ETHICS AND ENGINEERING - AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH

Abstract

After short historical remarks, a general structure of an ethic theory is proposed, encompassing principles, values, priority rules between such values, basic norms, rules and rights up to customs and rules of good conduct. It is shown that every concrete moral, derived from an ethic theory may include conflicts between norms or values. Particularly such conflicts are known in the force field between technological requirements and basic norms. A principle that may help to resolve such conflicts is presented. It is expressed as the principle of conservation of the conditions for responsible behaviour. Some applications for engineering ethics are given.