MORAL AUTONOMY

 

 

 

   People are morally autonomous when their moral conduct and principles of action are their own.  Moral beliefs and attitudes must be a critical reflection and not a passive adoption of the particular conventions of ones society, religion or profession.

   Moral  beliefs  and  attitudes  cannot  be  agreed  to  formally  and  adhered  to  merely verbally.

   They  must  be  integrated  into  the  core  of  ones  personality  and  should  lead  to committed action.

   It is wrong to think that as an employee when one performs acts serving companys interests, one is no longer morally and personally identified with ones actions.

   Viewing engg as a social experimentation helps to overcome this flawed thought and restores a sense of autonomous participation in ones work.

   As an experimenter,  an engineer  is exercising  the  specialized  training  that forms the core of ones identity as a professional.

   A sociaexperiment  that can result  in unknown  consequences  should  help inspire  critical  and  questioning  attitude  about  the  adequacy  of  current economic and safety standards.

   In turn, this leads to better personal involvement with work.