Ethics as Design

Abstract

Ethical judgments are important in devising responses to moral problems, of course. Ethical problems that call both for solving and for coping have their counterpart in design problems, although good ways of coping count as “solutions” in the case of design problems. Design problems are problems of making things and processes to satisfy wants and needs. The analogy with moral problems holds for a variety of design problems, from designing or repairing a bookshelf to devising a rotating work schedule, to designing or redesigning an experiment. The initial problem about the toxic waste is an interesting ethical problem with several acceptable responses. The initial phase of the design of the immunoassay device illustrates the task of problem definition. Part of the explanation for the misunderstanding and misrepresentation of moral problems is that most of recent ethics and applied ethics have neglected the perspective of the moral agent.