Final project guidelines

For your final ethics project in this course, please identify a hacking case, identify the moral issues at stake, take a position and make an argument about what you think is right or wrong in that particular case, and locate your argument and the philosophy of the hacker(s) working in the case in philosophical context.

Identify a hacking case: Select a case in hacking, broadly defined.  You should briefly describe the case and link to at least one news article (or similar) providing coverage of the case.

Identify the issues at stake: What are the moral questions raised by the facts of the case?  Issues within areas of property, privacy, and legality are common, but these are not the only areas of moral thinking that might be involved.

Identify the moral philosophy point of view of the hacker(s) whose actions made the case happen: What ideas or beliefs would you have to hold if you were the hacker(s) in the case, in order to believe that your actions are justifiable?

Take a position and make an argument:  What do you think?  Support your claim with reasons.

Locate your argument and the hacker(s) beliefs in philosophical context: Consider how your argument and how your idea of the hacker(s)' beliefs relate to 1-3 philosophers' points of view.  These may be philosophers we have encountered in the course whose arguments you engage in greater depth, or they might be philosophers we haven't encountered at all.

Do all of the above in a well-written, approximately 500 word blog post.  The final blog post is due Friday, May 1, by 11:59 PM.  

You should submit a draft on the blog by April 21 at 1:00 PM and do a 2-minute oral presentation of your ideas in class on April 21.  You should comment on at least three of your classmates' drafts (more than three earns you extra credit!) with a Strength/Insight/Improvement comment by Sunday, April 26, at 11:59 PM.

You should submit a proposal on the blog by Monday, April 13, at 9:00 PM.  Please identify which case you want to do, describe it in 2-3 sentences, and briefly (bullet points are fine) identify the moral issues you see.  We'll discuss the proposals in class.