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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 9 page paper discussing the philosophical morality of decisions made by Ford Motor Company before making the Pinto available for sale in 1971. The Pinto had the potential to become a fireball when struck from the rear and Ford was aware of the Pinto's design shortcomings. It released the model rather than fix the problems, however, and many deaths were attributed to the Pinto over the next seven years. The paper discusses Kant, Rawls and Mill as the philosophers offering potential frames of reference. The paper chooses Mill's utilitarianism as the most appropriate for the Pinto case. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
9 pages (~225 words per page)
File: CC6_KSbusEthPinto2.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
- indeed, decades - Detroits "big three" automakers presented to the American public the cars they wanted to produce, rather than the cars the customer wanted to buy. The
arrangement was good enough until foreign imports began gaining American buyers attention in increasing numbers. By the late 1960s it was clear that a significant number of American buyers
favored smaller cars; they sent an unmistakable message to Detroit during and after the international oil crisis of 1973-1974, when gas prices soared and many view imports (particularly those of
Japan) seriously for the first time to find surprising quality as well as the fuel economy they sought. As would be the case
decades later with the problems of the Ford Explorer when combined with Firestone tires, the Ford Pinto contained a design flaw that would prove deadly. Ford knew of the
flaws potential hazard but chose to meet production and marketing deadlines rather than redesign the Pinto for greater safety. Case Questions 1. Was Ford to blame in the Pinto case?
Ford absolutely was to blame in the Pinto case. If considered from a Kantian perspective, Ford could be held less accountable for the
deaths resulting from the Pintos faulty design because no one at Ford could know the future. Certainly design engineers did not intend for the Pinto to be dangerous in
rear-end collisions, so the Kantian perspective essentially would let the Ford company off of the responsibility hook in that sense. Shaw and Barry (2004) illustrate that morality within Kantian
ethics rests on intent rather than on results (p. 80). Without the ability to know the future, Ford would not be held accountable for results.
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