ENGR482 Test 03 Guide With
Complete Solution
Technology is not a moral agent and cannot have moral responsibilities.
Technology is just a means to an end. - ANSWER Common sense view
artifacts are a part of the moral agent, have some moral responsibility
Tech art and humans are hybrid agents:
- The boundary between subject and object is no longer possible to uphold
- "...morality is inside the things" -Bruno Latour - ANSWER Strong view
artifacts have moral relevant because they affect a person's options
- Objects cannot be apart of the subject, therefore they cannot be morally
responsible
- Artifacts create new options/reasons for action, artifacts affect the outcome
of our actions - ANSWER Moderate view
How technology changes our perception of how the world works.
- Influence of artifacts on human perception
- Ex. Glasses change how you see the world - ANSWER Mediation of
perception
how technology changes what we are able to do.
- influence of artifacts on human action
,- Ex: Stop sign in principal gets people to stop - ANSWER Mediation of action
Apply relevant theories and conceptual resources to the Red Light Camera
case:
___________: the cameras can lead to safer drivers
___________: installers of cameras are morally good for preventing damage
___________: The cameras enable mediation of safe driving
___________: The cameras are morally good because they prevent accidents. -
ANSWER Mediate action
common sense
Moderate view
Strong view
to do the right thing - ANSWER First Order Responsibilities
ensure morally good options are available - ANSWER Second Order
Responsibilities
what is meant by Kant's thesis that 'ought' implies 'can.'? - ANSWER -
'Ought' implies 'can': an agent has a moral obligation if they are able to
perform it
- change in the realm of can implies a change in the realm of ought
- If new actions become available, that were not available before, this may
change our moral obligations.
, in ch.1 he talked about how engineers were highly praised from 1850-1950,
brought men closer, and were not at a loss of gratifications. Engineers
flourished in the Golden Age (1850-1950) and were revered/idolized b/c of
constant achievement. After 1950, Dark Age began as people questioned the
impacts of technology (intro of H bomb). Depletion of environmental
resources attributed to tech development, etc. Now engineers must be
cautious of society's fears when moving forward. - ANSWER basic attitude
toward technology expressed by Samuel Florman in the first chapter of The
Existential Pleasures of Engineering
"Is Technology Neutral?" - It is not because it has a value system (its own
values) - ANSWER Robert Whelchel presents in "Is Technology Neutral?"
"Technique is the totality of methods, rationally arrived at and having
absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of
human activity." - ANSWER Jacques Ellul meaning of technique
How Jacques Ellul make his analysis on "Technique" - ANSWER He made his
analysis following the teachings of Bernard Charbonneau and Karl Marx.
Why Jacques Ellul found technique problematic - ANSWER He criticized it
saying "technique enslaves people, while proffering them the mere illusion of
freedom, all the while tyrannically conforming them to the demands of the
technological society with its complex of artificial operational objectives."
Complete Solution
Technology is not a moral agent and cannot have moral responsibilities.
Technology is just a means to an end. - ANSWER Common sense view
artifacts are a part of the moral agent, have some moral responsibility
Tech art and humans are hybrid agents:
- The boundary between subject and object is no longer possible to uphold
- "...morality is inside the things" -Bruno Latour - ANSWER Strong view
artifacts have moral relevant because they affect a person's options
- Objects cannot be apart of the subject, therefore they cannot be morally
responsible
- Artifacts create new options/reasons for action, artifacts affect the outcome
of our actions - ANSWER Moderate view
How technology changes our perception of how the world works.
- Influence of artifacts on human perception
- Ex. Glasses change how you see the world - ANSWER Mediation of
perception
how technology changes what we are able to do.
- influence of artifacts on human action
,- Ex: Stop sign in principal gets people to stop - ANSWER Mediation of action
Apply relevant theories and conceptual resources to the Red Light Camera
case:
___________: the cameras can lead to safer drivers
___________: installers of cameras are morally good for preventing damage
___________: The cameras enable mediation of safe driving
___________: The cameras are morally good because they prevent accidents. -
ANSWER Mediate action
common sense
Moderate view
Strong view
to do the right thing - ANSWER First Order Responsibilities
ensure morally good options are available - ANSWER Second Order
Responsibilities
what is meant by Kant's thesis that 'ought' implies 'can.'? - ANSWER -
'Ought' implies 'can': an agent has a moral obligation if they are able to
perform it
- change in the realm of can implies a change in the realm of ought
- If new actions become available, that were not available before, this may
change our moral obligations.
, in ch.1 he talked about how engineers were highly praised from 1850-1950,
brought men closer, and were not at a loss of gratifications. Engineers
flourished in the Golden Age (1850-1950) and were revered/idolized b/c of
constant achievement. After 1950, Dark Age began as people questioned the
impacts of technology (intro of H bomb). Depletion of environmental
resources attributed to tech development, etc. Now engineers must be
cautious of society's fears when moving forward. - ANSWER basic attitude
toward technology expressed by Samuel Florman in the first chapter of The
Existential Pleasures of Engineering
"Is Technology Neutral?" - It is not because it has a value system (its own
values) - ANSWER Robert Whelchel presents in "Is Technology Neutral?"
"Technique is the totality of methods, rationally arrived at and having
absolute efficiency (for a given stage of development) in every field of
human activity." - ANSWER Jacques Ellul meaning of technique
How Jacques Ellul make his analysis on "Technique" - ANSWER He made his
analysis following the teachings of Bernard Charbonneau and Karl Marx.
Why Jacques Ellul found technique problematic - ANSWER He criticized it
saying "technique enslaves people, while proffering them the mere illusion of
freedom, all the while tyrannically conforming them to the demands of the
technological society with its complex of artificial operational objectives."
