ENGR 482 Lecture 3

« previous | Monday, September 2, 2013 | next »

Lecture Slides

Common Morality, Ethical Theory, and Engineering Ethics

Common Morality and Moral Relativism

"This is not your father's oldsmobile" -- Why do they have to tell us? Perhaps that is my father's oldsmobile.

What is common morality?

• Exertion of will? forcing actions/choices on an audience that is not morally justified
• Social Convention? driving on the right side of the road
• Justifiable by Theory?

Indicating moral claims

• good/bad
• right/wrong
• righteous/evil (more applicable theologically?)
• should
• ought
• virtuous (virtus)
• appropriate
• usually implicit (e.g. "What you are doing is cruel."; "That is exploitation")

Directives for Moral Engineers

• Engineering codes: guidelines on how (and how not) to behave ethically
• Regulations and laws: strict enforcement of guidelines
• Technical competence
• Common Morality

Moral Claims

Relativistic

• Moral nihilism: "Morality means nothing: morals are used as a bludgeon because no one likes being immoral"
• Ethical subjectivism: "My morals are the only morals."
• Cultural relativism: "Morals are bounded by cultures (and time). Different cultures can do whatever they want"

I forgot what I was going to say here...

Moral differences between Hitler, Chuchill, and Ghandi give enough basis to dispel of all three of these

Universal Moral Theories

Virtue Ethics

• Telos (end, purpose, aim, goal)
• Eudaimonia (happiness or flourishing)
• Arete (Virtue, or "whatever makes a thing an 'outstanding specimen' of its kind")

Virtues of Thought

• Phronesis (practical judgement or prudence)
• Techne (knowledge in the skill of making)
• Episteme (Explicit rational reasoning)
• Nous ("prerational", immediate grasping the nature of things)
• Sophia, often translated as "wisdom", (episteme and nous directed toward highest and best ends)

Virtues of Character

• Mean between deficiency (e.g. "cowardice") and excess (e.g. "brashness")
• Individual (to an extent)
• Developed through exercise and habits

Inherited through Tradition

• Cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, courage, temperance
• Theological Virtues: Faith, hope, and charity

Virtue Ethics and Engineering

• A "good" engineer?
• Relation to Aggie values?
• A "Good" "Aggie" engineer?
• Is engineering an instrumental or intrinsic act?