Mike w martin ethics in engineering pdf

Introduction To

Engineering Ethics

Mike W. Martin Roland Schinzinger

Basic Engineering Series and Tools

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Now in its second edition, Introduction to Engineering Ethics provides the framework for discussing the basic issues in engineering ethics. Emphasis is given to the moral problems engineers face in the corporate setting. It places those issues within a philosophical framework, and it seeks to exhibit their social importance and intellectual challenge. The goal is to stimulate critical and responsible re� ection on moral issues surrounding engineering practice and to provide the conceptual tools necessary for responsible decision making.

Features include:

Organization – The text has been expanded from 6 to 10 chapters, with increased coverage given to computer ethics, moral reasoning and codes of ethics, personal commitments in engineering, environmental ethics, honesty and research integrity, the philosophy of technology, and peace engineering.

Case Studies – Updated case studies are provided throughout the book to further support the concepts presented.

NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers – The National Society of Professional Engineers® Code of Ethics for Engineers is included.

Discussion Questions – Thought-provoking discussion questions appear at the end of each section.

Welcome to the BEST!

McGraw-Hill’s BEST – Basic Engineering Series and Tools – consists of modularized textbooks and applications appropriate for the topic covered in most introductory engineering courses. The goal of the series is to provide the educational community with material that is timely, affordable, of high quality, and � exible in how it is used. For a list of BEST titles, visit our website at www.mhhe.com/engcs/general/best.

Second Edition

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Introduction to Engineering Ethics

Mike W. Martin Professor of Philosophy Chapman University

Roland Schinzinger Late Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering

University of California, Irvine

Second Edition

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INTRODUCTION TO ENGINEERING ETHICS, SECOND EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2010 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous edition © 2000. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Martin, Mike W., 1946- Introduction to engineering ethics / Mike W. Martin, Roland Schinzinger.—2nd ed.

p. cm. Rev. ed. of Introduction to engineering ethics / Roland Schinzinger, Mike W. Martin. 2000. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-07-248311-6—ISBN 0-07-248311-3 (hard copy : alk. paper) I. Schinzinger, Roland. Introduction to engineering ethics. II. Title. TA157.S382 2010 174’.962—dc22

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In memory of Roland Schinzinger— Inspiring mentor, friend, and advocate for peace.

Mike W. Martin

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CONTENTS

About the Authors xi Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv

1 Ethics and Professionalism 1 1.1 Ethics and Excellence in Engineering 2

Micro and Macro Issues 3 Dimensions of Engineering 5 Potential Moral Problems 7 What Is Engineering Ethics? 8 Why Study Engineering Ethics? 10 Discussion Questions 12

1.2 Responsible Professionals, Professions, and Corporations 14

Saving Citicorp Tower 14 Meanings of Responsibility 16 Engineering as a Profession 18 Ethical Corporations 19 Senses of Corporate Responsibility 22 Discussion Questions 23

2 Moral Reasoning and Codes of Ethics 27 2.1 Moral Choices and Ethical Dilemmas 27

Designing Aluminum Cans 27 Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas 30 Right-Wrong or Better-Worse? 34 Moral Decision Making as Design 37 Discussion Questions 38

2.2 Codes of Ethics 40 Importance of Codes 40 Abuse of Codes 41 Limitations of Codes 42

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Ethical Relativism 44 Justification of Codes 46 Discussion Questions 47

3 Moral Frameworks 49 3.1 Rights Ethics, Duty Ethics, Utilitarianism 49

Rights Ethics 49 Duty Ethics 52 Utilitarianism 55 Discussion Questions 57

3.2 Virtue Ethics, Self-Realization Ethics 60 Virtue Ethics 60 Self-Realization Ethics 64 Ethical Egoism 68 Which Ethical Theory Is Best? 71 Discussion Questions 73

4 Engineering as Social Experimentation 77 4.1 Engineering as Experimentation 78

Similarities to Standard Experiments 78 Learning from the Past 79 Contrasts with Standard Experiments 80 Discussion Questions 84

4.2 Engineers as Responsible Experimenters 85 Conscientiousness 86 Comprehensive Perspective 87 Moral Autonomy 88 Accountability 89 A Balanced Outlook on Law 91 Industrial Standards 93 Challenger 95 Discussion Questions 102

