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The Moral Dimensions of Infrastructure

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Abstract

Moral issues in urban planning involving technology, residents, marginalized groups, ecosystems, and future generations are complex cases, requiring solutions that go beyond the limits of contemporary moral theory. Aside from typical planning problems, there is incongruence between moral theory and some of the subjects that require moral assessment, such as urban infrastructure. Despite this incongruence, there is not a need to develop another moral theory. Instead, a supplemental measure that is compatible with existing moral positions will suffice. My primary goal in this paper is to explain the need for this supplemental measure, describe what one looks like, and show how it works with existing moral systems. The secondary goal is to show that creating a supplemental measure that provides congruency between moral systems that are designed to assess human action and non-human subjects advances the study of moral theory.

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Notes

  1. For an example of some of issues for virtue ethics, see Louden (1984).

  2. For a distinction on Rawls’ view of persons, see Rawls (1993, 175).

  3. For instance, Latour (1994, 152) provides an example showing how wearing a seatbelt while driving is an activity wherein he, the car, the police, and engineers make him be moral. In this example, the car counts as one of the “missing masses.” For another example, see Winner (1980).

  4. For instance, The United States Supreme Court formulated disparate impacts in Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971).

  5. For more information regarding highway related deaths, see http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/Main/index.aspx. Accessed 4 January 2015.

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  1. University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Shane Epting

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  1. Shane Epting
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Correspondence to Shane Epting.

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Epting, S. The Moral Dimensions of Infrastructure. Sci Eng Ethics 22, 435–449 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-015-9663-z

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