Ethics Exam :)

avoiding the moral impediments of self-interest, groupthink and microscopic vision is best accomplished by...

(NOT ORGANIZATIONAL); encouraging presonal traits to overcome their influence

Which of the following characterizations can be attributed to objectivism?

- an individual should flourish, self-realization is important, we should strive for the good life

Which of the following can be ascribed to duty?

-duty informs us of what w should do in each situation -a will is good only when it is aligned with duty -duty is obedience to the moral law

Which of the following are among the TEPA rules on professional conduct and ethics

-objective and truthful -areas of competence -paramount

which of the following statements about the first step of the line drawing technique are incorrect

???

Is is a conceptual, factual, application, or moral issue.... A) thinks the phrase safe software means that the software is resistant to bugs.. B) accountant threatened to fire engineer is she does not help him conceal a large error (extortion) C) some scientists believe that offshore drilling will decrease biodiversity in areas around wells D) an engineer should not brea a confidentiality agreement

A conceptual B application C factual D moral

Which of the following is true? -the scope of a moral issue today only includes life and death -often moral issues require deciding which value should prevail when they conflict - moral issues always can be resolved by addressing underlying factual, conceptual, and application issues -moral issues only include choices that can harm others

B

Which of the following was a leading progenitor of duty ethics

Kant

Which of the following is NOT true about factual issues?

One should not attempt to assess a moral issue if there is irresolvable factual uncertainty... (not true) one must make reasonable assumptions based on the best information available

often lawyers work on a contingency bias, whereby they only receive a fee from their client for their services when their services to this type of practice in engineering, which of the following is true

TBPE does not address it while the NPSE specifically prohibits

Are assumptions ever made in line-drawing

YES

In Kant's terminology, the word "will" means...

a faculty that animates our bodily actions (itentions)

the rules outlined in the TEPA should be considered

a law binding all engineers in the TBPE

determining whether engineer Alex should accept tickets to a sporting even from a prospective contract is an example of

a moral issue (WORDS SHOULD AND OUGHT ARE KEY WORDS IN IDENTIFYING A MORAL ISSUE)

which of the following projects are exempt from the reqiurement to be sealed by a licensed engineer

a public projects costing less than 8000 dollars...

What is a possible antidote to microscopic vision

a robust moral imagination helps to break out of the confines of microscopic vision and focus on larger issues previously missed

What is the definition of groupthink?

a situation in which groups come to a apparent agreement at the expense of genuine and independent critical thinking

deciding whether a particular case is an incident of extortion is an example of....

an application issue

what prompted the texas state legislature to pass the TEPA

an explosion at a school that was caused by a gas leak killing nearly 300

a question about whether a particular situation is an instance of a given issue ______

application

engineer paola is going overseas to help improve the sewage system in rural communities

aspirational

Examples of an act type

being kind to other people studying hard (as general as possible)

Which of the following is true of Immanuel Kants theory of duty ethics

believed that morality can be deduced by reason alone and thus all rational beings can deduce rationality from reason.... and thus it is accessible by all rational beings

what kind of claim is: a grease payment is giving someone a small amount of money

conceptual

Which of the following are symptoms of gropthink

constructing silence as consent holding an illusion of morality regarding group actions self-censoring contrary opinions

an unlicensed engineer who work for a licensed engineer can perform which of the following tasks under the supervision of that licensed engineer

design of engineered products or projects

Objections to the risk-benefit analysis

does not adequately address risk aversion h it seems morally problematic to assign monetary value to the occurrence of preventable death the number used in such quantitative analysis can be very uncertain

What are the characteristics of a proper management decision

does not force engineers to make unethical decisions or compromise

an act is morally right if its brings about more pleasure than a majority of the alternative acts (t/f)

f (at least as much benefit)

