Lecture 2

Introduction to ethics
 • Know why it is important to study engineering ethics

• Understand the distinction between professional and

Objectives personal ethics

• See how ethical problem-solving and engineering design

are similar.
Engineering and Ethics

Engineering is the process Ethics are the principles

of developing an efficient accepted by society, which
mechanism that quickens also equate to the moral
and eases the work using standards of human beings.
limited resources, with the An engineer with ethics can
help of technology. help society in a better way.
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, 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 other’s definitions.
They may or may not vary from context to context.
 •The work of engineers can affect public health and safety
and can Influence business practices and even politics
•every major corporation now has an ethics office that has
the responsibility to ensure that employees have the ability
WHY STUDY to express their concerns about issues such as safety and
ENGINEERING corporate business practices in a way that will yield results
and won’t result in retaliation against the employees
ETHICS? •engineers realized how their technical work has far-reaching
impacts on society
•to train engineers to analyze complex problems and learn to
resolve these problems in the most ethical manner.
PERSONAL VS. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

Personal ethics deals with how we treat others in our day-to-day lives

professional ethics often involves choices on an organizational level rather than a personal level. Many
of the problems will seem different because they involve relationships between two corporations,
between a corporation and the government, or between corporations and groups of individuals.
Frequently, these types of relationships pose problems that are not encountered in personal ethics.
THE ORIGINS OF ETHICAL THOUGHT
The Western ethical thought that is discussed in this course originated in the
philosophy of the ancient Greeks and their predecessors. It has been developed
through subsequent centuries by many thinkers in the Judeo–Christian tradition.
For many individuals, personal ethics are rooted in religious beliefs, this is not
true for everyone.
Certainly, there are many ethical people who are not religious, and there are
numerous examples of people who appear to be religious but who are not
ethical.
ETHICS AND THE LAW
The practice of engineering is governed by many laws on the international, federal,
state, and local levels. Many of these laws are based on ethical principles, although
many are purely of a practical nature.

Many things that are legal could be considered unethical. Conversely, just because
something is illegal doesn’t mean that it is unethical.

As an engineer, you are always minimally safe if you follow the requirements of the
applicable laws. But in engineering ethics, we seek to go beyond the dictates of the
law.
ETHICS PROBLEMS ARE LIKE DESIGN
PROBLEMS
The types of problem-solving techniques that we will use in this course and the nature of the
answers that result bear a striking resemblance to the most fundamental engineering activity:
engineering design.
The essence of engineering practice is the design of products, structures, and processes.
The design problem is stated in terms of specifications: A device must be designed that meets
criteria for performance, aesthetics, and price. Within the limits of these specifications, there
are many correct solutions.
There will, of course, be some solutions that are better than others in terms of higher
performance or lower cost. Frequently, there will be two (or more) designs that are very
different, yet perform identically.
Engineering ethics is the study of moral
decisions that must be made by engineers in
the course of engineering practice.

It is important for engineering students to study

ethics so that they will be prepared to respond
appropriately to ethical challenges during their summery
careers.

Often, the correct answer to an ethical problem

will not be obvious and will require some
analysis using ethical theories