Syllabus for |
|
TEK570 - Ethics and technology
|
| Teknikens etik |
| |
| Syllabus adopted 2019-02-13 by Head of Programme (or corresponding) |
| Owner: MTS |
|
|
7,5 Credits
|
| Grading: TH - Five, Four, Three, Fail |
| Education cycle: First-cycle |
|
Department: 45 - TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS
|
March 25th at 23.59 - deadline for course registration. No registrations accepted after deadline.
Teaching language: Swedish
Application code: 99133
Open for exchange students: No
Block schedule:
C
| Module |
|
Credit distribution |
|
Examination dates |
|
Sp1 |
Sp2 |
Sp3 |
Sp4 |
Summer course |
No Sp |
| 0117 |
Examination |
7,5 c |
Grading: TH |
|
|
|
|
7,5 c
|
|
|
|
Contact examiner, |
Contact examiner, |
Contact examiner |
In programs
MTS Humans, Technology, Society, Year 1
TKDAT COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, Year 3 (elective)
TKDES INDUSTRIAL DESIGN ENGINEERING, Year 3 (elective)
TKELT ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, Year 3 (compulsory elective)
TKSAM CIVIL ENGINEERING, Year 3 (elective)
Examiner:
Karl de Fine Licht
Go to Course Homepage
Theme:
MTS 7,5 hec
Eligibility:
In order to be eligible for a first cycle course the applicant needs to fulfil the general and specific entry requirements of the programme(s) that has the course included in the study programme.
Aim
The course aims to develop students’ understanding of the ethical problems that arise when technologies are developed and implemented. Students train to be able reason in a systematic and nuanced fashion so that they can come to a well-informed response to questions regarding how society and the individual should act when it comes to the development and application of various technologies. The emphasis of the course is to analyze a variety of cases using among other normative theory.
Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to)
- Identify and critically discuss both orally and in writing, ethical problems that occur in the technological field.
- Apply basic ethical theories and concepts adequately on existing ethical problems.
- Assess the sustainability and relevance of the arguments put forward in the debate on ethics and technology, arguing for different possible positions in these debates, and consideration of these issues in an informed and transparent way.
- Describe the generally accepted research ethics and professional ethical approach and guidelines.
- In a nuanced way reflect on their future profession from an ethical perspective.
Content
Ethics and technology is simply put the study of the ethical problems and opportunities arising from the development and application of technologies. During the course, students develop their knowledge of what society and the individual should do when faced with the possibility of preparing and implementing new technology. By examining the positions available in different societal debates on the technologies and what they imply, students are trained to recognize and formulate ethical problems, finding problems in the current proposed solutions, and formulate preliminary answers to the problems. In the course we are going to use normative theories such as the right ethics, deontology, virtue ethics and consequence-based ethics but also by other tools for analyzing and to understand and develop the reasoning adopted. The ethical problems involved are specified by we use concrete examples from topical debates and research.
Themes that special attention will be given during the course are:
- Responsibilities: society and the individual.
- Professional ethics and research ethics.
- Classic normative ethics, the ethics of risk, and applied ethics.
- Moral preconditions, moral methodology.
Organisation
The course consists of lectures, group work and seminars.
Literature
See course home page.
Examination including compulsory elements
The course is examined through a take-home exam. Rating: F, 3, 4, 5.