The Ethical Issue Of Software Piracy - 1530 Words

Introduction In this paper we are going to examine why personal morality is an oxymoron and how a moral system is analogous to a game. Then we are going to analyze how the ethical issue of software piracy is seen from the notion of common moral system according to Gert. Personal morality is an oxymoron So let’s first see why Gert believes that the notion of ‘personal morality† is an oxymoron. According to Gert, a moral system is public because everyone should know and be familiar with the rules that define it. Those set of rules which define a moral system apply to all of the members of that system, thus the system cannot be simply reduced to being private or personal. We all know that morality is a system of normative rules and†¦show more content†¦So, if we accept a notion of private morality, no one could have a fair and meaningful ethical discussion about an issue, because everyone would have their own views and perspectives on what is morally right or wrong. That is why according to Gert, the notion of personal morality is contradictory to itself. Moral system analogous to a game Another point and comparison Gert make about moral system, is how a moral system is both similar to, and different from, a game. As a game has a goal and corresponding set of rules, the same way a moral system has a set of rules and a goal. The rules are understood by all the players, and the players use those rules to guide themselves in achieving the goal of the game. The players are also able to use the rules to judge the behavior of other players in the game. The one difference we have is that not everyone is required to participate in a game, but we are all obligated to participate in a moral system. Gert’s notion of a moral system and a concrete ethical issue in cybertechnology seen from the perspective of that notion As we have already seen, the notion of personal morality is contradictory according to Gert. So we cannot talk about a moral system seen from personal standpoint. Rather we can say that there are four characteristics to a moral system, and they are: the system has to be public, informal,