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Spring 2014 Question Hour: Learning Units 5-8 + Exam: - Consequentialism Deontological Ethics Virtue Ethics Care Ethics
Spring 2014 Question Hour: Learning Units 5-8 + Exam: - Consequentialism Deontological Ethics Virtue Ethics Care Ethics
Spring 2014 Question Hour: Learning Units 5-8 + Exam: - Consequentialism Deontological Ethics Virtue Ethics Care Ethics
General format
Spring 2014
Central terms: hazard, risk, uncertainty, ignorance
Difference between risk analysis & risk management
Ways to improve the safety of a design
Ethical theories & risk evaluation
Criteria for deciding on the acceptability of risks
Risk fallacies
Ways for dealing with uncertainty
Precautionary principle
Engineering as social experiment
1
5
Consequentialism
assess actions on the basis of consequences
Deontological ethics
Question types
Basic terminology
Justification of sustainable development
Principles for sustainable development:
Stand-still principle
Polluter pays principle
Precautionary principle
Relation to (engineering) design
a)
b)
c)
d)
Virtue ethics
Assess character, not actions
Care ethics
Risk communication.
Cost-benefit analysis.
Safety factor approach.
Informed consent.
True/false? (contd)
Multiple choice
Multiple choice
Short case description and application of:
One concept/theory
Various ones, often contrasting
E.g. application of various ethical theories to
case
13
11
I.
Important to practice!
14
12
True/false?
10
15
16
Example 1
19
21
Example 2
22
10
Example 2 (contd)
Example 2 (contd)
25
24
11
Digital assessment
29
27
Example 2 (contd)
23
Example 1 (contd)
20
18
17
Example 1 (contd)
Additional hints
Questions?
28
26
13
30
14
15
12
SUSTAINABILITY
Anthropocentrism The philosophical view that the environment has only instrumental value, that is, only value
for humans and not in itself.
Biocentrism The viewpoint that the environment has intrinsic value (value of its own).
Sustainable development Dvelopment that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland definition).
Intergenerational justice Justice that relates to the just distribution of resources between different generations.
Intragenerational justice Justice that relates to the just distribution of resources within a generation.
Property right The right to ownership of a specific matter or resource like money, land, or an environmental
resource (like clean air).
Polluter pays principle The principle that damage to the environment must be repaired by the party responsible
for the damage.
Stand still principle The principle that we must not pass on a poorer environment to the next generation than the
one we received from the previous generation.
Environmental space The (maximum) amount of use of renewable and non-renewable resources that does not
exceed the boundaries of what the environment can take.
Carrying capacity The amount of damage that can be done to the environment without that damage being
irreversible
Engineers and Sustainability- Various technical measures can be taken to satisfy this responsibility for the
environment. These measures can be categorized according to level and type.
The levels are as follows:
a. Product level;
b. Process level;
c. Business level.
The types are as follows:
1 Cleaning up pollution;
2 Processing of waste flows (end of pipe);
3 Preventing waste flows.
Life phases The phases through which a product goes during its life: production phase, use phase, and
removal phase.
Life cycle analysis An analysis that maps the environmental impact of a product across the entire cycle of
production, use, and disposal.
With respect to operationalization, the following more specific principles to attain sustainable development have
been proposed:
1 The stand still principle, which states that we must not pass on a poorer environment to the next generation
than the one we received from the previous generation. A crucial question here is what we mean by poorer and
whether we can compensate a degradation in one respect by an improvement in another.
2 The notion of environmental space, which is based on a scientific determination of the carrying capacity of the
environment that should not be transgressed. We have seen that determining the carrying capacity involves
normative choices and cannot be left to scientists and engineers. Otherwise it will result in technocracy (see
Section 1.5.2).
3 The precautionary principle, which states that scientific disagreement about environmental effects should not be
a reason to postpone measures against possible irreducible adverse effects, especially if those measures are
cost-effective. A possible objection to this principle is that it may well forbid too many developments.