The Volkswagen emission scandal to cheat on federal emissions tests for diesel powered cars was brought to the surface in September 2015. When VW engineers realized that they could not design a diesel engine that would meet the strict U.S. emissions standards, Mr. Laing and his co-conspirators developed a software that “concealed high levels of pollutants generated by Volkswagen’s diesel engines” (1) under controlled conditions. The software and use of defeat devices were designed to detect when a vehicle was “undergoing standard U.S. emissions testing on a dynamometer” (2), versus being driven out on the public roads. When the software sensed the car was being tested, it “activated equipment that reduced [nitrogen oxide] emissions” (1). However, when the software sensed that the car …show more content…
It was estimated that “11 million vehicles worldwide” (3) contained the installation of the software and “defeat devices”. There is no questions that everyone involved knew what they were doing was unethical. Laing in fact, admitted that everyone involved knew “VM falsely marketed VM diesel vehicles as “clean diesel” and environmentally-friendly” (2), while simultaneously, “promoting the vehicles’ increased fuel economy” (2). Laing and his co-conspirators neglected the moral and ethical values of engineers and more importantly, humanity. Kant has a rather absolute theory when it comes to morality. He believes that the right or wrong of an action doesn’t depend on consequences but on “whether the action fulfills our duty” (4). Kantian Ethics states that an act has moral value when the will is