4 ms·

Every Engineer's Solemn Duty http://www.warplife.com/ethics/duty.html http://www.warplife.com/ethics/duty.html

• sanderjd 12y ago
  I think this is like a lot of things; the theory is sound, but the hard part is figuring out when it applies. It can be misapplied at both the low and high ends, and there's a vast murky middle.
  • MichaelCrawford 12y ago
    "vast murky middle". I eagerly enrolled in Ethics my first term at UCSC, in hopes of learning The Answers To All Of Life's Great Questions. Instead I learned how to make tedious, hair-splitting arguments. While I readily agreed that the philosophy prof who taught the class had valid arguments, they were so complex that I didn't think they would do anyone any real good. The one thing I took away from the class was the concept of "The Minimally-Sufficient Samaritan". A Good Samaritan will risk their life for that of another; a bad Samaritan won't. A Minimally-Sufficient Samaritan will only do enough that they are regarded as ethical.
    • mcguire 12y ago
      I took a class called "Contemporary Moral Problems" from a professor who suspiciously resembled Captain Kangaroo. In it, I found my favorite statement from philosophy: "I find it plausible to believe that I have a moral duty not to wantonly slaughter my neighbors." (How many wishy-washy terms can you find in it?) The Minimally-Sufficient Samaritan is entering my lexicon. Thanks!