Autonomy method : Acquiring skills for ethichal analysis of computerisation in car driving

There are many moral aspects to the introduction of new technology, such as car navigation systems, and there are different approaches to deal with these. Here we do not use normative moral theory to argue about what is morally right or wrong, in fact we do not even attempt to find an answer. The primary purpose is not to generate answers to particular problems, but rather to acquire a comprehensive view of the problem at hand and also to document the information on which one base the decision making. No matter what the final decision is, this method summarises all aspects considered during the decision-making process. A successful inclusion of moral aspects in car navigation systems analysis, decision making and decision application can easily fail. The cause of this failure may be found in the way thinking, problem solving and decision making are performed by, for example, a car manufacturer. People use different ways to handle moral problems. Psychological theory and research differentiate between two different moral functions, heteronomy and autonomy, which decide a person’s ability to handle moral problems. In this paper we suggest a tool that can aid people, who are not informed about ethical theories, when making decisions related to ethical aspects. This tool can increase the level of ethical competence before a decision is taken, by simply describing all relevant values and aspects for all involved parts in a structured way. By iteratively considering how each possible action or decision affects each possible value for each involved person, company, organisation, etc, a broader and more complex view of the moral dilemma is achieved. The output from this tool works both as a decision support, but also as a kind of documentation for future reference, for continuous dialog and for argumentation reasons. If someone later questions a decision then the documentation can work to explain it, or if additional aspects of the dilemma are revealed then the documentatio