Ethics in Engineering-Ethics-Lecture Slides, Slides of Ethics

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Ethics in Engineering

Introduction



General Definition of Ethics 

The study of the characteristics of morals 

The study of the moral choices made byeach person in his/her relationships withother people

Ethics Foundation

Ethics

Morals



Truthfulness 

Character Manners Behavior Charity 

A higher power 

The golden rule Sympathy 

Love 

Caring for others 

Honesty 

Up-bringing Sense of duty 

Integrity Being honest with yourself Duty Modeof conduct

Ethical Issues Faced by Engineers



Public Safety 

Bribery and Fraud 

Environmental Protection 

Fairness 

Honesty in Research and Testing 

Conflicts of Interest

Why Study Engineering Ethics?



Study of ethics helps engineers develop amoral autonomy: 

Ability to think critically and independentlyabout moral issues 

Ability to apply this moral thinking to situationsthat arise in the course of professionalengineering practice 

Ethical problems in engineering are oftencomplex and involve conflicting ethicalprinciples. Engineers must be able tointelligently resolve these conflicts and reacha defensible decision

Personal versusBusiness/Professional Ethics



Personal Ethics: Deals with how we treatothers in our day-to-day lives 

Business/Professional Ethics: 

Involves choices regarding relationshipsbetween organizations and otherorganizations, government, and groupsof individuals 

The complexity of these relationshipsoften pose dilemmas not encountered inpersonal ethics

Nature of Ethical Problems 

Ethical problems are often open-ended there is often no uniquecorrect solution



There will typically be a range ofpossible solutions to an ethicalproblem



Deriving a good solution requiresanalytical skills that draw from a largebody of knowledge

Differences B/W Engineeringand other Professions



Most engineers work for largecorporations and are not self-employed 

Engineers are neither as wellcompensated for their work nor as highlyregarded as physicians or lawyers 

Engineering societies are not as powerfulas those established for physicians orlawyers

Engineering Codes of Ethics



Express the rights, duties and obligations ofmembers of the profession 

Do not express new ethical principles, butcoherently restate existing standards ofresponsible engineering practice 

Create an environment within the professionwhere ethical behavior is the norm 

Not legally binding – an engineer cannot bearrested for violating an ethical code, but maybe expelled from or censured by theengineering society

Objections to ExistingEngineering Codes of Ethics



Relatively few engineers are members ofengineering societies. Nonmembers don’tnecessarily follow the ethical codes 

Many engineers either don’t know thatthe codes exist, or have not read them 

The engineering codes often haveinternal conflicts, but do not providemeans for their resolution 

The codes can seem coercive at times

Which Ethical Codes Apply?



Depending on your discipline andorganizational affiliations, you may be boundby more than one ethical code: 

Disciple related (ASME, IEEE, etc) 

National Society of Professional Engineers(NSPE) 

Employee codes (corporation, university, etc) 

Union codes 

Familiarity with the codes that apply to you, aswell as a basic knowledge of ethical theory,can help to resolve conflicts among thedifferent codes, and can help an engineer tomake coherent ethical choices

Understanding Ethical Problems^ Four Common Ethical Theories



Utilitarianism 

Duty Ethics 

Rights Ethics 

Virtue Ethics

Duty Ethics



Contends

that

certain

acts

should

be

performed because they are inherentlyethical (e.g. honesty, fairness) 

This

theory

concludes

that

individuals

who

recognize

their

ethical

duties

will

choose ethically correct moral actions Drawback

• this method does not always

lead to a solution which maximizes thepublic good

Rights Ethics



Everyone has inherent moral rights 

Any act that violates an individual’smoral rights is ethically unacceptable^ Drawbacks: 

How do we prioritize the rights of differentindividuals? 

Rights ethics often promote the rights ofindividuals at the expense of largegroups/society