Engineering ethics Course Outline

Chapter One: Introduction

Chapter Two: Moral Issues
Chapter Three: Professions And Professionalism
Chapter Four: Ethical Theories
Chapter Five: Responsibility for Safety & Engineers
Chapter Six: Rights of Engineer & Moral Leadership
Presentation Assignment: 40%
Exam: 60%
ENGINEERING ETHICS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
▪ Engineering is the process of developing an efficient mechanism
which quickens and eases the work using limited resources, with the
help of technology.
▪ Ethics are the principles accepted by the society, which also equate to
the moral standards of human beings. An engineer with ethics, can
help the society in a better way.
▪ Hence the study of Engineering ethics, where such ethics are
implemented in engineering by the engineers, is necessary for the
good of the society. Engineering Ethics is the study of decisions,
policies and values that are morally desirable in engineering practice
and research
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
MORALS

▪ The word “Morality” originates from the Latin word “mos”

meaning “custom”. Morals are the principles or habits with
respect to right or wrong of one’s own conduct. They are not
imposed by anyone. Morals are what you think is good and
bad personally
▪ Though morals are not imposed, they can be understood as
the preaching of our inner self. Depending on a few factors,
our mind filters things as good or bad. These are the ideas
that help frame our personality so that we can distinguish
between what is right and what is wrong.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

A moral is the code of conduct that you develop over time and set for yourself to
follow, just like
▪ Being good to everyone
▪ Speaking only the truth
▪ Going against what you know is wrong
▪ Having chastity
▪ Avoid cheating
▪ Being a nice human being etc.
Morals are always defined by one’s own personality. Morals can be changed according
to one’s beliefs as they are completely dependent on one’s perception towards the
ethical values.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
ETHICS
▪ The word “Ethics” originates from the Greek word “ethos” meaning “character”.
Ethics are a set of rules or principles that are generally considered as standards or
good and bad or right and wrong, which are usually imposed by an external
group or a society or a profession or so.
▪ Ethics can be understood as the rules of conduct proposed by a society or
recognized with respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular
group or culture. Ethics are dependent on others definition. They may or may not
vary from context to context.
▪ A person who strictly follows a set of ethical principles, may not have any moral
at all while a person who violates ethical principles at times, may maintain a high
moral integrity. The ethical theories include duty ethics, right ethics, virtue ethics
and so on. A best example that can explain ethics is utilitarianism.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
ETHICS Continues
▪ A person who strictly follows a set of ethical principles, may not have any moral at all
while a person who violates ethical principles at times, may maintain a high moral
integrity. The ethical theories include duty ethics, right ethics, virtue ethics and so on.
A best example that can explain ethics is utilitarianism.

▪ Utilitarianism is the philosophy which explains that the happiness or pleasure of a

greatest number of people in the society is considered as the greatest good. According
to this philosophy, an action is morally right if its consequences lead to happiness of
the people and wrong if the action leads to their unhappiness. This theory moves
beyond the scope of one’s own interests and takes into account the interests of others.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Ethics in Engineering
▪ Ethics are principles followed depending upon the moral responsibility that a
person feels. The study of related questions about moral ideals, character,
policies and relationships of people and organizations involved in technological
activity, can be termed as Engineering ethics.

▪ An engineer whether he works individually or works for a company, has to go

through some ethical issues, mostly under the conditions such as,
conceptualization of a product, issues arising in design and testing departments,
or may be on the issues involving the manufacturing, sales and services.
Questions related to morality also arise during supervision and team works.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
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▪ The ethical decisions and moral values of an engineer need to be considered
because the decisions of an engineer have an impact the products and services -
how safe they are to use, the company and its shareholders who believe in the
goodwill of the company, the public and the society who trusts the company
regarding the benefits of the people, the law which cares about how legislation
affects the profession and industry, the job and his moral responsibilities and
about how the environment gets affected, etc.
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Not only an engineer, but everyone has to follow a set of morals in order to keep away from getting
morally degraded (ruined). Our behavior should include the following −

▪ Respecting others and ourselves.

▪ Respecting the rights of others.

▪ Keeping promises.

▪ Avoiding unnecessary problems to others.

▪ Avoiding cheating and dishonesty.

▪ Showing gratitude towards others and encourage them to work.

Morality commands respect for persons, both others and ourselves. It involves being fair and just,
meeting obligations and respecting rights and not causing unnecessary harm by dishonesty and cruelty or
by hubris.
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STEPS TO DEAL WITH ISSUES

Whenever there occurs an issue, one should possess a few skills in order to sort out the

problem. The issues that engineers face, have to be dealt with patience and few moral goals

have to be kept in mind while dealing with such issues. They are as follows −

• Moral Awareness − One should be able to recognize the moral problems and issues that

occur in Engineering. The analysis on the problem is necessary in order to differentiate and

judge according to ethics or according to the rules to follow.

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▪ Cogent Moral Reasoning − In order to come to a conclusion on an issue, the argument has to
be assessed and comprehended. The argument on both sides has to be considered with all
the probabilities and the nature of the argument should be logical and moral.

▪ Moral Coherence − After having gone through all the logical and moral facts, consistent and
comprehensive view points are to be formed based upon a consideration of relevant facts.

▪ Moral Imagination − The moral issues and the practical issues have to be dealt separately.
Alternative responses are to be found out for dealing with moral issues while creative
solutions should be found out for practical difficulties.

▪ Moral Communication − The language to communicate about one’s moral views should be so
precise and clear, that the expression or words should not alter the original meaning.

Though one has all these moral goals, the ethical reasoning for achieving moral conduct with
responsibility and commitment is obtained by a few skills that are described below.
 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Important Skills for Ethical Reasoning
• Moral Reasonableness − The ability and willingness to be morally reasonable that one should

have while dealing such issues. Unless one is willing and improve such ability, justice cannot be

done.

• Respect for Persons − The persons involved in the issue, should be treated with genuine concern

by one. Such concern should also be there with oneself along with being there for others.

• Tolerance of diversity − One should have a broader perspective towards ethnic and religious

differences that the people have. Every person differs with another when compared on grounds of

moral reasoning. The acceptance of those differences is really important.

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• Moral hope − The moral conflicts can be resolved by using better
communication and having rational dialogue which is evident-based and
open-ended which is acceptable and appreciable by both the parties.

• Integrity − The moral integrity has to be maintained. Being honest and

having strong moral principles helps one to resolve an issue in an efficient
manner. An individual also needs to consider other’s professional life and
personal convictions while solving a problem.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

THE END