Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What is Ethics?
Defining Ethics
Is it ethical?
Is it legal?
Is it moral?
Defining Ethics
Ethics (from ancient Greece)
from the Greek word thos which means the persuasive appeal of ones character
Defining Ethics
Ethics (from Merriam-Webster)
the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and a set of moral principles or values a theory or system of moral values the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group (e.g., professional ethics)
Defining Ethics
Ethical (from Merriam-Webster)
of or relating to ethics
Morality
a doctrine of system of moral conduct particular moral principles or rules of conduct conformity to ideals of right human conduct
Ultimately, morality is about reasons centered in respect for other people as well as ourselves, reasons that involve their good as well as our own.
Working Definitions
Ethics
the rules and ideals for human behavior they tell us what we ought to do
Engineering Ethics
the rules and ideals of the engineering profession
Cost-Benefit Analysis: According to Ford's estimates, the unsafe tanks would cause 180 burn deaths, 180 serious burn injuries, and 2,100 burned vehicles each year. It calculated that it would have to $49.5 million. Alterations would cost $11 per car or truck, which added up to $137 million per year. Essentially, Ford argued before the government that it would be cheaper just to let their customers burn!
Chernobyl disaster
Present
engineer is now less visible to the public technology is the domain of the corporation anonymity of the Engineer focused on serving the organization, not the public
Roles of Codes
Shared Standards
Positive Support to Act Ethically Guidance Concerning Obligations Motivation to do the right thing Education to help with making hard decisions
http://www.asce.org/inside/files/pdf/CodeofEthics1.pdf
http://www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-code.asp
The Reality Is
You will be faced with ethical dilemmas They will have serious consequences, either now or in the future If you do the right thing it may go unnoticed, but If you dont, your job/career/company/family may be hurt, along with innocent customers, users, or other people
Remember
You are professional You are a member of a profession that has many worthy accomplishments You and others in your profession can do much to help to improve the quality of life