The Ethics of Ignorance and Design as a Moral Hypothesis

The article analyzes Jeffrey Bulger's approach to ethics in design, introducing the concept of the "ethics of ignorance." The author argues that a designer should not merely seek confirmation of the correctness of their decisions but should treat the project as a falsifiable moral hypothesis. Drawing on Karl Popper's concepts, the text points to the necessity of actively seeking flashpoints and defining failure criteria before system implementation. A key tool here is the Consequences Register, which forces a transition from general declarations to specific empirical predictions. This approach avoids dogmatism and protects against mistakenly equating noble intentions with the actual effectiveness of a solution, promoting procedural humility in the face of Knightian uncertainty.