5 Commitment to Safety 105 5.1 Safety and Risk 106

The Concept of Safety 106

vi Introduction to

Engineering Ethics

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Risks 108 Acceptability of Risk 109 Discussion Questions 113

5.2 Assessing and Reducing Risk 114 Uncertainties in Design 114 Risk-Benefit Analyses 118 Personal Risk versus Public Risk 120 Examples of Improved Safety 122 Three Mile Island 123 Safe Exits 127 Discussion Questions 128

6 Workplace Responsibilities and Rights 131 6.1 Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest 132

Confidentiality: Definition 132 Confidentiality and Changing Jobs 133 Confidentiality and Management Policies 135 Confidentiality: Justification 136 Conflicts of Interest: Definition and Examples 137 Moral Status of Conflicts of Interest 140 Discussion Questions 141

6.2 Teamwork and Rights 143 An Ethical Corporate Climate 143 Loyalty and Collegiality 144 Managers and Engineers 146 Professional Rights 147 Employee Rights 150 Discussion Questions 155

7 Truth and Truthfulness 159 7.1 Whistle-Blowing 161

Whistle-Blowing: Definition 161 Moral Guidelines 163 Protecting Whistle-Blowers 164 Common Sense Procedures 165 Beyond Whistle-Blowing 166 Discussion Questions 167

vii Contents

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7.2 Honesty and Research Integrity 169 Truthfulness 169 Trustworthiness 171 Academic Integrity: Students 172 Research Integrity 174 Bias and Self-Deception 175 Protecting Research Subjects 177 Giving and Claiming Credit 178 Discussion Questions 180

8 Computer Ethics 183 The Internet and Free Speech 184 Power Relationships 186 Property 189 Privacy 193 Additional Issues 195 Discussion Questions 196

9 Environmental Ethics 201 9.1 Engineering, Ecology, and Economics 202

The Invisible Hand and the Commons 202 Engineers: Sustainable Development 204 Corporations: Environmental Leadership 206 Government: Technology Assessment, Incentives, Taxes 207 Market Mechanisms: Internalizing Costs 208 Communities: Preventing Natural Disasters 209 Social Activists 210 Two Corps Cases 212 Discussion Questions 215

9.2 Environmental Moral Frameworks 216 Human-Centered Ethics 217 Sentient-Centered Ethics 219 Biocentric Ethics 220 Ecocentric Ethics 221 Religious Perspectives 221 Discussion Questions 223

viii Introduction to

Engineering Ethics

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10 Global Justice 227 10.1 Multinational Corporations 229

Technology Transfer and Appropriate Technology 230 Bhopal 231 “When in Rome” 233 International Rights 234 Promoting Morally Just Measures 236 Discussion Questions 237

10.2 Weapons Development and Peace 240 Involvement in Weapons Work 240 Defense Industry Problems 243 Peace Engineering 244 Discussion Questions 246

Appendix 249

Index 253

ix Contents

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Mike W. Martin and Roland Schinzinger began their 25-year collaboration as a philosopher-engineer team in the National Project on Philosophy and Engineering Ethics, 1978–1980. They have coauthored articles, team-taught courses, and given presentations to audiences of engineers and philosophers. In 1992 they received the Award for Distinguished Literary Con- tributions Furthering Engineering Professionalism from The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, United States Activities Board. Introduction to Engineering Ethics is a condensed and updated version of their book, Ethics in Engineering, which has been pub- lished in several editions and translations.

Mike W. Martin received his BS and MA from the University of Utah, and his PhD from the University of California, Irvine, and he is currently professor of philosophy at Chapman University. His books include Creativity: Ethics and Excellence in Science (2007), Everyday Morality (2007), Albert Schweitzer’s Reverence for Life (2007), From Morality to Mental Health (2006), and Mean- ingful Work: Rethinking Professional Ethics (2000). A member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, he received the Arnold L. and Lois S. Graves Award for Teachers in the Humanities, two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and several teaching awards from Chapman University.

