Factual-and-Conceptual-Issues课件.pptVIP

Factual and Conceptual Issues 精品文档 ANALYZING MORAL PROBLEMS Factual Issues Conceptual Issues Application Issues Moral/Value Issues 精品文档 Case 1: A new government law requires that the lead content of drinking water be less than 1.0 ppb (parts per billion). Melissa is a safety engineer who has tested her company’s drinking water by two methods. Method A gives a reading of 0.85, while Method B gives a reading of 1.23 ppb. She must fill out a government report describing the quality of her company’s water. If the lead content exceeds 1.0 ppb, her company will be fined. She is contemplating whether to report the results from Method A or Method B. 精品文档 A. Factual Issues 1. Facts vs. Factual Issues “Facts”= known facts “Factual Issues”= unknown facts, questions we have about what the facts are Facts of Case 1: Method A says 0.85 ppb Method B says 1.23 ppb Factual Issue of Case 1: Which method is more accurate? 精品文档 2. When we don’t have the time/resources to uncover the facts,we must resolve factual issues by making assumptions - Reasonable assumptions - Sincere assumptions 3. Different assumptions can result in different moral judgements. (This is itself does not make moral judgement “subjective.”) 精品文档 Case 2: Sally is a mechanical engineer employed by General Motors to design automotive gas tanks. According to U.S. Government safety standards, the automobile must survive a moderate impact with no chance of the gas tank catching fire. In recent tests, cars that crashed at 35 mph had no fires, whereas 20% of cars that crashed at 45 mph had fires. Is Sally required by government standards to redesign the gas tank? 精品文档 1. A conceptual issue is a question about the meaning of a crucial term. Conceptual Issue in case 2: What counts as a “moderate impact”? 2. How do we settle conceptual issues? a. Sometimes definitions are stipulated in policies/laws b. Usually we rely on common understanding Definition == Paradigm B. Conceptual Issues 精品文档 C