Engineering Ethics

Engineering Ethics. Engineering profession is considered to be of vital importance to the safety, health, and welfare of the public. In order to serve the public effectively and ensure the well-being of society, engineers must not only possess and maintain a high level of technical expertise and competence but also perform under the standard of professional conduct with adherence to the highest ethical principles.

The ethical principles governing the engineering profession are embodied in codes of ethics. Such codes have been adopted by state boards of registration, professional engineering societies, and even by some private industries.

This Engineering Ethics course introduces the theory and the practice of engineering ethics using a multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural approach. The theory includes ethics and the philosophy of engineering. Historical cases are taken primarily from the scholarly literature on engineering ethics, and hypothetical cases are written by students. Each student will write a story by selecting an ancestor or mythic hero as a substitute for a character in a historical case. Students will compare these cases and recommend action.

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