James Liang's Ethics

Immanuel Kant's categorical imperative is a theory that basically relays the same message that most mothers teach their kids, and that is to do the right thing. The categorical imperative could be easily explained by the Golden Rule about treating others as you would like to be treated. Kant dives a little deep with his theory, however, and breaks the categorical imperative into three formulations. The first formulation is about essentially removing yourself from a situation and doing what is best for everyone. Kant is basically saying that it is unethical to make decisions that affect everyone, but only benefits you. The second formulation is about making sure that

Volkswagen is under investigation following reports from the EPA that they had installed software into their engines that deceived emissions testers. Furthermore, engineers updated this software in 2014, claiming that they were improving the vehicles. James Liang, a senior engineer who had worked for Volkswagen for 30 years, admitted to investigators in September of 2016 that he had designed the software in question. Further investigation has revealed that this conspiracy may have involved executives of the company. It is unknown to the public whether Liang was acting under orders when he designed the software or he decided to create it on his own to meet requirements his superiors gave him. Both rule utilitarianism and Kantian duty ethics

Kant’s first version of the Categorical Imperative: “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should become a universal law” (Immanuel) This is Kant’s absolute moral law. It is often cited as the golden rule as well. Per Kant, one has an obligation to act on this axiom, and if one does they are morally correct. However, Kant also defined another form of the Categorical Imperative referred to as the Humanity Formula: “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means.” (Immanuel) This second formulation does more to specifically define what Kant saw as universal law. A human is never to be used only as tools (means), and in fact, should be respected equally for their own motives. (Kerstein) A human as defined by Kant comes to “humanity”. That is to say, the traits that make us intrinsically human, such as a free will. (Johnson and Cureton)

2015 was not a banner year for the car manufacturer, Volkswagen. In September, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that many VW cars being sold in America had a “defeat device”- or software-in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results (Hotten 1). It was found that the defeat device altered the emissions of the Volkswagen’s diesel engine; the defeat device software had the capability of sensing if it was in a testing situation or driven normally. In the test environment the software would function properly to provide the expected test results and then revert back to unsafe emissions levels. As a result, the EPA issued notice of violation to Volkswagen on September 18, accusing the company of installing a defeat device that caused NOx emissions at 40 times the standard limit (Alter 4). At the time that the EPA violation was levied it was believed that at least 480,000 cars in the United States would be affected by the defeat device.

Categorical imperative tells you to what to do regardless of your desires, being kind for the sake of being kind to humans that deserve respect and kindness not expecting anything in return for doing it, because it is the right thing to do. To Kent categorical imperative applies to morality, as it is something done without the expectation of anything in return. It is a duty to be kind not just an inclination. We help the needy even if it has no personal return, but it is a moral and rational action. Things done for the greater good of society and not for

Through the studying of Kant’s work on the metaphysics of morals, categorical imperative is defined as an absolute command that must be obeyed in all circumstances. He stated it is a universal moral obligation because it is justified as an end in itself. In another word, if something is morally good it has the ability to will everyone to act in the same way regardless of their background, understanding or circumstances. For example, rational beings do not kill innocent children. This is the kind of moral thinking that every rational being can universally agree.

Kant states that categorical imperatives are universal rules that apply to all rational beings (Van Camp 33). According to Kant, a categorical imperative rests on three principles. Kant says the first of these principles is, “[N]ever act in such a way that I could not also will that my maxim be a universal law” (Van Vamp 33). By this Kant means that how one acts should be able to be applied to all human beings and still stand true. For example, if one was to hit another person’s car and drive away that would be immoral because if everyone hit one another’s cars without saying anything, no one would believe each other and the world could not function

Did you know that the “the transportation sector [alone] is responsible for over 50% of NOx total emissions, over 30% of VOCs emissions, and over 20% of PM emissions in the U.S.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency)? Because the effect of these pollutants is not immediately felt, many engineers do not hesitate to bypass these regulations. James Liang is no exception. A recent publication unveiled the truth behind the emission’s release of one of Volkswagen’s models. Unable to design an engine that complied with the US emissions regulations, Volkswagen instead developed a software that would fool the emissions exam. The software was designed so that the vehicle would operate using the appropriate emissions release during the exam

The categorical imperative has three formulations. The first formulation is to “always act so that you can consistently will that the maxim of your action become a universal moral law for all humankind.” This means that one should act upon a maxim

John Liang and his colleagues sought to design a new technology that would improve the quality of life. In this case, improvement of the quality of life was an “EA 189” diesel engine that would pass US emission standards for “clean diesel”. Unfortunately, as time passed, John began to realize that their design had not lived up to expectations and would not be able to pass emission standards set by the United States. Suddenly, they took a one hundred and eighty-degree turn in their motives. Instead of admitting defeat, and postponing the production of their “EA 189” diesel engine, like any engineer with morals would he and his colleagues decided that if they couldn’t pass the emissions test, then they would trick it.

Here is a Kantian answer to the question of my son. As it turns out, the first categorical imperative is an alternative and more sophisticated formulation of the "golden rule" in its positive version: do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Kant’s categorical imperative, put simply, is something that must be done. It is a law in itself, and is necessary and unequivocal. It is to be treated as law by all people independent of the desires of the individual, and must be done. This is different from the hypothetical imperative in that the hypothetical imperative is an action done to bring about a specific outcome, and is specific only to the individual who desires that outcome. The categorical imperative applies to all people and must be done regardless of the outcome. For Kant, the moral imperative is the categorical imperative, because it can be applied to a person’s

In 2016, a Volkswagen engineer by the name of James Liang pled guilty to criminal charges related to a gas emissions scandal (Isidore). The scandal was a result of Volkswagen engineers trying to pass the strict United States emission standards by cheating diesel engine emissions tests with software designed to recognize when emissions testing was being performed and regulate emissions accordingly (Chambers). By cheating the tests in this way, the diesel engine vehicles were able to pass US standards when tested while maintaining vehicle performance when being driven on the open road. However, when these diesel vehicles were driving on the open road, the gas emissions were not being controlled and the vehicles were actually emitting up to 40 times the acceptable limit (Isidore). This clearly presents some ethical issues, especially when analyzing the scandal from a Kantian perspective and focusing on the moral duty of the engineers involved. If James Liang and the other Volkswagen engineers involved had followed their moral duty, this scandal would have been avoided.

Immanuel Kant concerns himself with deontology, and as a deontologist, he believes that the rightness of an action depends in part on things other than the goodness of its consequences, and so, actions should be judged based on an intrinsic moral law that says whether the action is right or wrong – period. Kant introduced the Categorical Imperative which is the central philosophy of his theory of morality, and an understandable approach to this moral law. It is divided into three formulations. The first formulation of Kant’s Categorical Imperative states that one should “always act in such a way that the maxim of your action can be willed as a universal law of humanity”; an act is either right or wrong based on its ability to be

Kant views a maxim as a rule of action that should be acted upon only if you have the will he defines. It is the maxim that defines our choices. The maxim connects with the categorical imperative, which Kant presses is our duty to do what is right no matter what we feel. Hence, the categorical imperative embodies what our will should be.