OR, ethics and decisions: The OATH of PROMETHEUS

This paper sums up the ideas submitted to the OR community at the opening lecture of the EURO XVII Conference in Budapest on 17th July 2000. This paper aims to promote a movement in favour of Ethics in OR. The role of OR is first emphasised. An analogy with Physics is considered. There are strong similarities between OR and Physics but also major differences. While Physics models Natural Real World Phenomena, OR faces Human Systems. However, in Physics ‘GOD’ keeps the decision stick unchanged, i.e. the laws of Physics remain the same, while in OR the responsible actor is the Decision-maker. ‘GOD’ has been replaced by man: it is a Promethean-like situation. It is then suggested that all decisions should be well-balanced between the influence of three poles. In the early years of OR a ‘Rational pole’ was first developed. From the 1970s a ‘Subjective pole’ has been considered to include emotionality, real-life experience and the preferences of the Decision-maker. In the future an ‘Ethical pole’ should also be taken into account in order to respect the social and the ecological environment of the affected people, and to promote sustainable development for future generations. In order to stimulate an ethical dialogue, and a commitment by the OR community, an OATH of PROMETHEUS is now proposed. The author hopes that all over the world OR researchers will support this action and take the oath.