Look up in Wikipedia, or some similar source, the Columbia and the Challenger disasters. Examine the engineering and management problems that might have brought about each disaster, and compare or contrast each in terms of assigning responsibility, if any, for the disaster. In each case determine if NASA officials acted appropriately, as true professionals, and so too the engineers associated with the design and implementation of the components involved in the disasters acted appropriately. What specific aspects of professionalism were violated, if any, and by whom? Explain why this is the case, assuming that you find violations of professionalism. If none were violated, explain why this is the case. In your analysis of these disasters, determine how Hobbes would view the disasters, in light of how he defines the term “value.” So too determine how Aristotle, based on his idea of moral types, would evaluate the disasters, and also how Mill would evaluate them, based on his ethical theory.
