[subsystem]

> He uses the royal "we" to define a group (here, engineers) and then prescribes very broad goals for what "we" "ought" to do.

That is pretty much the definition of ethics [0].

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/decision/whatisethics.h...

[efkztw]

To me, an ethical decision is one in which the result does not, and will not, put an individual, or a group of people, at an obvious disadvantage, while benefitting another.

[patcon]

The closer in that link is representative:

> Ethics also means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we, and the institutions we help to shape, live up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.