The ethical cycle and judgment in design

This paper starts with the claim that the design analogy, i.e., the analogy between design and ethics, helps to understand and to deal with moral problems, and suggests some useful strategies for addressing moral problems. In applying the basic problem solving cycle of design to ethical decision making, we develop a model for moral problem solving. In this light we discuss two general issues in applied ethics: the role of ethical theories and the place of individual judgment versus collective deliberation. Then we will reverse the analogy, and draw lessons for the area of design.