van der Burg Simone, van Gorp Anke
Department of Technology Management, Eindhoven University of Technology, the Netherlands.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2005 Apr;11(2):235-56. doi: 10.1007/s11948-005-0044-x.
This paper starts from the presupposition that moral codes often do not suffice to make agents understand their moral responsibility. We will illustrate this statement with a concrete example of engineers who design a truck's trailer and who do not think traffic safety is part of their responsibility. This opinion clashes with a common supposition that designers in fact should do all that is in their power to ensure safety in traffic. In our opinion this shows the need for a moral philosophy that helps engineers to interpret their responsibility and think more critically about it. For this purpose we will explore the moral philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre, which is particularly interesting because he locates the beginning of moral thinking in the daily practice of a profession. This is consistent with the history of moral codes, for codes are also the product of moral reflection by professionals. We will use MacIntyre's philosophy to (1) explain what is wrong with the designers' understanding of their responsibility and (2) show a possible way to bring their reflection to a more self-critical level. We will also inspect MacIntyre's proposal critically.
本文始于这样一个预设，即道德准则往往不足以让行为主体理解其道德责任。我们将用一个具体例子来说明这一观点，即设计卡车拖车的工程师认为交通安全并非他们责任的一部分。这种观点与一种普遍的假设相冲突，即实际上设计师应该尽一切所能确保交通安全。我们认为，这表明需要一种道德哲学来帮助工程师诠释其责任，并更批判性地思考这一责任。为此，我们将探讨阿拉斯戴尔·麦金太尔的道德哲学，这一哲学尤其有趣，因为他将道德思考的起点置于某一职业的日常实践之中。这与道德准则的历史是一致的，因为准则也是专业人士进行道德反思的产物。我们将运用麦金太尔的哲学来：（1）解释设计师对其责任的理解存在哪些问题；（2）展示一种可能的方式，使他们的反思达到更具自我批判性的层面。我们还将对麦金太尔的提议进行批判性审视。
