The Ethos Evolving Ethics

Evolving Ethical Ideologies in the Digital Age:

A Critique of Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics

The Ethos of Ethical Balance

Introduction 

Ethical theories have long served as the guiding principles of and for human behaviour, shaping how individuals and societies make moral and or ethical decisions. Among the prominent ethical frameworks are Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics; each of these offering distinct perspectives on what constitutes moral action and or intention.

However, as one navigates the complexities of a Digital Age characterized by rapid technological growth, advancements and unprecedented challenges, these traditional ethical ideologies have come under scrutiny. In this essay, let us examine how the Digital Age's proliferation of unethical personal and business practices renders these traditional ethical themes less viable, necessitating an evolution in ethical ideology to address the needs of a globalized and interconnected world.

Deontology: Rule-based Ethics in the Digital Landscape 

Deontology, championed by philosophers like Immanuel Kant, posits that an individual’s actions are inherently right or wrong based on the adherence to moral rules or duties. While this framework emphasizes principles such as honesty and respect for an individuals' autonomy, its rigid nature struggles to adapt to the fluid and dynamic nature of the Digital Age.

However, the rise of Cybercrime, Privacy Breaches, and Artificial Intelligence challenges the feasibility of applying fixed rules to an ever-evolving technological landscape. The prevalence of Hacking, Online Scams, and Data Breaches exposes the limitations of rule-based Ethics, as these actions often fall outside the scope of predefined Rules.

Utilitarianism: Consequentialism and the Digital Dilemmas 

Utilitarianism, attributed to philosophers like John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham, evaluates actions and intentions based on their outcomes' overall happiness or utility. In the Digital Age, however, the quantification of utility becomes increasingly complex. The advent of Social Media has brought about unprecedented connectivity, but it has also facilitated the spread of misinformation and Cyberbullying, raising concerns about the net impact on well-being.

Moreover, the Ethical Dilemmas posed by emerging technologies like Autonomous Vehicles force the average individual to grapple with decisions, where there are no clear quantifiable outcomes. The Utilitarian Calculus struggles to accommodate the nuances and uncertainties inherent in the digital landscape, demanding a more adaptable ethical approach.

Virtue Ethics: Character in a Digital World 

Virtue Ethics, rooted in the philosophies of Aristotle and Confucius, focuses on cultivating virtuous character traits to guide ethical behaviour. While this approach emphasizes personal growth and moral development, its relevance is challenged in the Digital Age.

Online interactions often prioritize anonymity, leading to a detachment from Personal Accountability and and subsequent deficiencies and lapses in Ethical Conduct. The proliferation of digital personas and the ease of creating false identities erode the foundations of Virtue Ethics, where Character in its integrity is integral to moral action.

Additionally, the speed and scale of digital communication often prioritize immediate reactions over thoughtful contemplation, hindering the cultivation of virtuous traits. Behind the Mask there are Predators and none are held to account for their unethical practices, while anonymity is their disguise.

The Need for Ethical Evolution 

As the Digital Age presents new Ethical Challenges, it is evident that the traditional Ethical Ideologies of Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics are ill-equipped to address the complexities of the Modern World. Unethical Personal and Business practices, facilitated by the anonymity and global reach of the Digital Realm, expose the limitations of these established frameworks. The interconnectedness of the Global Community and the rapid pace of technological change requires and demands an evolution in Ethical Ideology.

 Any emergence of a new Ethical Paradigm should consider several factors: 

1. Global Interconnectedness: The digital landscape erases geographical boundaries, necessitating an ethical framework that transcends Cultural; transcends Ethnicity and all Societal differences that are claimed by the Social Construct that plagues Humankind as a Species.

2. Technological Complexity: Emerging technologies introduce novel Ethical Dilemmas that cannot be easily addressed by rigid rules or quantitative calculations. What may be accessible to a few, held at arms length for the masses creates Ethical Issues that extend unethical tentacles into the Future.

3. Dynamic Nature of Morality: Ethical considerations in the Digital Age must account for evolving norms, values, and standards, which may require constant reassessment. The reevaluation of Ethical Standards must, by necessities in accountability transcend boundaries torn down through connectivity and made universal Internationally.

4. Balancing Individual and Collective Interests: Ethical frameworks must strike a balance between individual autonomy and the collective well-being of the global community. The Global Community is nothing without the autonomy of its individuals, and their freedom to choose an Ethical Path – balancing the needs of the many with the needs of the individual. All must arrive at Prosperity in Harmony with each other.

