HU 432 Exam 1
List Aristotle's three conditions of voluntary action.
-Choice -Knowledge -Stable character
2 sources of ethical problems
-Conflict of existing morals -Absence of values
1 of boatright's criticisms of stakeholder theory of corporate goverance
-Confuses goals with constraints
3 conditions of legal agency
-Consent to relation -Power of agent to work on behalf of principal -Control of agent by principal
Difference between customary and reflective moraity
-Customary: Learned from upbringing -Reflective: Used when customary fails -Uses reason to justify action
Difference between direct and oblique intention?
-Direct: Consequences of actions are desired -Oblique: Consequences are known but not desired
2 main rights of stakeholders
-Elect board of directors -Receive profits as dividends/shares
Why does layton refer to the engineer as "the original organization man"?
-Engineers have always worked for large organizations -Engineers need resources to do their work, which large organizations can provide
Explain relevance of the notion of "burden of proof" to an understanding of the challenger case
-Engineers prove the safety of a product -Burden of proof shifted from proving safety to proving the o-ring would fail -Shift was not noticed by the engineers and contributed to the catastrophe
What is judgement and how does it's exercise differ from the application of a skill?
-Forming an opinion -Judgement is exercised in a new situation -Application of a skill is exercised in a situation that has been encountered before
Why does Hannaford find the phrases "bettering one's condition" and "pursuing one's interests" too vague to support Friedman's argument?
-Freidman's argument: A corporation has no social responsibility and is only responsible for creating profit -Every person is exerting himself to find a means to the most money
Why does Layton say that professionalism is not democratic?
-Has overtones of elitism -Places value in expertise -Caters to small, unequal group
What kinds of ignorance are relevant to determining blameworthiness?
-Ignorance of relevant action (not understanding what you are doing) -Ignorance of moral standard (thinking what you did is not wrong)
Mechanism of blame, how does it work to change agent's behavior?
-Law: Recognition that action is illegal -Implies punishment -Morality: Recognition action is immoral and agent is immoral for doing it -Receiving blame can encourage positive moral behavior
List 3 ways by which communities sanction professions
-Licensing -Accreditation -Degree granting
Explain the relationship between the professionalization of engineering and its incorporation of scientific methods
-Professionalism has a means of preserving and increasing esoteric knowledge -Was able to happen by incorporating the scientific method and theory into the technology
Professions are theory bases Parson's concept of rationality
-Professionals must have an understanding of the concept as well as the skill to act -The understanding allows the professional to adapt to the situation
To remain outside the institution of morality the amoralist could "resist but not resent" others who try to stop him
-Resentment implies that the person cares about anothers actions which is outside the realm of amorality
Michael Bayle's distinction between consulting and bureaucratic professions
-Scholarly: Salaried, many clients at once or no personal clients (work for a company) -Consulting: Fee for service, one-on-one
How is negligence a difficulty for the Straight Rule of Responsibility?
-Straight rule: We are responsible for our intended actions -Negligence is not intended but people are held responsible for it