Cases surrounding one of the biggest organizations in the automotive industry, Ford Motor Company, through its subcompact Pinto, have been one of the popular topics in the engineering field. Numerous reports involving Ford Pintos on rear-end collision with deaths and serious injuries have been made not too long after its entrance into the automotive market in 1970s. It is known that the cause of the incidents is due to Pinto’s major design flaw which is the defection in the fuel system design. These cases has led to the debates of many issues, mostly centering around the ethics of the engineers in making decisions to improve the fuel system design after several deaths have been reported. These cases have raised issues
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Their decision may be legal in terms of law, however, in my opinion, it is considered as unethical considering the degree of consequences they have made through this decision. It is difficult to understand how the value of a human life can be compared with the value of money. It is extremely unethical that a person’s life can be allowed to be neglected because it would cost too much to prevent them to die or be seriously injured. Some things just can’t be measured in terms of money, and that includes human life. This utilitarian approach is not fully adequate if the value for respect for persons is not included in the consequences. People insists that they have rights because as individuals, they are entitled to respect, but it is not simply because treating them as if they have rights might maximize overall utility. According to Charles E. Harris in his Engineering Ethics Concepts and Cases book, the moral standard of the ethics of respect for persons is defined as those actions or rules are right that regard each person as worthy of respect as a moral agent. This equal regard for moral agents can be understood as a basic requirement of …show more content…
It is not denied that utilitarianism analysis can make an important contribution in engineering work. For example, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt might not be successfully constructed without performing an elaborate cost benefit analysis. Furthermore, utilitarian analysis has been an important practice in the US business culture. However, its ability to evaluate many conflicting considerations in terms of a single measure, monetary value, makes it invaluable in certain circumstances, like in this Ford Pinto case. The theory of utilitarianism cannot be solely implemented without taking into account other moral analysis. One cannot simply use the theory to put a value of human life, as Ford attempted to do. Their decision not to rectify faults represented a denial of doing no harm, not deceiving others, justice and the rights to life and safety. The theory cannot measure human suffering and loss, and it cannot predict consequences accurately or quantify benefits and harms, simply by applying a cost benefit measure. As with other tools for moral analysis, one must keep in mind its limitations when implementing such theories and
Their decision may be legal in terms of law, however, in my opinion, it is considered as unethical considering the degree of consequences they have made through this decision. It is difficult to understand how the value of a human life can be compared with the value of money. It is extremely unethical that a person’s life can be allowed to be neglected because it would cost too much to prevent them to die or be seriously injured. Some things just can’t be measured in terms of money, and that includes human life. This utilitarian approach is not fully adequate if the value for respect for persons is not included in the consequences. People insists that they have rights because as individuals, they are entitled to respect, but it is not simply because treating them as if they have rights might maximize overall utility. According to Charles E. Harris in his Engineering Ethics Concepts and Cases book, the moral standard of the ethics of respect for persons is defined as those actions or rules are right that regard each person as worthy of respect as a moral agent. This equal regard for moral agents can be understood as a basic requirement of …show more content…
It is not denied that utilitarianism analysis can make an important contribution in engineering work. For example, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt might not be successfully constructed without performing an elaborate cost benefit analysis. Furthermore, utilitarian analysis has been an important practice in the US business culture. However, its ability to evaluate many conflicting considerations in terms of a single measure, monetary value, makes it invaluable in certain circumstances, like in this Ford Pinto case. The theory of utilitarianism cannot be solely implemented without taking into account other moral analysis. One cannot simply use the theory to put a value of human life, as Ford attempted to do. Their decision not to rectify faults represented a denial of doing no harm, not deceiving others, justice and the rights to life and safety. The theory cannot measure human suffering and loss, and it cannot predict consequences accurately or quantify benefits and harms, simply by applying a cost benefit measure. As with other tools for moral analysis, one must keep in mind its limitations when implementing such theories and