Conclusion 

In the Digital Age of Unethical Personal and Business Practices, traditional ethical theories of Deontology, Utilitarianism, and Virtue Ethics find themselves strained by the complexities and nuances of new modern, unknown challenges. As technology reshapes the World, an Ethical Evolution is imperative.

The Future demands an Ethical Ideology that encompasses All parts of the interconnected nature of our World, that adapts to technological complexities, while accommodating the fluidity of evolving moral norms, which serve all Humanity, and carefully balances the individual’s and the collective interests of the whole. This new Ethical Paradigm should be flexible, adaptive, and deeply attuned to the Digital Era's unique demands, fostering a more Ethical and Harmonious coexistence for the entirety of the Human Species – Ethical Social Development.

Written - August 14th. 2023

R. Anthony H. Rock

(Founder/CEO of TRi-E Foundation)

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A Question of PEACE...from April 8th 2009

Man-kind & Peace?

First, I acknowledge that this is a REPOST of an earlier Blog, where the Question remains unanswered.
I would like to open this dissertation, first by saying welcome and hello; Lleri_el I am; you know little of me, but I know much about you. Secondly I open with a unique question. One I have asked often throughout History and many of those I have become acquainted with and their friends over the past few years.

One I have wonder about for what seems to be all my lifetimes. Every time I observe another day’s conflict, another day’s economic crisis or another day of war. Every new day there is some new atrocity. So I contemplated, thought long and hard on these human crises, a search for truth and I understood the question no human, no army, no government, no ethnic, no religious or cultural group as ever asked of its patrons. The one question rarely posed, rarely answered in the history of Mankind’s constant warfare with themselves;

“What is PEACE?”

Before humanity can answer this question, I would ask any who would answer, to first put aside your anger, it is wrongly placed; secondly, think not of their individual lives, but of the lives of everyone on this world. It is always easiest to see the world from ones own eyes. It is most difficult to see the world through the eyes of others, as it is to walk a mile in another’s shoes, but for one to answer this question with an educated, experienced, knowledgeable and informed answer, one must look at the world through those other eyes.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; freedom from wars, or the time when a war or conflict ends; the signing of the peace agreement. Look closely at the world about you, treaties and pacts have been signed, charters and demands have been made from one end of history to the next and still Mankind wars. As one looks at a world in so called crisis, all peoples, do not see with open eyes; it is not a world in crisis, but it is Mankind in crisis. At no time during history has the world seen complete freedom from war, so this cannot be a definition for Peace. The freedom from war, where ‘Mankind‘ once said “never again,” is incarcerated by soldiers following orders they have yet to understand.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; tranquillity: a calm and quiet state, free from disturbances or noise. This tranquility can be and has been experienced many times the world over, at most times when the world is asleep, only to awaken to the noise and disturbances of lives lived in poverty, disease, desolation and war; fore if a single human walking the Earth this day goes hungry, they have not known the calm and quiet states, that monks and priests observe beyond the norm of civilization. However the world is not at Peace, fore it has never known such calm, such quiet states, lasting tranquility. The tranquility of Peace is interrupted by war, crime and turmoil.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; mental calm: a state of mental calm and serenity, with no anxiety. Are such transcendental states the norm of every day life? When during the course of this fast paced, avarice and economic world today, does anyone have the few moments for mental calm, under the daily stresses of their own lives, not to mention the lives of all those who struggle for survival in the war torn regions of the world, those who hunger and dwell in poverty, their lives have fewer moments of mental calm. The mental calm is replaced by constant stress and worry over what the next day will bring.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; harmony: freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people. In what part of the world today can one find such harmony, this freedom from conflict and disagreement? Is Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas or any part of the world where crime exists, where war rages, where average people disagree and conflict with each other know of such harmony? Look at this congregation gathered here today in disagreement of what is happening elsewhere in the world. While together you stand here in unison, angered at the actions of others, and the lives lost through petty conflicts and the inhumane treatment of you peers, thousands of miles away, there is no harmony. The harmonious freedom from conflict is enjoyed, only by those with enough money to watch from a distance.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; a peace treaty: a treaty agreeing to an end of hostilities between two warring parties. Where in the world have these treaties be honoured after ratification and signing. As new leaders take control of countries and states around the world, where are the ancient treaties signed in good faith honoured? Promises made and never kept; initiate disagreements and conflicts across the globe, where treaties and agreements have been forgotten. Treaties signed to ensure Peace are used to initiate wars.

"What is PEACE?"

