Engineering Opinion Indeterminacy — Dam Configuration Cost and Growth Estimates
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/114#Engineering_Opinion_Indeterminacy_—_Dam_Configuration_Cost_and_Growth_Estimates
Properties
Instance of
EngineeringOpinionIndeterminacyandEstimate-BasedJudgmentPrinciple
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#EngineeringOpinionIndeterminacyandEstimate-BasedJudgmentPrinciple
Applied to
Dam configuration cost and benefit analysis presented to state legislature
Balancing with
Legislative Hearing Technical Testimony Objectivity Obligation
Concrete expression
The competing dam configuration opinions of the State Power Commission PE and the Private Power Company PE necessarily rest on estimates of indeterminate factors — construction costs by alternative methods, population growth, economic development, and future equipment efficiency trends — such that the engineers are exercising judgment, not reciting known data, and differing conclusions are professionally legitimate.
Confidence
0.88
Importance
high
Interpretation
The indeterminacy of key inputs (cost estimates, growth projections) means that the engineers' opinions are inherently judgment-based, and the legislature must understand this epistemic condition when evaluating competing analyses.
Invoked by
Private Power Company PE Legislative Witness
State Power Commission PE Legislative Witness
Tension resolution
Objectivity does not require false certainty about indeterminate factors; it requires honest disclosure of the estimative nature of key inputs and honest application of professional judgment to those estimates.
Source Evidence
Source text
it should be recognized that in the type of case at hand the engineers must base their opinion on estimates of indeterminate factors, e.g., construction cost by one method or another, population growth, economic development of the area and possible future trends in more efficient equipment
Text references
Canons 5 and 7 refer to expression of 'opinion,' confirming the idea that the engineer is called upon for the expression of his judgment, not the mere recital of known engineering data
it should be recognized that in the type of case at hand the engineers must base their opinion on estimates of indeterminate factors, e.g., construction cost by one method or another, population growth, economic development of the area and possible future trends in more efficient equipment
TTL
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<http://proethica.org/ontology/case/114#Engineering_Opinion_Indeterminacy_—_Dam_Configuration_Cost_and_Growth_Estimates> a proeth:EngineeringOpinionIndeterminacyandEstimate-BasedJudgmentPrinciple,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Engineering Opinion Indeterminacy — Dam Configuration Cost and Growth Estimates" ;
proeth:appliedto "Dam configuration cost and benefit analysis presented to state legislature" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Legislative Hearing Technical Testimony Objectivity Obligation" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "The competing dam configuration opinions of the State Power Commission PE and the Private Power Company PE necessarily rest on estimates of indeterminate factors — construction costs by alternative methods, population growth, economic development, and future equipment efficiency trends — such that the engineers are exercising judgment, not reciting known data, and differing conclusions are professionally legitimate." ;
proeth:confidence "0.88" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "114" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "discussion" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-03-02T15:27:43.598741+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "114" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-03-02T15:27:43.598741+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The indeterminacy of key inputs (cost estimates, growth projections) means that the engineers' opinions are inherently judgment-based, and the legislature must understand this epistemic condition when evaluating competing analyses." ;
proeth:invokedby "Private Power Company PE Legislative Witness",
"State Power Commission PE Legislative Witness" ;
proeth:principleclass "Engineering Opinion Indeterminacy and Estimate-Based Judgment Principle" ;
proeth:sourcetext "it should be recognized that in the type of case at hand the engineers must base their opinion on estimates of indeterminate factors, e.g., construction cost by one method or another, population growth, economic development of the area and possible future trends in more efficient equipment" ;
proeth:tensionresolution "Objectivity does not require false certainty about indeterminate factors; it requires honest disclosure of the estimative nature of key inputs and honest application of professional judgment to those estimates." ;
proeth:textreferences "Canons 5 and 7 refer to expression of 'opinion,' confirming the idea that the engineer is called upon for the expression of his judgment, not the mere recital of known engineering data",
"it should be recognized that in the type of case at hand the engineers must base their opinion on estimates of indeterminate factors, e.g., construction cost by one method or another, population growth, economic development of the area and possible future trends in more efficient equipment" ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 114 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-03-02T15:38:37.746799"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 114 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
114
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
discussion
First discovered
2026-03-02T15:27:43.598741+00:00
First case
114
Generated
2026-03-02T15:27:43.598741+00:00
Attributed to
Case 114 Extraction
Generated
2026-03-02T15:38:37.746799
Generated by
ProEthica Case 114 Extraction