The Case Of Engineer James Liang And The Volkswagen...

But was it ethical? This question will often be asked regarding the case of engineer James Liang and his role in the Volkswagen emission scandal. During the period of early 2006 to 2014, James Liang and his team of engineers developed a â€Å"defeat† device that allowed diesel powered vehicles to pass the EPA emission test, when in fact the vehicles were emitting up to 30 times the allowable limit. To many, this may seem a black and white case of ethics due to the fact that Liang’s team and Volkswagen blatantly cheated on a governmental testing regulation and then proceeded to falsely advertise the vehicles as â€Å"clean diesel and environmentally friendly† as reported by the United States Department of Justice; however, different ethical†¦show more content†¦It is not the consequences from the actions of the will that drives the action but the rather the purity of the will of a person. This then leads into the duty to follow the will. Duty is the next pillar of Kantian ethics. In Kant’s writing, duty is defined as the way one should act to carry out moral laws. There should be no pleasure derived from following duty except out of respect to moral laws defined by the person. These are defined by the maxim. Kant defines the maxim as a subjective principle that one should follow and is testable by the categorical imperative. An example of a maxim is saying one will not lie no matter the situation. This maxim can thus be tested by the categorical imperative. The final pillar of Kantian ethics is the categorical imperative. This is a test for the maxim in order to understand if the maxim can be defined as universal law. The categorical imperative is vital to Kantian ethics since Kant believes any act is essentially wrong if it cannot be considered universal law. As defined above, Kantian ethics can be applied to the Volkswagen scandal involving James Liang. Even though to many his actions are completely irresponsible, the purity of his will is the determining factor of where or not his actions were ethical. Liang could have had a duty to Volkswagen as any employee would to his/her company. Volkswagen had employed Liang for 34 years so Liang may have developed a duty to Volkswagen to preventShow MoreRelatedAn Investigation Into The Volkswagen Emissions Scandal After Research Essay1636 Words   |  7 Pagesis an ongoing investigation into the Volkswagen emissions scandal after research indicated a large discrepancy in emissions during testing and road operation conditions on some of the company’s diesel engine vehicles.[1] On September 9, 2016, James Liang, an experienced Volkswagen engineer and head of the company’s Diesel Competence unit in the U.S., pleaded guilty to taking part in a fraudulent scheme to allow certain Volkswa gen vehicles that violated emissions regulations to pass testing proceduresRead MoreJames Liang And The Volkswagen Emission Scandal Essay1314 Words   |  6 PagesJames Liang and the Volkswagen Emission Scandal An Ethical Examination On September 9, 2016, a veteran engineer of Volkswagen AG by the name of James Robert Liang pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the government, committing wire fraud, and violating the U.S. Clean Air Act. 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