Philosophical Reflection On The Tragedy Of The New Orleans Project From The Inherently Attribute Of Engineering

On 29 August 2005 Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast of the United States, and the city of New Orleans was devastated. Faced with this tragedy, the reason was studied from various views and depth by many professionals and scholars from home and abroad. However the major study of this problem just demonstrated itself and the thinking from philosophy was so weaken, because in the minds of most people, engineering and philosophy are typically conceived as two mutually exclusive domains. Philosophical thinking with engineering problems is a weak link both in the areas of the philosophy world and domains of the engineering world. This article manages to provoke extended reflection to the tragedy of the New Orleans Project from the inherently attribute of engineering.On the base of clarifying the conception of engineering, in this article, Analyzes and demonstrates the systematic attribute, ecological attribute, social attribute and risk attribute of engineering, and these are principal inherently attribute of engineering. From this as a start, the tragedy of the New Orleans Project is expounded from engineering philosophy angle. The study is carried out from three levels. First, the resolution is given to the material matter with the tragedy of the New Orleans Project. Second, the greater meaning of the material reason with the tragedy of the New Orleans Project is presented by the means of system study from the view of the systematic attribute, nature attribute and risk attribute. In the end, we find that the missing of the systematic consciousness, ecological consciousness, social consciousness and risk consciousness was the principal cognitive root-cause of the tragedy of the New Orleans Project. And this article points out further that the scientific cognitive idea with engineering is the requirement of the methodology to the sustainable development and the building a harmonious society.