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If moral decision making would be left to managers or policy makers, then it would take place after a product is already designed/developed. Without depending on the moral reflections of moral experts, engineers should cultivate their own moral expertise. Since they have technical expertise, they can reduce the risks of a technological product by developing a different design. Technological risks and benefits are not merely a technical matter but also involve ethical aspects. This requires a capacity to be aware of moral features.
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In the process, engineers have a richer understanding of risk than experts. Purely rational reflection (lack of imagining power) Engineers need moral emotions in order to have well grounded insights into whether a technological risk is morally acceptable or not? Why do we need to emphasize the emotional capacities of engineers and how could this be achieved by them? How can Engineers implement emotional reflection in the engineering design process? Emotions are helpful in assessing moral values involved in technologies. It will enable engineers to play an important role in reflecting on morally responsible technological design.
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Emotion can also be mistaken/misread by us as well as others. We should critically assess our emotions and also take others emotions into our account while designing a technology. Emotion can be a source of ethical reflection (Lacewing, 2005) An emotion such as sympathy can correct egoistic emotion (Roeser, 2010). Emotion= Shame, resentment, guilt, blame, etc. (backward-looking responsibility)- failed responsibility, ascribing negativity Emotion= Sympathy, Empathy, compassion, etc. (forward-looking responsibility)
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Can we codify the rules and/or responsibilities for the professionals???? They should develop the context-sensitive insights which requires moral emotions to nurture, evolve, and develop. Engineers should be virtue-responsible persons. A virtuous person is one who developed his/her character in such a way that (s)he steers a wise middle ground between extreme responses. Moral emotions make engineers sensitive towards moral issues arising from the technology designs. Thus, engineers should use their imaginative capacities which they can draw from moral emotions to design humane technologies.
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--- Blame responsibility ( Wolff, 2006) --- Virtue responsibility (Ladd, 1991) Role responsibility It is linked to a specific position to which particular duties are attached. (A pilot is responsible for the flight of his aircraft) Causal responsibility It refers to the cause, understood in a quasi-mechanical sense, of an event. (The storm is responsible for the plane crash) Capacity responsibility It refers to the capacity of an agent to fulfill his/her responsibilities. Being responsible for his/her own actions implies having the capacity of understanding, reasoning, and controlling the conduct. (Intoxicated driver)
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Liability responsibility It is the legal facet of responsibility Blame responsibility Blame occurs when there is violation of moral norm and when someones behaviour is morally culpable. (terrorism, naxalism, abducting someone, etc.) Virtue responsibility It is a form of responsibility which refers to moral deficiency and not just to fault. The absence of care and concern for the welfare of others. It ascribes how things are and how things should be or should have been Bhopal tragedy (Even if no one was really at fault, safety was not a priority of the management, )
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August, 2010, The BP company announced that they put a CAP on the well, so no further danger to life. Who is responsible for this tragic incident? Duty + Responsibility + Accountability The BP company Tony Hayward (of BP) President - Mr. Barack Obama The US govt. (the regulatory body) Several other companies Moral responsibility ascribes to agent, control condition, knowledge condition (technological actions)
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Control condition: One should not be forced to do something Knowledge condition: One must not ignorant of what one is doing Failure to control is an instance of wrong doing if one has the possibility to control that. Although no one has intention to make the disaster, but nevertheless one cant escape form his/her responsibility which contribute disaster to occur. Regardless Engineers good intention and required skills, if tragic happened then how can one be responsible for that tragic incident?
Kierkegaardian Analysis
Helplessness (Computer crash- misuse) The unexpected and uncertainty (blind spots) Conflicting roles (manager/policy maker and engineer) Dependency and collective action (fixing accountability) Lack of full control (receives advice from experts) Choice when no option is right (avoided the worst consequences)
SUBMISSION
Engineers are advised to incorporate their moral decisions/judgments while designing the technology. They cant evade from their moral responsibilities. Thus, they should understand their responsibility and be prepared to be accountable for their actions in their life endeavor.
Suggested Readings
Emotional Engineers: Toward Morally Responsible Design Sabine Roeser Moral Responsibility, Technology, and Experiences of the Tragic: From Kierkegaard to Offshore Mark Coeckelbergh Risk and Responsibility: A Complex and Evolving Relationship--- Celine Kermisch (Science and Engineering Ethics, 2012)
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