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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 12 page paper provides an overview of this issue. William LeMessurier's decision to withhold information from the public regarding the structural defects of the Citicorp building in New York City, and to later expose his knowledge about the flaws, has often been viewed as a very ethical way of dealing with a difficult situation. LeMessurier has been touted as one example of an ethical respondent in a situation that seemed to almost warrant unethical behavior. Closer examination, though, of both his choices and his actions demonstrate that LeMessurier was playing a kind of engineering "god," and that his choices threatened the life and safety of tens of thousands of people. Bibliography lists 15 sources.
Page Count:
12 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MH11_MHEngEth.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of dealing with a difficult situation. LeMessurier has been touted as one example of an ethical respondent in a situation that seemed to almost warrant unethical behavior. Closer
examination, though, of both his choices and his actions demonstrate that LeMessurier was playing a kind of engineering "god," and that his choices threatened the life and safety of tens
of thousands of people. The decision to withhold information about the necessity for and nature of repairs to the Citicorp building after LeMessurier discovered his own design flaws seems
to be justifiable by applying standards of strong paternalism. Because of the presence of the building and the fact that the building was already in use when the flaws
were discovered, LeMessurier and others determined that the spreading of accurate information about the level of problems with the building would in fact cause a panic. More specifically, they
questioned the common mans capacity to maintain calm in the presence of such information. Arguing that individuals might panic and cause considerable harm or damage, LeMessurier and others determined
that it was necessary to conceal the level of threat to individuals from structural failure of the building, instead stating that the building needed "minor" repairs. Strong paternalism has
been utilized in the protection of public interest, especially when issues of safety can be impacted by widespread public response. In other words, if individuals panic and the panic
spreads, the negative impact of that panic could in fact cause greater harm than the initial issue. Strong paternalism, then, supports the belief that individuals can interfere and this
interference is justified if they can demonstrate that without interfering, people would take actions that would cause personal harm, even if their actions werent supposed to cause harm. In
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