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Ethics and Engineering

John Aitken. Ethics and Engineering. 1. Thesis.

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Ethics and Engineering

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  1. John Aitken Ethics and Engineering

  2. 1. Thesis • While science depends upon determinism—events and actions are caused by preceding events and actions—determinism is inadequate for an understanding of humanity. There is freedom in humanity: the freedom to make moral judgements and choices. Where determinism absolves us, freedom holds us responsible for our actions.

  3. 2. What difficulty to Friedman and Allen experience with students of technology? • Oriented toward quantitative (measurable) issues • Used to solving problems according to a definite procedure • In other words, math/science provides the answers; the answers are not debatable • “anti-arts” credo • Derek Allen, philosophy professor • Paragraph 4

  4. 3. Why do engineers need an arts background? • Engineers avoid ethics when they simply look at a job according to its physical properties or “chemical engineering aspect” • They must understand a sense of impact of their physical work • To have some skill in approaching moral dilemmas (215)

  5. A sociologist’s view: • “science dominates and shapes our culture, our lives” but in the social sciences (eg. psychology, sociology, anthropology), science not a “serious phenomenom” 214)

  6. cont’d…Engineers and Communication skills: • Need for communication, for example, with upper management, factory workers, city council, protest group (217) • Need for balance of engineering with skills of the arts/humanities

  7. Lack of balance between maths/sciences and arts: • Engineers: 90% average in maths and sciences (215) • Little interest in the arts and humanities • U of T now has mandatory non-technical electives (1/8 of courses) (215)

  8. 4. “There is little in our lives that is unaffected by scientific and technological advances often accompanied by the threat or reality of disaster and disruption” (215). a. Examples from the essay? • Disposal of hazardous wastes • Automobiles with defective gas tanks • Urban development vs. environmental protection

  9. b. Example from our world? • Computers & privacy • Facebook • Internet and potential ethical issues • ??

  10. c. What must engineering students consider? • “The extent to which they must assume responsibility for the mischief that may be inflicted on society when things go wrong” (215) • “The moral and social implications of what they do” (215)

  11. 5. Professional Engineers Act • “the essential purpose of the profession is to serve the public, that safety and health are paramount” (215)

  12. 6. Roots of engineering: • The practical arts • Military • Agriculture • Cathedrals • Pyramids • Stonehenge • All arising from social aspects of cultures, societies

  13. 7. Consequences of Technology: • Peter M. Wright: “any technology tends to create a new human environment” (216); Do you agree? • “Engineers… over the years have not been fully aware of the impact of their works and of the technology with which they are associated” (216) • How can engineers develop a “better sense of perspective of their impact on the human environment”? (216)

  14. Importance for engineers of studying context: • Philosophy • Sociology • History • Paragraph 17, p. 216 • Now engineering students attempt to “understand professional ethics and comprehend the greater issues of social responsibility and moral awareness” • Paragraph 18, p. 216-17

  15. 9. Whistle blowing: Engineering as an activity under constraints of various kinds: • Code of ethics: moral obligations • Common laws • Civil actions • Regulations • Rights • Many restraints exist, regulatory agencies, and engineers will have to deal with these in the context of their projects/jobs

  16. 9. Whistle blowing • “Blow the whistle?” • “nothing can be achieved without risk” (217) • Role of a professional engineer is to provide reliable information to both sides of an issue/development • If neither side is right or wrong (just polarized), and one advocates for a particular viewpoint, at great risk, there are personal consequences

  17. Need for balance • What if your superiors tell you to do something that your conscience disagrees with (and also perhaps the law)? • Aitken says duty to the public is crucial, but complex: how does one measure the impact of one’s actions on the “welfare of the world”? • One must see the issues and find the “middle ground,” find a balance (between reality—eg. Will I lose my job? and the importance of the issue at hand, the wellbeing of humanity)– no given formula, not “cookbook science” • What are one’s moral and legal obligations and options? (eg. Whistle blowing) • What would Woodcock say? • What would Russell say? • Paragraph 24 (p.218)

  18. 10. What is the proper role of the professional engineer? • To provide reliable information on each side of an issue related to engineering (especially if the views are polarized) (217) • “The best we can do is to come to the best judgement of the best answer under existing circumstances, and that may not be the best answer next year” (217)

  19. 11. End note • “you can only improve your judgement with practice” (218) • “Is this ethics, philosophy or survival?” • What do you think?

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