Peace is described as; law and order: the absence of violence or other disturbances within a state. Where Peace reigns throughout the land. In what land do they speak; when to land has crime, there is no peace; when there is poverty, there is no peace; when billions starve, there is no peace; when countries and states conflict and war, there is no peace. Where innocent people struggle to survive, while fanatics war, there is no peace. Look at the state of the world, the Middle East, Africa, Afghanistan, European Union, China, the Russian Republics, I see no freedom from war, no tranquility, no mental calm, no harmony, no peace treaties and no law and order. The laws enacted to Serve and Protect are daily used to enslave and oppress.

"What is PEACE?"

When you consider, every country, every state, and every region takes unto themselves laws for some never enforced for others. Where the rights of humans and humanity can be altered depending on ones religion, ethnic background, or the color of your skin can be observed as atrocities perpetrated on innocent people. Not only are these things evident, but Mankind as a whole does nothing to resolve them. They refuse to stand together, because they fear each other.

While that fear festers in every heart, mind and soul, it is up to each of you to choose what happens next. Content you may be with your lives here in this seemingly peaceful land, but look more closely. Troops and Canadian Soldiers risk life and limb in other countries to preserve that which none have ever had. How fair the mental state of families and friends of those fighting in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.

While you stand here, I am sure there is little mental calm within this group, not to mention those who are forced to endure the warring states, which encircle their lives with death and destruction. The Gaza Strip holds your attention today, but what will hold your attention tomorrow. Peace should hold your attention every day. Peace is the lesser violence that Mankind chooses to ignore. It is a balanced equality and harmony of “all things.” Mankind knows not Peace, until they understand and agree with a single conceptual ideal of Peace.

What is Peace?

Peace has many definitions, but no tangible effect to the human race. Until all can live in Peace, none are at peace. It is terrifying to Mankind‘s warrior leaders. Terror is observed as the enemy on both sides of a battlefield, where the innocent lives of children are lost, where adult disagree and conflict over, wealth, power and fame, where humans are oppressed and enslaved through economic means.

What is Peace?

If all Mankind cannot share in its warmth, in its harmony and in its mental calm and serenity. For how many years have the people along thinning lines on the battle maps of the world have to endure the human sacrifice at the hands of other humans, These are your brothers, your sisters and your families, who live on both sides of this conflict, neither side knows why, they just know they fight. Hidden in the political boardrooms of the world, the UN and these petty leaders cry out for an end to hostility, but does nothing to stop the bloodshed.

As many protest against hostility, they too use hostility to gain their point, be not thus, lead by example. All those who fight and engage in wars evade peace. On cannot gain Peace through hostile means. Mankind has yet to learn this. What benefit to the protest, if one cannot lead voice to Peace through Peace. They will provoke you, they will engage you, they will oppress you; they will drive fear into your hearts, with rhetoric and irony. These are words, they do not inflict pain, only action does. Their lies will echo in your ears as you gather in harmony and Peace. They seek the turn your attention from these conflicts, these war and these disagreements. Do not be so easily turned.

As you stand here today, look at each other, united as brothers and sisters; without you they have no one to war with. Take care brothers and sisters, do not become one of them. Do not seek Peace through violence on their level, but through the reduction of violence. 6 degrees separates each of you from every other person in the world, what peace have you shared with them this day or any day?

Peace must be earned. Earned through the efforts of Peaceful intention, through Peaceful means. Diplomats seek only personal gains, not the service of the innocent; theirs is a world above the laws they install to govern others. As the united peoples of the World, there can be only one set of rules for all Mankind to live by. United as they are Nations, as long as they have been together, no standard has ever been set.

How many civilizations have already been lost in search of Peace? How many innocent lives have been ended, fighting for Peace? How many thousands of years has Mankind yearned, dreamed and begged for Peace. If Mankind’s leaders cannot provide Peace, it is time to seek new direction. The UN is powerless to act, political, ethnic and religious leaders promote war and conflict through fear. A non-existent fear, which they use to control the masses. As you stand here gathered, do you fear the person beside you, or those protesting as you do around the world. All of you together protest WAR to gain Peace, but know not what Peace is. It is time to learn about Peace through Peace.

How many world, political, ethnic, religious, cultural and community leaders have been selected for their want for war and not their service to you or Mankind in Peace. From the security of their fortified strongholds, they command armed personnel to shed the blood of families, friends, loved ones, while children die in the streets. They claim they serve YOU, it is time they served you in Peace! Mankind wants Peace; know this: that Peace comes only when all Mankind shares Peace; when all the people of the world can stand as you do now, united against the tyrants of WAR.

I observe from on high that Peace starts there; there with you gathered together; united to end the innocent blood shed of war, not only in Gaza or Africa, but anywhere and everywhere around the world! It can be done and done Peacefully!

© copyright R Anthony H. Rock