We live in a world sculpted by the work of technological professionals. As the significance of the choices made by engineers increases, it has become more and more important to ensure that these choices are ethical. Through analysis of Eric Katz’s ‘Nazi Engineers’, it is clear that technology is value laden and societies’ ethics ultimately determine the direction its technology goes. Katz writes this essay to educate his students about Nazi ethics so they can avoid their misguided moral reasoning and learn about the ethics embedded in technology. To articulate the reasoning of the Nazis, Katz uses three main ethical ideologies used in Nazi society; Technological Neutrality, Doubling, and Integration and Ideology in engineering. Technological
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Analysis of this essay shows that a technological artifact’s moral identity is determined by society. It is key to establish that every technological artifact has two wholistic values[1, p. 53]. The technological professional is solely responsible for the artifact’s technical worth, the only contributing factor to this value being his competence and endeavor. In contrast he moral value of an artifact can be solely attributed to society. In the essay, technological ethics function in one of two ways. The first is the traditional view of ethics where, “ The design and creation of a technological artifact must be separated from its use”[1, p. 54], generalizing that the technological professional is naive of the artifact’s final use. This view agrees with Speer’s ideology when he says, “I felt myself Hitler’s architect. Political events did not concern me …I have felt at ease in my work so long my person and my work was evaluated solely on the standard of practical accomplishment.”[1, p. 53]. In this example Speer argues explicitly that he was responsible for the practicality of his work whereas Hitler, a societal leader, determined the morality of his work. This is the epitome of my argument as we see society explicitly determining the use of a technological professionals craft and therefore determine its
Analysis of this essay shows that a technological artifact’s moral identity is determined by society. It is key to establish that every technological artifact has two wholistic values[1, p. 53]. The technological professional is solely responsible for the artifact’s technical worth, the only contributing factor to this value being his competence and endeavor. In contrast he moral value of an artifact can be solely attributed to society. In the essay, technological ethics function in one of two ways. The first is the traditional view of ethics where, “ The design and creation of a technological artifact must be separated from its use”[1, p. 54], generalizing that the technological professional is naive of the artifact’s final use. This view agrees with Speer’s ideology when he says, “I felt myself Hitler’s architect. Political events did not concern me …I have felt at ease in my work so long my person and my work was evaluated solely on the standard of practical accomplishment.”[1, p. 53]. In this example Speer argues explicitly that he was responsible for the practicality of his work whereas Hitler, a societal leader, determined the morality of his work. This is the epitome of my argument as we see society explicitly determining the use of a technological professionals craft and therefore determine its