CHAPTER 8

METHOD OF MORAL PROBLEM

SOLVING

METHOD OF PROBLEM SOLVING

LINE DRAWING

SEEKING A CREATIVE

MIDDLE WAY

LINE DRAWIN

G

Will apply this technique to deciding whether a course of actions is right or wrong. Actions at one end

being the right action (positive paradigm), at another end being clearly wrongs (negative paradigm)

Can be used in cases in which we are unsure how to distinguish between acceptable or unacceptable actions

Involves viewing a moral problem as located in a spectrum

EXAMPLE OF CASEParadigm case of

bribery• A vendor offers an engineer a large sum of money to get the engineer recommend the vendor’s product to the engineers company.

• The engineer accepts the offer and then decides in favour of the vendor.

• The engineer accepts the offer for personal gain rather than because of the superior quality of the vendor’s product (which actually one of the worst in industry)

• Furthermore, the engineers recommendation will be accepted by the company because only this engineer makes recommendations concerning this sort of product.

Identify characteristics/features that contribute heavily in favour of

this being a definite instance of bribery

List the features

Having another type of bribery case (TEST CASE)

• Victor is an engineer at a large construction firm.

• It is his job to specify rivets for the constructions of a large apartment building.

• After some research and testing, he decides to use ACME rivets for the job.

• On the day after Victor’s order was made, an ACME representative visits him and gives him a voucher for an all-expense paid trip to the ACME forum meeting in Jamaica.

• Paid expenses include day trips to the beach and the run factories.

• If Victor accepts, has he been bribed?

Comparing test case with definite case

(analysis part)

Gift: The trip is expensive so considered large

Timing: before decision however this may not be the last time Victor will deal with ACME vendors. So we can worry about whether ACME is trying to influence Victor’s future decision.

Reason: might having fun but he may claim learn important thing by attending the forum.

Responsibility for decision: sole responsible because he made the decision before accepting the voucher. So we may think that he has made a good assessment of the product’s quality & cost. However, we may wonder if his future judgements on such matters will be affected by acceptance of voucher.

Weigh the features that are judged most important in a

particular case by drawing circle round X

Might not constitute a

paradigm instance

of bribery,

however it comes

close enough to

raise a real worry.

SEEKING A CREATIVE MIDDLE

WAY Situations in

which two or more moral rules apply, but appear to conflict.

One value will clearly take priority( easy choice)

No easy choice is available (hard choice)

Suggestion one or more possible solutions (compromise) to correct the situation ( creative middle way)

Easy choice

Sofea is a process engineer who has been approached by a client to design a project which could reduce the cost, and increase company’s profit. However, she finds out that it could poses greater risk to human life.

Application in ENGINEERING

practices

Sometimes it is difficult to do what is right, but it is not difficult to know what is right

Hard choiceChoices in which we are not able to honor real and important values in a way that we consider desirable

The philosophy of protest against racial

discrimination by Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King felt deeply the moral

imperative to protest the racial injustice in America.At the same time, he respected the rule of law and he did not want to take stance of revolutionary

His solution: theory of nonviolent resistance; one violates laws that he or she believes to be immoral but does not use violence and is willing to take the consequence of illegal activity: must go to jail.

Thank you