Roland Schinzinger (1926–2004) received his BS, MS, and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and he was a founding faculty member to the Uni- versity of California at Irvine. Born and raised in Japan, where he had industrial experience with several companies, he worked in the United States as a design and development engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation. He is author or coauthor of Conformal Mapping: Methods and Applications (1991, 2003), Emergencies in Water Delivery (1979), and Experiments in Electricity and Magnetism (1961). His honors include the IEEE Centennial and Third Millennium medals, Fellow of IEEE, and Fellow of AAAS.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

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PREFACE

Technology has a pervasive and profound effect on the contem- porary world, and engineers play a central role in all aspects of technological development. To hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, engineers must be morally committed and equipped to grapple with ethical dilemmas they confront. Introduction to Ethics in Engineering provides an introduction to the issues in engineering ethics. It places those issues within a philosophical framework, and it seeks to exhibit their social importance and intellectual challenge. The goal is to stimulate reasoning and to provide the conceptual tools necessary for responsible decision making. In large measure we proceed by clarifying key concepts, dis- cussing alternative views, and providing relevant case study material. Yet in places we argue for particular positions that in a subject such as ethics can only be controversial. We do so because it better serves our goal of encouraging responsible rea- soning than would a mere digest of others’ views. We are confi- dent that such reasoning is possible in ethics, and that, through engaged and tolerant dialogue, progress can be made in dealing with what at first seem irresolvable difficulties.

The book has expanded from 6 to 10 chapters. In addition to new case studies such as global warming and Hurricane Katrina, increased coverage is given to moral reasoning and codes of eth- ics, personal commitments in engineering, environmental ethics, honesty and research integrity, the philosophy of technology, and peace engineering. “Micro issues” concerning choices by indi- viduals and corporations are connected throughout the book with “macro issues” about broader social concerns. Case studies appear throughout the text, frequently as part of the Discussion Topics. Those cases not described in great detail offer the opportunity for practice in literature searches. Most of our case studies are based on secondary sources. Thus, each case carries with it an implied statement of the sort “If engineer X and company Y did indeed act in the way described, then. . . .” It is important to avoid inflexible conclusions regarding persons or

Second Edition

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organizations based on one or two cases from the past. Persons can and do change with time for the better or for the worse, and so can organizations.

McGraw-Hill’s BEST—Basic Engineering Series and Tools—con- sists of modularized textbooks and applications appropriate for the topic covered in most introductory engineering courses. The goal of the series is to provide the educational community with material that is timely, affordable, of high quality, and flexible in how it is used. For a list of BEST titles, visit our website at www .mhhe.com/engcs/general/best.

This text is offered through CourseSmart for both instructors and students. CourseSmart is an online browser where students can purchase access to this and other McGraw-Hill textbooks in digital format. Through their browser, students can access the complete text online at almost half the cost of a traditional text. Purchasing the eTextbook also allows students to take advantage of CourseSmart’s web tools for learning, which include full text search, notes and highlighting, and email tools for sharing notes between classmates. To learn more about CourseSmart options, contact your sales representative or visit www.CourseSmart.com.

xiv Introduction to

Engineering Ethics

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Many individuals have influenced our thinking about engineer- ing ethics. We wish to thank especially Robert J. Baum, Michael Davis, Dave Dorchester, Walter Elden, Charles B. Fleddermann, Albert Flores, Alastair S. Gunn, Charles E. (Ed) Harris, Joseph R. Herkert, Jacqueline A. Hynes, Deborah G. Johnson, Ron Kline, Edwin T. Layton, Jerome Lederer, Heinz C. Luegenbiehl, Carl Mitcham, Steve Nichols, Kevin M. Passino, Michael J. Rabins, Jimmy Smith, Michael S. Pritchard, Harold Sjursen, Carl M. Skooglund, John Stupar, Stephen H. Unger, Pennington Vann, P. Aarne Vesilind, Vivien Weil, Caroline Whitbeck, and Joseph Wujek. We also thank the reviewers who provided many helpful sug- gestions in developing this edition.

And we thank the many authors and publishers who granted us permission to use copyrighted material as acknowledged in the notes, and also the National Society of Professional Engineers® which allowed us to print its code of ethics in the Appendix. Our deepest gratitude is to our families, whose love and insights have so deeply enriched our work and our lives.