Addressing a relevant conceptual issue rarely lends clarity to a moral discussion (t/f)

false

Although an overall majority of teachers involved in milligrams experiment were willing to administer painful shocks to the learners, gender, sociall class, and nationality appreaed to play a significant role in willingness

false

Bentham and Mill discussed happiness extensively, they never indicated procedures of how to measure it (t/f)

false

Kant believed that fundamental moral principles must be fuid to respond to the different situations that people encounter

false

Microscopic vision allows for small details to generate greater awareness of the larger issues involved.

false

Most moral issues in the work place remissible a paradigm

false

That the subjective and objective risks of an activity sometimes differ demonstrates that subjective risks are irrational or irrelevant

false

There is considerable evidence that income and material possessions always increase the happiness and well-being of an individual

false

a maxim is a universal issue that governs action (t/f)

false

the will cannot be trained to overcome one's inclinations such as envy or greed (t/f)

false

a potential solution to impediments to moral responsibility such as uncritical acceptance of authority is to foster a culture of responsible assent

false (DISSENT)

a maxim can contradict the categorical imperative while at the same time be consistent with reason (t/f)

false (according to the categorical imperative... the sole moral criterion that corresponds with rational consistency, and thus one cannot violate it at the same time acting with reason

"organizational culture" refers to the basic values, norms, beliefs, and practices shared across institutions within a profession

false (within a company!)

The NPSE does not conduct reviews of actual cases in order to determine whether certain behavior is consistent with their code of ethics

false they do!

an engineer's duty to confidentiality may be violated when the law demands it

false... confidentiality can be violated when the law requires it and when there is a threat to the health and safety of the public

Kant believe that persons should rely on their emotions in order to develop a sense of duty

false... reason

The steps taken to resolve a moral disagreement usually do not depend on the specifics of the issue

false... specifics can shape the entire debate

When direct consequences fall within the scope of utilitarian analysis, indirect consequences are not considered sufficiently relevant (t/f)

false... while perhaps not holding as much weight as direct consequences, most utilitarianism still consider indirect effects to be moral significant

the precautionary principle is the dominant way of approachnig risk in the US

flase

The cause of the Columbia's breakup during reentry was determined to be...

hot gases entering a breach in the wing caused by a foam strike that occurred during launch. super-heated gases entered the wing during re-entry, causing a loss of structural integrity and control.

a person is allowed to practice engineering in Texas without a license from the State if

if he or she does not perform services for the public

How might a utilitarian respond to a situation in which one is faced with a choice whether to tell a lie?

lying is okay if it brings about the greatest amount of pleasure

Failure to consider the environmental impact of engineering work is an example of...

micoropic vision

"Edward Snowden is a whisletblower" is what kind of claim

moral

what kind of claim is: engineers ought to always protect the safety, health, and well-being of the public

moral

Is perference utilitairnaism relativism?

no because it is considered to be a universal theory

the purpose behind the NPSE defining an engineers responsibility to the profession is probably

none

Although foam strikes were below perfoamnce specs...

normalization of deviance

Which of the following generated widespread concern about the risk of technology in the 1970/80s

nuclear power (Chernobyl)

the likeliness that a negative event will actually occur is called

objective risk

a hallmark example of a certain concept or moral issue is called a___

paradigm

Which of the following are important distinctions of utilitarianism

particular vs act types act vs rule utilitarianism expected vs actual consequences

an engineer must not preform services outside of their area of expertise

preventative

an engineer should report any company misconduct to the proper authorities

preventative

by seeking to minimize harm that could result from the use of technology, we are trying to emply

preventative

Whistleblowing is the most extreme form of

preventative ethics

What type of professional ethics is this: an engineer must not disclose confidential information

prohibitive

an engineer most not accept bride

prohibitive

the risk-benefit principle uses...

quantitative information for weighing riss and benefits

the principle of maziming expected value can suggest choices that ....

run against ordinary institution

Which of the following are true of factual issues: no assumptions need to be made they can be relevant to a moral problem they can be known or controversial

second 2

'Noramlizing deviance' is a good example of the moral impediments of ...

