NWI-IMI003
Philosophy and Ethics for Computing and Information Science
Course infoSchedule
Course moduleNWI-IMI003
Credits (ECTS)3
CategoryMA (Master)
Language of instructionEnglish
Offered byRadboud University; Faculty of Science; Informatica en Informatiekunde;
Lecturer(s)
Coordinator
dr. L. Consoli
Other course modules lecturer
Examiner
dr. L. Consoli
Other course modules lecturer
Contactperson for the course
dr. L. Consoli
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
dr. L. Consoli
Other course modules lecturer
Lecturer
L.L.J. Schoenmakers
Other course modules lecturer
Academic year2018
Starting block
JAAR/  KW2
Course mode
full-time
Remarks-
Registration using OSIRISYes
Course open to students from other facultiesYes
Pre-registrationNo
Waiting listNo
Placement procedure-
Aims
The student will:
  • be acquainted with a number of philosophical and ethical theories, both in general and applied to his/her object of study;
  • be able to recognize the implicit presuppositions in a number of scientific advances of his/her object of study;
  • be able to reflect on the normativity of his/her object of study;
  • be able to articulate his/her reflection in a number of short papers and a research paper.
Content

The course Philosophy and Ethics for Computing & Information Science explores cultural and social issues that have been made possible by the development of information technology

Starting from the concepts of privacy and the relationship between informatics and political decision-making processes, we will move on to examine the changes in our way to look at the world caused by the progresses of information technology. We will analyze among others  the cultural meaning of hackerism, the role different ethical frameworks play in discussing technological advances, and the social/ethical/cultural implications of artificial intelligence (AI).

Topics
• ICT & the human nature
• Ethical theories
• Ethics of ICT (hackerism as case study)
• The mind-body problem
• Philosophical foundations of Artificial Intelligence

Test information
Students will have to write 2 short essays and a final term paper. There is no final examination planned.
The short essays are meant to develop specific skills which will be needed in order to wrtie the final term paper.
Short essays have a weight of 50% in determining final grade, the other 50% is given by the grade of the final paper.
All assignments must have a grade equal of higher than 6,0 in order to be considered.
Students will get the possibility of turning in amended versions of the assignments in case of failing them.

Prerequisites
None, but: students who have followed the regular Bachelor will have already completed NWI-I00036 Informatics and Society, where some themes have already been introduced.

Required materials
Blackboard
Literature references and reading material will be made available through Blackboard.

Instructional modes
Course occurrence

General
The course consists of a number of lectures about the given topics. There is ample room for discussion with and between students. Multimedia are also used in order to make 'tough' philosphical concepts more accessible. Students will be asked to turn in a number of assignments which are meant to help them achieve the teaching goals.

Lecture

Project

Zelfstudie

Tests
Written assignments
Test weight1
Test typeAssignment
OpportunitiesBlock JAAR

Paper
Test weight1
Test typePaper
OpportunitiesBlock JAAR