Mike W. Martin and Roland Schinzinger

xv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Rosalyn W. Berne University of Virginia

Nicole Larson Western Washington University

Donald G. Lemke University of Illinois at Chicago

Gene Moriarty San Jose State University

David L. Prentiss University of Rhode Island

R. Keith Stanfill University of Florida

Charles F. Yokomoto, Professor Emeritus Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

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Ethics and Professionalism Engineers create products and processes to improve food produc- tion, shelter, energy, communication, transportation, health, and protection against natural calamities—and to enhance the convenience and beauty of our everyday lives. They make pos- sible spectacular human triumphs once only dreamed of in myth and science fiction. Almost a century and a half ago in From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne imagined American space travel- ers being launched from Florida, circling the moon, and return- ing to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. In December 1968, three astronauts aboard an Apollo spacecraft did exactly that. Seven months later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong took the first human steps on the moon (Figure 1-1). This extraordinary event was shared with millions of earthbound people watching the live broadcast on television. Engineering had transformed our sense of connection with the cosmos and even fostered dreams of rou- tine space travel for ordinary citizens.

1

Figure 1–1 Neil Armstrong on Moon

Historicus, Inc./RF

C H A P T E R 1

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2 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics Most technology, however, has double implications: As it cre- ates benefits, it raises new moral challenges. Just as exploration of the moon and planets stand as engineering triumphs, so the explosions of the space shuttles, Challenger in 1986 and Colum- bia in 2003, were tragedies that could have been prevented had urgent warnings voiced by experienced engineers been heeded. We will examine these and other cases of human error, for in considering ethics and engineering alike we can learn from see- ing how things go wrong. In doing so, however, we should avoid allowing technologi- cal risks to overshadow technological benefits. Ethics involves appreciating the vast positive dimensions of engineering that so deeply enrich our lives. To cite only a few examples, each of us benefits from the top 20 engineering achievements of the twen- tieth century, as identified by the National Academy of Engi- neering: electrification, automobiles, airplanes, water supply and distribution, electronics, radio and television, agricultural mechanization, computers, telephones, air-conditioning and refrigeration, highways, spacecrafts, Internet, imaging technolo- gies in medicine and elsewhere, household appliances, health technologies, petrochemical technologies, laser and fiber optics, nuclear technologies, and high-performance materials.1

This chapter identifies some of the moral complexity in engineering, defines engineering ethics, and states the goals in studying it. It also underscores the importance of accepting and sharing moral responsibility within the corporate setting in which today most engineering takes place, and also the need for a basic congruence between the goals of responsible profession- als, professions, and corporations.

Moral values are embedded in engineering projects as standards of excellence, not “tacked on” as external burdens. This is true of even the simplest engineering projects, as illustrated by the following assignment given to students in a freshman engineer- ing course: “Design a chicken coop that would increase egg and chicken production, using materials that were readily available and maintainable by local workers [at a Mayan cooperative in Guatemala]. The end users were to be the women of a weaving cooperative who wanted to increase the protein in their children’s diet in ways that are consistent with their traditional diet, while not appreciably distracting from their weaving.”2

1 National Academy of Engineering, www.greatachievements.org (accessed October 14, 2008).

2 Clive L. Dym and Patrick Little, Engineering Design: A Project-Based Introduction, 2nd ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2004), 70.

1.1 Ethics and Excellence in

Engineering

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3 Ethics and ProfessionalismThe task proved more complex than first appeared. Stu-

dents had to identify feasible building materials, decide between cages or one large fenced area, and design structures for strength and endurance. They had to create safe access for the villagers, including ample head and shoulder room at entrances and a safe floor for bare feet. They had to ensure humane conditions for the chickens, including adequate space and ventilation, comfort dur- ing climate changes, convenient delivery of food and water, and protection from local predators that could dig under fences. They also had to improve cleaning procedures to minimize damage to the environment while recycling chicken droppings as fertil- izers. The primary goal, however, was to double current chicken and egg production. A number of design concepts were explored before a variation of a fenced-in concept proved preferable to a set of cages. Additional modifications needed to be made as students worked with villagers to implement the design in ways that best served their needs and interests. In combining myriad design goals and constraints, engineer- ing projects integrate multiple moral values connected with those goals and constraints—for example, safety, efficiency, respect for persons, and respect for the environment. As elsewhere, moral values are myriad, and they can give rise to ethical dilemmas: situations in which moral reasons come into conflict, or in which the applications of moral values are problematic, and it is not immediately obvious what should be done. The moral reasons might be obligations, rights, goods, ideals, or other moral consid- erations. For example, at what point does the aim of increasing chicken and egg production compromise humane conditions for the animals? Technical skill and morally good judgment need to go together in solving ethical dilemmas, and, in general, in making moral choices. So do competence and conscientiousness, creativity and good character. These combinations were identified by the ancient Greeks, whose word arete translates into English as “excellence” or as “virtue.” In engineering, as in other profes- sions, excellence and ethics go together—for the most part and in the long run.

