virtues and vices

In network ethics, the concept of good and evil conforms to the general characteristics of traditional ethics. The issue of good and evil is the central issue of ethical research and the core of ethical category, so it is also the most important category that network ethics should study. However, in network ethics, the issue of good and evil has its own unique features, such as the unclear criteria for judging good and evil. According to Spinoza, the so-called good is "all happiness, and everything that can enhance happiness, especially anything that can satisfy wishes", while evil is "all pain, especially anything that can hinder wishes". This definition has great ambiguity. In the network society, acts such as infringement, piracy and hacking have undoubtedly brought great happiness and practical benefits to the actors, but their actions have brought material and spiritual harm to people's lives, which is obviously not good. According to Lenin, "goodness is understood as human practice = requirement (1) and external reality (2)". In other words, those behaviors used to maintain network security, maintain network norms, and provide network services are good. On the contrary, it is evil to use the convenience of the network to bring harm to the network society and the real society.

However, network behavior is a new social phenomenon after all. How to define the nature of network behavior and determine whether it is "moral" or "legal"; What is "immoral" or "illegal" needs a norm. It is not appropriate to deal with these behaviors with the existing norms in the real society, so it is necessary to formulate new network norms to define network behaviors. But there is no doubt that it is a beneficial attempt for modern people to fill this irregular vacuum through legal and moral education before the new norms are formed.

should

That is to standardize the content of network behavior and determine "should" and "should not". The category of "ying" belongs to traditional ethics, but it still has new value in network ethics. But "should" is more controversial here, so that people have to define the scope of "should" by formulating "should not". For example, the "Ten Commandments" stipulated by the American Society of Computer Ethics for computer ethics can be regarded as a typical norm trying to define the "should" scope of network ethics: (1) You should not use computers to hurt others; (2) You should not interfere with other people's computer work; (3) Don't pry into other people's files; (4) You don't need a computer to steal; (5) Do not use computer to commit perjury; (6) You should not use or copy unpaid software; (7) Do not use other people's computer resources without permission; (8) You should not steal other people's intellectual achievements; (9) You should consider the social consequences of your program; (10) You should use the computer carefully.

value

This is perhaps the most controversial category in network ethics. Whether a person's online behavior is valuable and appropriate, in other words, whether he can make a moral judgment on this behavior is almost inconclusive. However, this kind of behavior is completely evaluating others from the beginning. Although "the most important use of value category is praise", it is not too much to describe the value of network behavior with "different opinions" here. However, after all, network behavior has its particularity, that is, it follows certain value standards: it is recognized by everyone, at least by most people. This kind of behavior is valuable on the internet. Obviously, the consent of most people and whether the matter itself is correct are two different things, but at least it shows that the value followed by network ethics has its particularity in this respect.

Of course, determining the value of network behavior is to guide it. Although we can actively prevent network infringement by formulating norms, people's real purpose should be to guide a new type of moral tendency to determine valuable ideas and ideals, which is an inevitable moral destination in any society. Modern network ethics is no exception. For example, when discussing the general moral and professional code of conduct that its members should support, the American Computer Association stipulates: (1) make contributions to society and mankind; (2) avoid hurting others; (3) Honesty and reliability; (4) Be fair and not take discriminatory actions; (5) Respect property rights, including copyrights and patents; (6) Respect intellectual property rights; (7) respect the privacy of others; (8) keep secrets. That is to distinguish the value of network behavior in the name of norms, so as to guide people to treat their own behavior on the network correctly and try to avoid behaviors that are worthless or even damage the value of others.

equality

It means free access to resources and services, which is a universal rule in the network society. As long as a person registers an ID (identity) and has his own password, he can "anonymously enter" the internet to swim, make friends, chat, give speeches, get information and so on. This facilitates people to communicate on an equal footing and makes communication more free and relaxed. This forms an egalitarianism to the greatest extent. Free information resources are also free from ethnic, racial and cultural restrictions (of course, there are certain restrictions, such as language, mainly English, which makes the network mainly exist in the educated groups). Furthermore, the interpersonal relationship in the network society is simply human-computer communication. Facing the cold screen, a person can completely put down all taboos and participate in the discussion on an equal footing, forming the reality that there is no forbidden zone in the network. In other words, the network gives people who enter the network society moral equality.

The "equal rights" given to people by the internet also contains another layer of meaning that is not easily perceived, that is, it helps to promote the discussion and process of direct participatory democracy. After all, the network is a force independent of traditional media, which relieves the public's right to know to some extent, and the principle of * * * sharing resources is objectively conducive to promoting fair phenomena in real society, such as the promotion of e-government. This is perhaps the most profound influence that the network society has brought to the network ethics.

loan

This kind of application focuses on e-commerce, which means that personal credit is gradually increasing. In the real society, the realization of credit is guaranteed by laws and other social norms, while in the network society, the applicable laws and regulations have not been established, and personal credit has become the only guarantee for online consumption. Although the network service provider requires the service provider to provide the basic ID number, address, telephone number and other realistic basis, and even must provide the credit account number, this does not mean that the personal credit in the network is fragile. On the contrary, the network is gradually cultivating personal credit. In fact, credit is established by entering online consumption.

Another application of credit is in online games. In some game settings, players can get higher score rewards by increasing personal credit, so as to gain an advantage in the game competition and even win. This is the contribution of online games to the establishment of personal credit in the network age.

service

This is a typical feature of the network society after the emergence of the consumer society. One of the meanings is that in the network society, consumption, like in the real society, is composed of one-to-one forms, that is, there are service providers and consumers. Here, the service is traditional and mechanical, and the network is just a medium. The second meaning refers to: web-service, that is, network service, which mainly refers to the intelligent service provided by the future network. For example, if a person types in the sentence "I want to travel to Tibet" on the Internet, a series of information such as the best season, climatic conditions, and the best tourist routes to Tibet will be provided on the Internet for the questioner's reference. So as to realize the intelligence and interactivity of human-computer interaction, which is the real meaning of network service.

criticize

It is indeed controversial to regard criticism as the basic category of network ethics. However, the criticism here has been alienated into criticism and generalized into moral judgment. It keeps asking, "Is this a good idea?" "Should I (we) do this?" The reason for this problem is that the network is a special space, the virtual environment produces a unique network language, and anonymity makes the truth blend into endless debates. In addition, the network has no strong restraint mechanism, managers and authority, and it has become a "free" space, which leads everyone to be the leader and evaluator of his own behavior, and anyone can decide the value of discussion by his own judgment. It leads to the abuse of criticism and the atrophy of real language, and the deep-seated cultural thinking is dismembered and replaced by seemingly endless quarrels. BBS is a typical example of this critical abuse. There, there are no rules and standards, criticism is always self-centered, and negation is everything.