Ethics

Introduction
Relevance
Definitions

Ethics – (or moral philosophy) the

study of the characteristics of
morals, and involves moral choices
made by individuals as they
interact with other persons.
 Derived from the Ancient Greek
word èthikos meaning “relating to
one’s character”
 Èthos meaning “character disposition”
Morality (from the Latin term
moralis “manner, character, proper
behavior”; Greek mos “custom”) is
the differentiation of intentions,
decisions, and actions between
those that are distinguished as
proper and those that are improper
A body of standards or principles
derived from a code of conduct
from a particular philosophy,
religion, or culture, or from a
standard that a person believes
 Morals vs. Ethics

Morals Ethics
Response to a General principles
specific situation set by group
Social and cultural Individual or legal
norms and professional
norms
Principles of right Right and wrong
and wrong conduct
Expressed in the Abstract
form of general
statements
Types of ethics or morality

Common morality – the set of moral

beliefs shared by almost everyone.
 Many of the precepts are negative.
 It contains a positive or aspirational
component. Ex. Prevent killing; help
the needy; protect the natural
environment.
 Makes a distinction between an
evaluation of a person’s actions
and an evaluation of his intention.
....types of ethics or morality
Personal ethics – or personal
morality, is the set of moral beliefs
that a person holds.
Professional ethics – the set of
standards adopted by professionals
insofar as they view themselves
acting as professionals.
Definitions

Values – regarded as a higher

order norms where laws cannot
change social values
Norms – informal understandings
that govern the behavior of
members of a society. They
provide an expected idea of how
to behave in a particular social
group or culture.
.... Definitions
Safety – the risks about the technology,
were they fully known, would be judged
acceptable by a reasonable person in
light of their settled value principles.
Risk – the potential that something
unwanted and harmful may occur
Safe exits – design and procedures
ensuring that if a product fails, it will fail
safely and the user can safely escape
the product.
 .... Definitions
Collegiality– respect for colleagues,
commitment to moral ideals, inherent
to profession,
connectedness/awareness or
participating in cooperative projects
based on shared commitments and
mutual support
Truthfulness responsibility – engineers
must be objective and truthful and
must not engage in deception
.... Definitions
Deception – lying, intentional
distortion and exaggeration,
withholding relevant information.
 Claiming undeserved credit; or any
failure to be objective
Duty – a moral requirement to perform
a particular kind of action, which is
morally mandatory
 Duty of care; to the environment; to
obey the law; preserve heritage
.... Definitions
Negligence (aka culpable ignorance)
– is a case where ignorance of the
facts surrounding a situation does
not diminish the responsibility of the
moral agent for unwanted or
immoral outcomes of the action
Rights – a justified claim, assertion or
entitlement
 Legal rights; civil rights; legal rights;
human rights; prima facie rights, etc.
.... Definitions
Sustainable development – defined
by a UN commission as development
“which meets the needs of the
present, without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet
their own needs”
Whistleblowing – deliberate exposure
of wrongdoing motivated from a
desire to prevent certain harms
occurring
Principles of Ethics
Beneficence – to do good to others
and promote the well-being of
clients
Non-maleficence – doing no harm to
others
Accountability – accepting
responsibility for one’s own actions,
accepting all of the personal and
professional consequences that can
occur as the result of one’s actions
....Principles of Ethics
Justice – fairness; to be fair in the
treatment of all clients, to provide
appropriate services to all
Fidelity – keeping one’s promises
Autonomy – the client has the right
to have their own opinions,
perspectives, values, and beliefs
Veracity – being completely truthful
to clients
 Professional Ethics
Profession – a free act of
commitment to a way of life
A vocation in which professed
knowledge of some branch of
learning is used in its application
to the affairs of others
Basic characteristics of a
profession:
Extensive training
Vital knowledge and skills
Control of services
Autonomy in the workplace –
exercising a large degree of
individual judgment and creativity
in carrying out their professional
responsibility
Claim to ethical regulation
 Attributes of a profession:

- Work requires sophisticated skills,

judgment, and exercise of discretion
(work is NOT routine)
- Membership in the profession
requires formal education
.... Attributes of a profession:
Special societies (controlled by
members of the profession)
establish standards for admission
into the profession and conduct
of its members
Significant positive public service
results from the practice of the
profession.
Professional Ethics
Center for the Study of Ethics in the Profession, IIT, Vol 13 (2), p.1, February 1994

“ While students come to college

knowing a good deal about
ordinary morality, they generally
do not come to college knowing
much about the ethics of their
profession. [Because] Professional
ethics differs from profession to
profession and cannot be deduced
from ordinary morality or
philosophical theory...
....Professional Ethics
......andwhile we can assume our
students have a pretty good
understanding of morality and
want to behave decently, we
cannot assume that they know,
for example, whether to put their
client’s welfare (or their
employer’s welfare) or the public
welfare first.”
Socratic Account of Professionalism