self deception

What is the difference between objectives and subjectivism?

subjectivism holds that satisfaction, happiness, and please are essential to well-being.... on the other hand, objects holds that the good life is more than just these subjective measures

in the line-drawing technique, once one paradigm case is identified, the other paradigm can sometimes be determined by simply negating the characteristics of the first paradigm (t/f)

t

what is the hallmark of a proper engineering decision

technical matters, especially when they impact the public health, safety, and welfare, should be the subject of an engineering decision

in regard to an engineer's responsibility to protect the public welfare, which of the following statements are accurate

the NPSE code of ethics is perhaps more empathetic than the TBPE rules in describing this responsibility as paramount

THiokol's reversal of the initial no-launch recommendation happened after...

the dodger's commission concluded that the Thiokol Management reversed its position and recommended the launch of 51-L, at the urging of Marhsall and contrary to the views of its engineers in order to accommodate a major customer

On what point do act utilitarians disagree with rule utilitarians

the features of an act relevant to moral analysis are the consequences that directly come from that act alone

What is the essential difference between a piori and a posteriori knowledge?

the former is gained independent of experience, while the latter is dependnt on experience

Thiokol's concern about low temperatures center on...

the lower temperatures would impair the sealing of the polymeric brings

The TEPA defines the practice of engineering as

the performance of or an offer ar attempt to perform any public or private service or creative, the adequate reframe of which requires engineering education, training, and experiences in applying special knowledge or judgment of the mathematical physical or engineering science s

the lottery experiment conducted by economist maurice allias indicates that

the principle of maximizing utility sometimes means that we make counterintuitive choices

According to Kantian ethics, morality is based on

the purity of the will

What is NOT a common criticism of the Risk-benefit principle?

the risk-benefit principle prevents progress because the calculations involved make it impossible to introduce novel designs doest

one of the most frustrating things about disagreement over moral issues is that:

the specific nature of the disagreements are rarely stated

In what way was Robert Lund's behavior leading up to the loss of the Challenger similar to that of the teachers (Robert lund was VP of engineer at Thiokol)

they were overly differential to authority... in both cases decisions made from a position that was too deferential to authority at the expense of sound moral reasoning

the purpose of the goal on the bipod ramp is...

to provide protection against the high heating of ep

The decision of whether to launch Challenger would be an appropriate opportunity to employ the line-drawing technique

tru

"Capabilties" refers to the ability of people to engage in certain activities, thereby leading the kind of life they value

true

According to the utilitarian calculus, the consequences that an action poses to future generation ca n outweigh those facing individuals in the present time (t/f)

true

Often, apparent moral disagreements turn out to be disagreements over relative facts (t/f)

true

although human life has no precise monetary value, even the precautionary analysis would consider it irrational to spend enormous sums of money preventing a stistical death

true

in more industrialized countries, the rate of depression is lower in groups for whom wealth and technology is less of a priority, such as the amish

true

subjective risk depends upon what one perceives about a technology or situation

true

the principle of maximizing the expected value holds that we must always be willing to accept a risk if the benefits are so large enoigh

true (central to risk benefit analysis)

Someone who suscribes to the precautionary principle believes that safety and the avoidance of risk often outweigh the potential benefits that taking a task may offer

true- precautionary action WILL be taken as long as a sufficiently bad outcome may occur

Which of the following correlate to higher levels of happiness and welll-being

volunteerism, purpose and meaning, physical activity, good health

which of the following is an example of a COI according to the definition in TBPE rules

when an engineers financial can be manipulated

Which of the following is true of utilitarianism?

whether an act is permissible depends on the consequences it brings about

What conclusion can be drawn from the results of the global life satisfaction survey

while technology can contribute to the means of a good life, it may not be sufficient;

Which state was the first to pass a law to regulate the practice of engineerin

wymoing