Engineering Ethics

Engineering Ethics Tutorial

1. Introduction

This document summarises the key themes and ideas presented in the “Engineering Ethics Tutorial”. The tutorial aims to provide a comprehensive overview of ethical considerations for engineering students and practicing engineers. It covers the core principles, responsibilities, and challenges associated with ethical decision-making in the field of engineering. The central argument of the tutorial is that engineers hold a significant responsibility towards public safety, environmental sustainability and upholding high standards of professional integrity.

2. Core Concepts

• Ethics Defined: The tutorial defines ethics as a branch of philosophy concerned with investigating the moral principles that govern human behaviour. It’s also referred to as moral philosophy, evaluating human actions and their values.
• Types of Ethics: The tutorial outlines three main branches of ethics:
• Meta-Ethics: Examines the nature of ethics and moral reasoning.
• Normative Ethics: Establishes principles for ethical living and behaviour.
• Applied Ethics: Applies ethical principles to specific real-world issues. Engineering ethics is identified as an example of applied ethics.
• Engineering Ethics Defined: The tutorial defines engineering ethics as the system of moral principles that applies to engineering practice and research. It encompasses the responsibilities and duties engineers have towards their profession, society, clients, and the environment. It extends beyond simply complying with regulations to encompass broader concerns like public advantage, environmental sustainability, and moral conduct in professional actions.

3. Key Themes and Ideas

• Problem Solving in Engineering Ethics: The tutorial recognises that engineers frequently face ethical dilemmas, giving the example of a high-voltage power line installation project balancing the need for providing electricity with the potential health risks to nearby communities. The tutorial recommends a four-step approach to solving ethical problems:

1. Identify: Recognise the ethical issues and gather relevant facts.
2. Analyze: Evaluate the pros and cons, and identify the optimal course of action.
3. Balance: Determine the balance between safety and practicality and make implementation decisions.
4. Explain and Implement: Communicate these choices to stakeholders and start implementation.

• Importance of Engineering Ethics: The tutorial emphasises the crucial importance of engineering ethics for several reasons:
• It prioritizes public safety and welfare.
• It provides guidance for ethical decision making.
• It helps maintain public trust in engineers.
• It facilitates hazard identification and reduction in engineering activities.
• It promotes environmentally conscious design and sustainable development.
• It fosters a culture of integrity, responsibility, and transparency.
• Why Engineers Need Ethics: The tutorial notes that the impact engineers have on society (public safety, the environment, technology, and economics) necessitates the application of ethical principles, for the following reasons:
• To maintain public safety and welfare.
• To make decisions responsibly.
• To protect the environment and promote sustainable development.
• To maintain integrity in the profession and build public trust.
• To maintain accountability and professionalism.
• To resolve challenges arising with technological development.
• To facilitate personal and professional development.
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Engineering EthicsAdvantages: Ensuring safety, health and public welfare; Minimizing environmental impacts; Building public trust; and avoiding legal issues and conflicts of interest.
• Disadvantages: Inapplicability of principles to specific situations; tension between ethical standards and business goals; Challenges in unethical corporate environments and limitations with rapid technological advancement.
• Moral Issues in Engineering: The tutorial categorises ethical issues into two types:
• Macro-Ethical Issues: Affect society on a large scale; examples include environmental impacts, human health, social justice, and the social impact of technology.
• Micro-Ethical Issues: Face engineers daily; related to personal integrity, responsibilities to employers, colleagues, and clients; examples include misuse of intellectual property, unfair relationships, and health and safety issues.
• Applications of Engineering Ethics: The tutorial states that the primary application of ethics is to develop honesty and integrity in engineering practice. Other applications include:
• Developing honesty and responsibility in students
• Balancing personal and professional ethics
• Identifying and responding to ethical dilemmas
• Protecting intellectual property
• Helping companies understand social obligations.
• Tutorial Content: The tutorial provides a detailed syllabus of topics that will be covered, including:
• Introduction to Engineering Ethics
• Moral Issues in Engineering Ethics
• Moral Dilemmas
• Moral Autonomy
• Kohlberg’s Theory
• Heinz’s Dilemma
• Gilligan’s Theory
• Professions and Professionalism
• Ethical Theories
• Social Experimentation
• Balanced Outlook on Law
• Responsibility for Safety
• Case studies (Chernobyl, Bhopal)
• Responsibilities of Engineers
• Confidentiality
• Rights of Engineers
• Global Issues
• Moral Leadership
• Target Audience: The tutorial is aimed at engineering students, Master’s students, MBA students/professionals, engineering educators, and working engineering professionals.
• Prerequisites: Readers should have a basic knowledge of human values and common social responsibilities to make best use of the tutorial.

4. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The tutorial addresses several FAQs, including:

• The five important ethics of engineering: Honesty, accountability, public safety, integrity, and respect.
• “Honesty − Engineering professionals must be honest and truthful to their clients, employers, or public.”
• “Accountability − Engineers must take responsibility of consequences of their work and potential risks.”
• “Public Safety − Public safety and welfare must be the first priority of engineers in their professional decisions.”
• “Integrity − Engineers must maintain integrity in their work.”
• “Respect − Engineers must have a respectful behavior for public, colleagues, or other’s intellectual properties.”
• Three main types of engineering ethics: Technical ethics, professional ethics, and social ethics.
• “Technical Ethics − It deals with the technical aspects of the engineering professions.”
• “Professional Ethics − This ethics sets principles that engineers morally have for their profession.”
• “Social Ethics − It deals with principles that govern the social responsibilities of engineering.”
• Benefits of studying engineering ethics: Ensures public safety, improves quality of work, builds public trust, and protects intellectual property.
• “It ensures public safety and environmental protection in engineering activities.”
• “It improves the quality of work.”
• “It builds stakeholder and public’s trust on engineers.”
• “It helps protecting the intellectual properties of companies.”
• Reasons for engineers to study ethics: Understanding expected behaviour, duties, and handling ethical issues.
• “It helps engineers to understand what kind of behavior is expected from them.”
• “What duties engineers should have towards their profession.”
• “It prepares engineers to handle potential ethical issues during their work, etc.”
• The “golden rule” in engineering ethics: “You should treat others as you would like to be treated.”
• Scope of engineering ethics: Moral values, avoidance of conflict of interest, prioritisation of public health and safety, sustainable resource use, and maintaining balance between innovation and responsibility.
• “Engineers must follow moral values in their profession.”
• “Engineers try to avoid any kind of conflict of interest.”
• “Engineers should always put public health, safety, and welfare on the first priority.”
• “Engineers always try to develop systems that consume minimal resources and produce least harmful emissions in the environment.”
• “Engineers should always maintain a balance between innovation and responsibility.”
• Morals vs. Ethics: Morals are personal beliefs; ethics are standards agreed upon by a community.
• “Morals are personal beliefs or values to decide right or wrong, while Ethics are standards or principles agreed by a community to mark good or evil.”
• Ethics vs. Engineering Ethics: Ethics is a broader field; engineering ethics applies specifically to the engineering profession.
• “Ethics is a wider field that provides a set of principles to guide how people should act or behave, whereas engineering ethics is a set of principles and values that apply to the engineering professions only.”

5. Conclusion

The “Engineering Ethics Tutorial” serves as a foundational resource for understanding the ethical considerations central to the engineering profession. It emphasizes the need for engineers to prioritize public safety, environmental responsibility, and ethical conduct in their work. By understanding these key principles and concepts, engineers can make informed decisions, positively impacting society and avoiding potential pitfalls. The tutorial also underscores the dynamic nature of ethics in the context of rapid technological advancement, requiring ongoing reflection and learning.