ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS EGN 4034 FALL 2008 CHAPTER 3-4 Organizing Principles

n Students should be able to: n Understand the two main branches of philosophy n Understand the subdisciplines within these two main branches n Develop an understanding of how to apply “philosophical tests” in addressing engineering ethical problems CHAPTER 3-4 LEARING OBJECTIVES

THE TWO MAJOR BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY n UTILITARIANISM n RESPECT FOR PERSONS n (Deontology) CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n UTILITARIANISM n Favors bringing about the greatest total amount of good that we can. n Problem: n Define the most good (utility) n Define the audience over which the good is maximized. n It can perpetrate injustice on individuals. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Cost/Benefit n Q – What might be an example of cost/benefit? n Act Utilitarianism n Rule Utilitarianism CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Cost/Benefit n Tries to make the benefit quantifiable by: n Assessing the available options n Assess the costs and benefits of each option. n Choose the option that is likely to provide the most benefit. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Cost/Benefit Problems n Assumes that economic measures of cost and benefit override other considerations. n Q – What might be other considerations? n Difficulty with ascertaining the costs and benefits of the many factors (human life) n Does not take into account the unequal distribution of costs and benefits. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Act Utilitarianism n Decide on the different possible courses of action (The Act) n Determine the audience n Decide on which course of action is likely to bring about the greatest good for the appropriate audience, taking into account harms as well as benefits. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Rule Utilitarianism n Define specific rules by: n Asking, “would utility be maximized if everyone did the same thing under similar circumstances?” n Example – rules for the road. n When rules are reasonably well understood and generally accepted, we should use the rules as a guide to action rather than to try to calculate the likely consequences. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Ethics of Respect for Persons n “those actions or rules are right that, if followed, would accord equal respect to each person as a moral agent.” n Moral agents are those persons capable of formulating or pursuing goals and purposes of their own. n Persons, as moral agents, are not to be treated as mere means to fulfilling the ends or goals of others. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Ethics of Respect for Persons n Golden Rule n Basically the Universality principle n Resolution of a moral issue must be one that would be universally acceptable if others resolved similar issues in similar ways. n Understandably, both Utilitarianism and Respect for Persons ethics employ this principle. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Ethics of Respect for Persons n Self-Defeating Test n Another application of the universalizability principle. n “Would I be able to perform the same action in the same or similar circumstances if everyone else performed the same action in the same or similar circumstances” n What is an example of such an act that would be “self-defeating?” CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Ethics of Respect for Persons n Rights Test n Because Rights can sometimes conflict, a system of priority must be given to individual rights. n Q - What is an example of conflicting rights? n Similar to the Rule Utilitarian test, the Rights Test applies a list of universal rights arranged in a hierarchy of importance. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Convergence, Divergence, and Creative Middle Way n Convergence – although Utilitarian and Respect for Persons standards are different, they often lead to the same conclusion. n What does convergence do for us? n It strengthens our conclusions because they are supported by more than one kind of basic reasoning (both utilitarian and RP). CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Convergence, Divergence, and Creative Middle Way n Divergence – applying both Utilitarian and Respect for Persons standards can also lead to different conclusions. n What does divergence do for us? n It may be telling us that neither of these standards is individually the better conclusion. n And that the better solution may be a “creative middle way.” CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Convergence, Divergence, and Creative Middle Way n We have seen application of the creative middle way in Chapter 3 using line-drawings. n Creative Middle Way solutions are best used when we have conflict problems that deal with a hard choice between ethical standards. n What can you think of that might illustrate when a creative middle way is used? n What about national politics? Don’t politicians compromise on most issues in order to keep our political processes moving? CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n We now have Ethical Principles we can apply in making ethical choices. n Utilitarianism (three tests) n Respect for Persons (three tests) n And always a middle ground between conflicting ethical principles or standards. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Three Utilitarian Approaches n Cost/Benefit n Act Utilitarianism n Rule Utilitarianism n Ethics of Respect for Persons n Golden Rule n Self-Defeating Test n Rights Test n Convergence, Divergence, and Creative Middle Way CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n Utilitarian Thinking n Consider the Location of the landfill by engineer David Parkinson n What is David’s dilemma? n Where to locate the landfill n Why has this become a problem? n Special interest groups opposition n What should David do? CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n David needs to make a “good engineering decision” n How can he do this? n He could check his code of ethics n (p. 376) Read “Fundamental Cannons” n What else could he do? n He could apply a creative middle way solution as we read about in chapter 3 n What else could he do? n He could apply an ethical principle CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

n What ethical principle(s) could he apply? n Utilitarianism or Respect for persons n Or possibly some combination of these two n He could apply a “creative middle way” solution. n We must now begin to think of the tools available to us when we confront ethical problems. CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles

WHAT IS HAPPINESS BASIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUESTION

THIS IS A BASIC QUESTION FROM PHILOSOPHY SINCE THE EARLY GREEKS THIS HAS BEEN THE BURNING QUESTION n IN YOUR GROUPS n DEFINE HAPPINESS n GROUP # ? WILL BE THE SCRIBE n I WILL CALL ON GROUPS TO GIVE YOUR RESPONSE CHAPTER 3-4 –Organizing Principles