In this chapter, we de
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ned ethics as the study of morality. In elaborating on that
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nition, we drew some useful distinctions between morality (as a system of rules and principles) and ethics (as the study of that system). Acknowledging the distinction between normative and descriptive studies of morality, we saw that normative investi- gations into morality canbeconducted fromtheperspectivesofreligion andlaw aswell as from philosophy. We also noted that only philosophical ethics offers a method to analyze moral issues based exclusively on the application of ethical theory and logical argumen- tation. We brie
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y identi
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ed and analyzed some common “discussion stoppers” that are frequently invoked in ways that prematurely close down, even if unintentionally, the possibility of constructive ethical dialogue. We also examined the roles that ethical theories ideally play in guiding us in our moral deliberations about cyberethics issues. We saw that consequence-based, duty- based, contract-based, and character-based theories each had certain strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we examined James Moor’s proposal for a framework that incorporates aspects of consequence-based and duty-based theories (and to some extent character-based theories) into one uni
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ed, comprehensive theory, called “just consequentialism.” We summarized Moor’s framework into a two-step process that we will use, wherever possible, in our analysis of the cyberethics issues examined in this textbook.