Research On How To Regulate Engineering Decision-making From Ethical Perspective

The modern engineering activity greatly promoted the development of human society and economy, and at the same time, brought about a remarkable negative impact. A research on the process of engineering decision-making from the ethical perspective may not only efficiently prevent or weaken the negative impact, but also enlarge or strengthen the positive aspect. This research will examine the ethical theory on the engineering decision-making, analyze its ethical dilemma, and explore a feasible way for realizing the ethical stipulation on the engineering decision-making. Its outcome may enrich the theoretical system of engineering ethics and provide a better guidance to the actual engineering decision-making.Through picturing the map concerning the investigation in the engineering ethics and engineering decision-making, this research shows the representative academic figures, as well as the research area, related to engineering ethics, exhibits the cutting-edge achievement in the study of engineering ethics, and indicates the current development in this field. The ethical issue in the engineering decision-making is going to be a key topic to stimulate the engineering ethics as whole for its further development. The study has its inevitability and necessity.It is the theoretical condition for the ethical stipulation on the engineering decision-making to analyze the content of the engineering decision-making and its ethical stipulation, explore and elucidate the relevant conception, trait, ground, possibility and structure, and thereby complete the theoretical construction of the ethical stipulation on the engineering decision-making. The ethical value in the engineering decision-making itself provides the ethical stipulation on the engineering decision-making with an internal reason, while the social dimension of the engineering decision-making forms its external assurance. The request for the ethical stipulation from the practice of engineering decision-making itself is the foundation for the ethical stipulation. The analysis on the cutting-edge issues in the engineering ethics and in the engineering decision-making indicates the correct direction for the research on the stipulation. The development in the related fields and the accumulation of the given thoughts on the stipulation make it possible to start the present research. The ethical stipulation for the engineering decision-making is necessary, possible, and difficult. This difficulty mainly comes from the following three sources. The first, the "Collingridge dilemma" caused by the uncertainty of the project risk; the second, the difficulty to control the engineering agent caused by the short of the ethical consciousness of the subject and by the diversification and ambiguity of the ethical responsibilities; and the third, the difficulty from the external ethical context caused by the decline and degeneration of morality in the social environment.It is not impossible to deal with these difficulties. The difficulty from the uncertain risks can be reduced by establishing the precautionary principles in the engineering decision-making. The difficulty regarding the engineering agent can be reduced by constructing a moral mechanism aiming to improve the self-disciple of the agent. Finally, the difficulty regarding the external context can be reduced by promoting the institutional ethics of engineering decision-making and the ethics of procedures and constructing related control mechanism. All of the above measures will help to regulate engineering decision-making from ethical perspective.