Micro and Macro Issues Today, engineers are increasingly asked to understand excel- lence and ethics in terms of broader societal and environmental concerns. They need to be prepared to grapple with both micro and macro issues. Micro issues concern the decisions made by individuals and companies in pursuing their projects. Macro issues concern more global issues, such as the directions in technological development, the laws that should or should not be passed, and the collective responsibilities of groups such as

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4 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics engineering professional societies and consumer groups. Both micro and macro issues are important in engineering ethics, and often they are interwoven.3

As an illustration, consider debates about sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Micro issues arose concerning the Ford Explorer and also Bridgestone/Firestone, who provided tires for the Explorer. During the late 1990s, reports began to multiply about the tread on Explorer tires separating from the rest of the tire, leading to blowouts and rollovers. By 2002, estimates were that 300 people had died, and another 1,000 people were injured, and more recent estimates place the numbers much higher. Ford and Bridgestone/ Firestone blamed each other for the problem, leading to the breakup of a century-old business partnership. As it turned out, the hazard had multiple sources. Bridgestone/Firestone used a flawed tire design and poor quality control at a major manufac- turing facility. Ford chose tires with a poor safety margin, relied on drivers to maintain proper inflation within a very narrow range, and then dragged its feet in admitting the problem and recalling dangerous tires. In contrast, macro issues center on charges that SUVs are among the most harmful vehicles on the road, especially given their numbers. The problems are many: gas-guzzling, excessive polluting, instability because their height leads to rollovers, greater “kill rate” of other drivers during accidents, reducing the vision of drivers in shorter cars behind them on freeways, and blinding other drivers’ vision because of high-set lights. Keith Bradsher estimates that SUVs are causing approximately 3,000 deaths in excess of what cars would have caused: “Roughly 1,000 extra deaths occur each year in SUVs that roll over, compared with the expected rollover death rate if these motorists had been driving cars. About 1,000 more people die each year in cars hit by SUVs than would occur if the cars had been hit by other cars. And up to 1,000 additional people succumb each year to respiratory problems because of the extra smog caused by SUVs.”4 Bradsher believes these numbers will continue to increase as more SUVs are added to the road each year and as older vehicles are resold to younger and more dangerous drivers. Should “the SUV issue” be examined within engineering as a whole, or at least by representative professional and technical societies? If so, what should be done? Or, in a democratic and capitalistic society, should engineers play a role only as indi-

3 Joseph R. Herkert, “Future Directions in Engineering Ethics Research: Microethics, Macroethics and the Role of Professional Societies,” Science and Engineering Ethics 7 (2001): 403–14.

4 Keith Bradsher, High and Mighty (New York: PublicAffairs, 2002), xvii– xviii; see also p. 305.

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5 Ethics and Professionalismviduals but not as organized groups? Should engineers remain

uninvolved, leaving the issue entirely to consumer groups and lawmakers? We leave these questions as discussion questions at the end of the section. Even larger macro issues surround public transportation issues in relation to all automobiles and SUVs as we look to the future with a dramatically increasing population, a shrinking of traditional resources, and concerns about global warming.

