroused the technology gurus and the government to act unethically on both ends. The internet encyclopedia of philosophy defines ethics as a field of moral philosophy that relates to defending, recommending and systemizing the concepts of what is right or wrong (Fiester, n.d). As such, normative ethics entails moral standards that seek to regulate the right and moral conduct of individuals and institutions. On the Other hand, cyber ethics is the practice of applying responsible and ethical behavior while at the same time observing moral obligations and duties with respect to digital media and online environments (Whittier, 2006). Cyber-ethics involves the application of individuals ethical concepts in choosing what is right and applying the same on online platforms; these are the major issues that the book examines. Therefore, the book examines the spirited efforts of a group of teens ready to fight against unethical regime using the same unethical means, a clear demonstration of the contemporary American society. First, the boys are unethical in that Marcus and his friend Darryl use their technical skills to escape from tight surveillance in their school. Notwithstanding the purpose of the escape, the boys were unethical in escaping from school while they had an obligation to remain in the secured facility studying. In addition, hacking to elude the security system in the school, to chat with friends and play games that were not allowed in school was also unethical and portrayed Marcus as lacking cyber-ethics. It was unethical to hack and escape from the school surveillance that ensured their safety, which not only endangered their lives but also the lives of other students. Marcus lacked cyber-ethics and was determined to pursue any lead to his interest at the expense of others. By plotting to pursue an online treasure with the rest of the boys, Marcus and his friends were unethical. Instead of first concentrating on their education, they were more interested in treasures, an unethical decision that could later lead them to serious problems. Therefore, the book portrays Marcus as acting unethically and lacking cyber-ethics though the unethical behavior later opened up a new page where Marcus used his skills to fight against the unethical regime that could not encourage dissents. The book brings terrorism into the picture to demonstrate the unethical ideology behind terrorism and terrorists to take away innocent lives and to cause damage to property. Destruction of the Bay Bridge by terrorists was an indication of how morals and ethics have eroded in the wider society where violence is glorified as the order of the day. It is through the excuse of terrorism that the book demonstrates the unethical side of law enforcers and the government. For instance, Darryl was injured in the terrorist attack. While Marcus tried to get help from a military vehicle, the same people mandated to help and protect the citizens, the military instead unethically terrorized the young boys. The military were unethical for first not helping the boys knowing they were injured then hooding, cuffing and piling them into a trailer. The treatment was inhuman and indicated the lack of ethics and morals in the military. Though Marcus and his friends were found at the wrong place and at the wrong time, there was a better way for the military to question them to reveal their real identities. However, Marcus, though a young defenseless by is treated as a potential combatant of the United States and is denied all rights of an accused or an underage suspect. It was unethical for the military to detain the teens without food, deny Marcus the right to privacy and the right to be represented by a lawyer. All in all, the military used torture and other unethical ways to coerce him to give his passwords, which was a violation of his privacy. "Theyd taken everything from me. First my privacy, then my dignity. Id been ready to sign anything. I would have signed a confession that said Id assassinated Abraham Lincoln" (25). The military did not consider obtaining a court order, the basic criteria for a search. The police even tortured Marcus and his friends, an unethical way to handle suspects, and a sure way of forcing people to act unethically against the same law enforcers: "I didnt like these people. I decided right then, they would pay a price for all this" (Doctorow, 19).It was unethical to violate the rights of others, a typical case of contempt of consent. The government is described as unethical faceless entity ready and with the sole purpose of trumping down on any dissent. The government is a group of people who use power for selfish sake to dominate, attain, control and maintain the same power. The unethical behavior the government creating faceless entities in a world of people with faces is only meant to cover the unjust and unethical acts. Frustrated by the government, the people as represented by Marcus, vowed to forget about cyber-ethics and wage war against an oppressive regime as Marcus says: Im going to get them, I whispered, staring at my soda. ‘Im going to get them." (Doctorow, 27). The result was ignorance of cyber-ethics as Marcus wages a spirited cyber war against the oppressive government that he considered unethical to Americans. The use of the encrypted Linux program quickly spread among youths who vehemently disrupted the operations of the Homeland Security Department. Though the move was unethical, it was the only way that Marcus and his friend could send a signal to the government that all was not well. Though lacking cyber-ethics, Marcus, and his friends finally managed to have the government realize its unethical ways as represented by the governor of California. Certainly, the book brings out a conflict between cyber –ethics and ethics when Marcus states that "This is why I loved technology: if you used it right, it could give you power and privacy" (Doctorow, 33). The right use of technology amounts to lack of cyber-ethics while the powers to have the government realize its mistakes is ethical; it amplifies the good for all. In summary, acting ethically is choosing what is right for what is wrong. As such, there is a dilemma about ethics and whatever ethics is dependent on case by case rather than being a universal measure of behavior. For instance, it is true Marcus acted unethically by escaping from school and in hacking the schools system. Moreover, the government and the military were unethical in using torture, silencing dissents and the blatant violation of rights to privacy and fair treatment. However, Marcus use of technology to attack the same system that was unethical later resulted in the government realizing its wrong doings and made attempts to correct these. To this extent, Marcus and his friends, though using unethical cyber-attacks could not be said to act unethically; they managed to ring a warning bell to the government that had lost touch with its citizenry that it was supposed to protect. Therefore, the book could suggest that acting ethically depends on the intent rather than the act itself. References Doctorow, C. (n,d) Little Brother. Cory Doctorow. Web. Accessed from http://craphound.com/littlebrother/Cory_Doctorow_-_Little_Brother.pdf. Fieser, J. (n,d). Ethics. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed from. http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ Whittier, D. (2006). Cyber ethics in the Googling Age. Journal of Education, 187(2), 1-6 Read More