Philosopher Michael Davis has

proposed a dialogue to the issue of
defining professional:
1. A profession cannot be composed of
only one person; always a number of
individuals.
2. A profession involves a public
element.
3. A profession is a way people earn a
living and is usually something that
occupies them during their working
 ....Socratic Account of
Professionalism
4. A profession is something that people
enter into and can leave voluntarily.
5. Davis believes that a profession must
serve some morally praiseworthy goal.
6. Professionals must pursue a morally
praiseworthy goal by morally permissible
means.
7. Ethical standards in a profession should
obligate professionals to act in some way
that goes beyond what law, market,
morality, and public opinion would require.
Brief History of Engineering Codes
Code of ethics for engineers began in the
late 19th century which only involved
standard business practices
1848 - Boston Society of Civil Engineers,
the first civilian engineering organization in
the US, was founded
Four years later, the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) was founded
1912 – the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers (AIEE) adopted their code of
conduct
....brief history
1914 – the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers adopted
the AIEE code with minor
amendments
1915 – the American Institute of
Consulting Engineering, the
American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (AIChE), and ASCE had
adopted their own code of ethics
....brief history
1947 – the Engineers Council for
Professional Development (ECPD)
code created the appearance of
unity among engineers
1964 – the National Society of
Professional Engineers adopted
the 1947 ECPD code with but
substituted its own code with
revisions
Codes of Ethics
Serves as a framework for ethical
judgment for a professional engineer
Express the rights, duties, and
obligations of the members of the
profession.
Serves as starting points for making
ethical decisions
But does not cover all possible
ethical dilemmas that an engineer
might encounter in his/her career
What a code of ethics does not
represent:
A code of ethics is not a legal
document, so a professional cannot
be arrested for violating its
provisions
Although violating the code of
ethics may result to expulsion from
a professional society, the
expulsion generally will not result in
an inability to practice engineering
....What a code of ethics does not
represent:
It does not create a new moral
and ethical principles; these
principles are rooted in centuries
of societal and human
interactions
Fundamental Canons of the NSPE
Code
Engineers shall hold paramount
the safety, health and welfare of
the public
Engineers shall perform services
only in areas of their competence
Engineers shall issue public
statements only in an objective
and truthful manner.
Engineers shall act for each
employer or client as faithful
......Fundamental Canons of the NSPE
Code
Engineers shall avoid deceptive
acts.
Engineers shall conduct
themselves honorably,
responsibly, ethically, and
lawfully so as to enhance the
honor, reputation, and usefulness
of the profession.
Examples of Catastrophic
Engineering Failures:
1. Space Shuttle Challenger
accident
2. Ford Pinto exploding gas tanks
3. Kansas City Hyatt Regency
walkway collapse
4. Teton Dan Failure
5. DC – 10 multiple failures
....Catastrophic Engineering Failures:

1919 Great Molasses Flood in

Boston, Massachusetts
1921 Silo Explosion Oppau,
Germany
1932 – 1968 Mercury Dumping
Minamata Bay, Japan
1976 Dioxin Emission Seveso,
Italy
1984 Methyl isocyanate emission
Bhopal, India
....Catastrophic Engineering Failures:

1986 Nuclear meltdown

Chernobyl, Ukraine
2000 Cyanide spill Baia Mare,
Romania
2008 Sugar refinery explosion
Georgia, US
2010 Alumina plant accident
Hungary
2014 Gas explosion Kaohsiung,
Taiwan
Some Rules of Thumb for approaching
other problems of engineering ethics:
Identifyethical issues
Distinguish issues of professional
ethics
Formulate options
Evaluate options
Review
Example: 1
 Juan Dela Cruz is serving a term on his
engineering society’s national executive
board. In one evening’s reception, at a
chat with the society’s president, the
president casually mentioned that firms
in their place commonly provide officials
with “walking-around money” to
influence the award of contracts. The
surprised Juan Dela Cruz was silenced
and the president continued talking, as
he admitted there was nothing wrong
with this practice and that no one would
care to investigate him not even the
press.
...Example1:
 SoDela Cruz starts to consider if he just
keep quiet or he has any responsibility to
do anything with what he heard. Though
he has admiration for this president, he
no longer feels comfortable with him in
his professional society nor profession.
Example: 2
A recent graduate of Engineering Tech, you have been
employed in the R & D Chemical Engineering Division of
XYZ, Inc. you were hired because of the promising
research you did with catalysts as a student of
Engineering Tech.
A meeting was called by your supervisor, Cardo Dalisay,
announcing that your unit must make a
recommendation within the next two days on which
catalyst should be used by XYZ in processing a major
product. The consensus in your unit, based on many
years of experience, is that catalyst A is best for the
job. But the research you have been conducting
provides evidence that catalyst B might be more
reliable, more efficient, and less costly. So you ask if the
recommendation can be delayed another month to see
if firmer evidence can be found.
....Example: 2
Dalisay replies “We don’t have a month, only 2
days.” He asks you to write the report, leaving
out the data on catalyst B, and management is
getting impatient.
You like working for XYZ and feel fortunate for
such a good job. You have no desire to
challenge your colleagues and don’t disagree
with them about which catalyst is best. Still,
you wish you had been given more time to
work on catalyst B, and you feel
uncomfortable about leaving the data on B.
What should you do?

1. Write up and sign the report as instructed.

2. Write up the report, but refuse to sign it.
3. Refuse to write up, threatening to go
around Dalisay to the next level of
management if a fully accurate report is
not made.
4. Other.