The Need for Ethical Reflection in Engineering Design

The Relevance of Type of Design and Design Hierarchy

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5337073
AutoresI Van De Poel (0000-0002-9553-5651, Delft University of Technology), A C Van Gorp (Tilburg University)
Año2006
Volumen31
Número3
Páginas333-360
Fecha de publicación2006-05-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaScience Technology & Human Values (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0162-2439 • E-ISSN: 1552-8251
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0162243905285846
OpenAlexW2140872543
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas12

The authors explore whether the need for ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers is dependent on the type of design process. They use Vincenti's (1992) distinction between normal and radical design and different levels of design hierarchy. These two dimensions are coupled with the concept of ill-structured problems, which are problems in which possible solutions cannot be ordered on a scale from better to worse. Design problems are better structured at lower hierarchical levels and in cases of normal design. Better structured design problems require less ethical reflection on the part of designing engineers if such situations are characterized by the existence of generally accepted normative frameworks. Engineers could then deal with moral problems within the bounds of such frameworks and without the need for further reflection. On the basis of a number of empirical cases, the authors explore whether these ideas hold water. They discuss four cases ranging from a high-level radical design process to a low-level normal design process

Design process · Engineering design process · Engineering ethics · Epistemology · Hierarchy · Management science · Normative · Operations management · Political science · Work in process · Computer Science · Design Education and Practice · Engineering · Engineering Education and Curriculum Development · Ethics in Business and Education