Moral, Social, and Political Responsibility in the Information Age

Abstract

Humanity has entered the information age. Basic questions of moral philosophy stay as they have always been: How are we to live? What are we to be? Basic answers are that we ought to live good lives and be good persons. Humans are social beings, that is why moral, social, and political philosophy overlap. Basic questions of social and political philosophy have been always concerned with informal and formal rules in social and political structures. Basic answer is that rules ought to be equilibrated in the sense that social structures function well and are just. Everybody is morally responsible: she must be able to respond to questions about her life and personality; to explain what she does and why. Leaders in all social and political structures are socially and politically responsible: they are responsible both for functioning of their structures and for the latter being just. In this article, effects of ICTs on the responsibilities of living a good life and being a good person and having efficient and just social structures are discussed.