MORAL REASONING

MORAL REASONING

Ethical dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons come into conflict, or in which the applications of moral values are unclear, and it is not immediately obvious what should be done. Ethical dilemmas arise in engineering because moral values are many and varied.

COMPLEXITIES IN RESOLVING MORAL DILEMMAS

There are three distinct complexities in resolving moral dilemmas:

1. Vagueness: The engineer is not clear which moral considerations or principles apply to the current situation. For example, is it right to accept an expensive gift from a supplier. Will it be like accepting bribe? Will it affect fairness of the contract? Will he be obliged to give undue concessions to the supplier?

2. Conflicting Reasons:  At that two perfectly accepted moral principles are in conflict with each other. These are situations in which two or more obligations, duties, rights, or ideals come into conflict with one another and not all of them can be fully respected.

Example: We make a promise to a friend, thereby creating an obligation to do what we have promised. Then our parents become ill and staying home to help them prevents us from keeping the promise. The dilemma, which consists of a conflict between the duty to keep promises and an obligation to one’s parents, is usually resolved by an apologetic phone call to the friend. Or again, we make one promise to our employer and another to a colleague, and it turns out that we cannot keep both. An apology to the offended party will often settle the matter.  

3. Disagreements:  Reasonable and responsible individuals and groups may disagree about how to interpret, apply and balance moral reasons in particular situations. This disagreement becomes even more complicated within an engineering corporation in which individuals must work together within authority-structured relationships.

How to tackle/resolve Moral Dilemmas

1.      Identify relevant moral factors and reasons. What are the conflicting responsibilities, competing rights, and clashing ideals involved?

2.      Gather all available facts that are pertinent to the moral factors involved.

3.      If possible, rank the moral considerations in order of importance as they apply to the situation.

4.      Consider alternate courses of action as ways of resolving the dilemma, tracing the full implications of each.

5.      Talk with colleagues, seeking their suggestions and alternative perspectives on the dilemma.

6.      Arrive at a carefully reasoned judgment by weighing all the moral factors and reasons in the light of facts – this of course is a difficult step

The study of engineering ethics with case studies help strengthen skills in moral reasoning, resolution of conflicts and reaching rational decisions in complex situations.

RESOLVING ETHICAL DILEMMAS

Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

Reasonable solutions to ethical dilemmas are clear, informed, and well-reasoned. Clear refers to moral clarity and conceptual clarity. Informed means knowing the implications of the available facts that are morally relevant in light of the applicable moral values. In addition, it means being aware of alternative courses of action and what they involve. Well-reasoned means that good judgment is exercised in integrating the relevant moral values and facts to arrive at a morally desirable solution.

1.                  Moral Clarity: Identify the relevant moral values.           

The most basic step in confronting ethical dilemmas is to become aware of them. This means identifying the moral values and reasons applicable in the situation, and bearing them in mind as further investigations are made. These values and reasons might be obligations, duties, rights, goods, ideals or other moral considerations.

2.                  Conceptual Clarity: Clarify key concepts.

Professionalism requires being a faithful agent of one’s employer, but does that mean doing what one’s supervisor desires or doing what is good for the corporation in the long run? The supervisor might be adopting a short-term view that could harm the long-term interests of the corporation.

3.                  Informed about the facts: Obtain relevant information.

This means gathering information that is relevant in light of the applicable moral values. Sometimes the primary difficulty in resolving moral dilemmas is uncertainty about the facts rather than conflicting values.

4.                  Informed about the options: Consider all options.

It means being aware of alternative courses of action and what they involve. Initially, ethical dilemmas seem to force us into a two-way choice. Do this or do that.  Either accept the supervisor’s orders or blow the whistle to the town authorities. A closer look often reveals additional options. Unless an emergency develops, all the options should be attempted before informing authorities outside the corporation.

5.                  Well reasoned: Make a reasonable decision.

It means to arrive at a carefully reasoned judgment by weighing all the relevant moral reasons and facts. It is a deliberation aimed at taking into account all the relevant reasons, facts, and values in a morally reasonable manner. If there is no ideal solution, we seek at least a satisfactory one, what Herbert Simon calls it “satisficing”.

Right-Wrong or Better-Worse

We might divide ethical dilemmas into two broad categories. On the one hand, many dilemmas have solutions that are either right or wrong. “Right” means that one course of action is obligatory, and failing to do that action is unethical (immoral). In most instances a code of ethics specifies what is clearly required: obey the law and heed engineering standards, do not offer or accept bribes, speak and write truthfully, maintain confidentiality, and so forth. On the other hand, some dilemmas have two or more solutions, no one of which is compulsory but one of which should be chosen. These solutions might be better or worse than others in some respects, but not necessarily in all respects.

MAKING MORAL CHOICES

Moral dilemmas comprise the most difficult occasions for moral reasoning. Nevertheless, they constitute a relatively small percentage of moral choices, that is, decisions involving moral values. Most moral choices are routine and straightforward. The following examples illustrate how choices involving moral values enter into routine decisions during technological development, punctuated by periodic moral dilemmas.

• Designing Aluminum Cans

• Design Analogy:  Whit beck