Chapter 4 - Engineering As Social Experimentation

ENGINEERING AS
SOCIAL
EXPERIMENTATION
Lecturer:
Megat Mohd Amzari Bin Megat
Mohd Aris
Engineers –Shared Responsibility
Engineers are not the sole experimenters but
also; managers, marketing people, public, etc.
however,“with knowledge comes responsibility”
Engineers are in a unique position to monitor

projects, identify risks, and evelop realities for
informed agreement.
An engineering professional will take on the
responsibility!
To fulfill their obligations as responsible experimenters, engineers
must:
 A primary obligation to protect the safety of human subjects,

providing a safe exit whenever possible, and respect their right of
informed consent.
 use imaginative forecasting of possible side effects, and
reasonable efforts to monitor them.
 have autonomous, personal involvement in all aspects of a
project.
 accept accountability for the results.
 display technical competence and other attributes of responsible
professionals.
For Remembrance
 Informing for consent (permission / agreement)
requires excellent communications skills in order to
provide appropriate information in an
understandable way.
 Also, cooperation with other disciplines is often
essential to assess potential side effects and monitor
effects of "social experiments" through engineering..
 Virtue of professional responsibility which includes: i)
self direction, ii) public spirited, iii) team work
iv) proficiency.
 Engineers should also display technical
competence and other attributes of
professionalism .
 Definite “Style” of Engineering
 Contemporary (current) Threats
Contemporary Threats
 Conscientiousness (thoroughness)
 Relevant Information
 Moral Autonomy
 Accountability
Responsible Experimentalists
1. Conscientiousness (thoroughness): Protect safety

knowledge, respect right of consent of public
2. Relevant Information / Comprehensive perspective:
Awareness of experimental nature of projects,
forecasting, monitoring
3. Moral autonomy: Personally engaged, thoughtful,
involvement in project
4. Accountability: Accept responsibility for results
of a project (avoid fragmentation, diffusion, time
pressures)
1.CONSCIENTIOUSNESS
 People act responsibly to the extent that they

conscientiously commit themselves to live
according to moral values .
 Self interest
 Moral Agents - Individuals who think solely of their
own good to the exclusion of the good of others
are not moral agents
Conscientiousness moral commitment
 a sensitivity to the full range of moral values
and responsibilities that are relevant to a
given situation
 Willingness to develop the skill and expend
the effort needed to reach the best balance
possible among those considerations .
 Conscientiousness implies consciousness
(in the sense of awareness), because intent is
not sufficient.
Open eyes, Open ears and an Open
mind are required to recognize a
given situation, its implications and
who is involved or affected.
Working Conditions
 The contemporary ( modern or present) working
conditions of engineers tend a narrow moral vision
solely to the obligations that accompany employee
status.
Engineers work benefits
 90% of engineers are salaried employees work
in large bureaucracies ( organizations or
administrations ) under great pressure to function
smoothly within the organization
 Benefits :Prudent self interest and concern for

one’s family  make it easy to emphasize as
primary the obligations to one‘s employer
Moral aspiration (goal)
Minimal negative duties:
 Not falsifying data
 Not violating patent rights
 Not breaching confidentiality

Engineering as Social
Experimentation
 Restores vision of engineers as guardians of the
public interest  professional duty it is to guard
the Welfare and safety of those affected by
engineering projects .
 Engineers should not impose their own views of
the social good upon society
2. RELEVANT INFORMATION
 Conscientiousness is blind without relevant factual
information.
 Shows moral concern that involves commitment to
obtain and properly assess all available
information pertinent to meeting one’s moral
obligations
 Grasp the context of one’s work( which makes it
count as an activity having a moral import )
 Specialization
 Division of Labor
Example
 A company may produce items with obsolescence
(uselessness) built into them , or the items might
promote unnecessary energy usage
 It is easy to place the burden on the sales
department : “Let them inform the customers”
 It may be natural to thus rationalize one’s neglect of
safety or cost considerations , but it shows no moral
concern.
 Consequences of what one does
 Regarding engineering as social
experimentation :
 Engineer should view his/her specialized
activities in a project as part of a larger whole

having a social impact.
 Goal is to practice “Defensive engineering “ or
“ preventive technology “
 Moral Responsibility
MORAL AUTONOMY
(Morally Self directed )
When People are morally autonomous (self ruling)?

 People are morally autonomous when their moral conduct
and principles of action are their own.
 Moral Beliefs and attitudes basis of Critical reflection
- Moral beliefs and attitudes must be held on the basis of

critical reflection rather than merely through passive adoption
ie... Particular conventions of one’s society, church or
profession
 Moral Beliefs and attitudes must integrate into the core of
an individual’s personality in a manner that leads to
committed action .
 Cannot be agreed abstractly and formally or verbally .
 Engineers working for an employer  sells one’s
labor and skills may make it seem that one has
thereby disowned and forfeited power over one’s
actions
 Viewing engineering as social experimentation can
help one overcome the above tendency .
ATTITUDE OF MANAGEMENT
 Plays a decisive (vital) role in how much moral
autonomy engineers feel they have.
 Long term interest
 Thoughtful &
 involvement in project
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
 Responsible people accept moral
responsibility for their actions.
 Accept responsibility for results of a
project
1. fragmentation,
2. dispersion,
3. time pressures
STUDY CASE: NASA
CHALENGGER 7 DISASTER
Brief introduction on the case :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlpOYLJAGqA
Full documentary - Challenger: A Rush To Launch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FehGJQlOf0

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ENGINEERING AS

Engineers are in a unique position to monitor

 A primary obligation to protect the safety of human subjects,

1. Conscientiousness (thoroughness): Protect safety

 People act responsibly to the extent that they

 Benefits :Prudent self interest and concern for

 Not violating patent rights

 Not breaching confidentiality

activities in a project as part of a larger whole

When People are morally autonomous (self ruling)?

- Moral beliefs and attitudes must be held on the basis of

Brief introduction on the case :

Full documentary - Challenger: A Rush To Launch

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