Dimensions of Engineering Let us gain a more detailed understanding of moral complexity in engineering as a product develops from a mental concept to physical completion. Engineers encounter both moral and techni- cal problems concerning variability in the materials available to them, the quality of work by coworkers at all levels, pressures imposed by time and the whims of the marketplace, and rela- tionships of authority within corporations. Figure 1–2 charts the sequence of tasks that leads from the concept of a product to its design, manufacture, sale, use, and ultimate disposal. The idea of a new product is first captured in a conceptual design, which will lead to establishing performance specifications and conducting a preliminary analysis based on the functional relationships among design variables. These activities lead to a more detailed analysis, possibly assisted by computer simula- tions and physical models or prototypes. The end product of the design task will be detailed specifications and shop drawings for all components. Manufacturing is the next major task. It involves scheduling and carrying out the tasks of purchasing materials and compo- nents, fabricating parts and subassemblies, and finally assem- bling and performance-testing the product. Selling comes next, or delivery if the product is the result of a prior contract. Thereafter, either the manufacturer’s or the customer’s engineers perform installation, personnel training, maintenance, repair, and ultimately recycling or disposal. Seldom is the process carried out in such a smooth, continuous fashion as indicated by the arrows progressing down the middle of Figure 1–2. Instead of this uninterrupted sequence, interme- diate results during or at the end of each stage often require backtracking to make modifications in the design developed thus far. Errors need to be detected and corrected. Changes may be needed to improve product performance or to meet cost and time constraints. An altogether different, alternative design might have to be considered. In the words of Herbert Simon, “Design is usually the kind of problem solving we call ill-structured . . . you don’t start off with a well-defined goal. Nor do you start off with a clear set of alternatives, or perhaps any alternatives at

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6 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics

all. Goals and alternatives have to emerge through the design process itself: One of its first tasks is to clarify goals and to begin to generate alternatives.”5

This results in an iterative process, with some of the possible recursive steps indicated by the thin lines and arrows on either

5 Herbert A. Simon, “What We Know about Learning,” Journal of Engineering Education (American Society of Engineering Education) 87 (October 1998): 343–48.

Initiation of Task (Idea, specific request, or market demand)

Design

Concept, goals, preliminary design. Performance specifications.

Preliminary analysis.

Detailed analysis; simulation / prototyping. Specifications for materials and components.

Detailed shop drawings.

Manufacture

Scheduling of tasks. Purchasing components and materials.

Fabrication of parts. Assembly / construction.

Quality control / testing.

Implementation

Advertising. Sales and financing. Operating and parts manuals.

Shipping and installation. Operator training. Provisions for safety measures and devices.

Use of the product.

Field service: Maintenance, repairs, spare parts.

Monitoring social and environmental effects.

Reporting findings to parties at possible risk.

Final Tasks

Geriatric service: rebuilding, recycling.

Disposal of materials and wastes.

Figure 1–2 Progression of engineering tasks ( ideal progression, — typical iterations)

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7 Ethics and Professionalismside of Figure 1–2. As shown, engineers are usually forced to stop

during an initial attempt at a solution when they hit a snag or think of a better approach. They will then return to an earlier stage with changes in mind. Such reconsiderations of earlier tasks do not necessarily start and end at the same respective stages during subsequent passes through design, manufacture, and implementation. That is because the retracing is governed by the latest findings from current experiments, tempered by the outcome of earlier iterations and experience with similar product designs. Changes made during one stage will not only affect subse- quent stages but might also require a reassessment of prior decisions. Dealing with this complexity requires close coopera- tion among the engineers of many different departments and disciplines such as chemical, civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical engineering. It is not uncommon for engineering organizations to suffer from “silo mentality,” which makes engi- neers disregard or denigrate the work carried out by groups other than their own. It can be difficult to improve a design or even to rectify mistakes under such circumstances. Engineers do well to establish contact with colleagues across such artificial boundaries so that information can be exchanged more freely. Such contacts become especially important in tackling morally complex problems.

Potential Moral Problems To repeat, engineering generally does not consist of complet- ing designs or processes one after another in a straightforward progression of isolated tasks. Instead, it involves a trial-and- error process with backtracking based on decisions made after examining results obtained along the way. The design iterations resemble feedback loops, and like any well-functioning feedback control system, engineering takes into account natural and social environments that affect the product and people using it.6 Let us therefore revisit the engineering tasks, this time as listed in Table 1–1, along with examples of problems that might arise. The grab bag of problems in Table 1–1 can arise from short- comings on the part of engineers, their supervisors, vendors, or the operators of the product. The underlying causes can have dif- ferent forms:

6 Roland Schinzinger, “Ethics on the Feedback Loop,” Control Engineering Practice 6 (1998): 239–45.

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8 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics 1. Lack of vision, which in the form of tunnel vision biased toward traditional pursuits overlooks suitable alternatives, and in the form of groupthink promotes acceptance at the expense of criti- cal thinking.7

2. Incompetence among engineers carrying out technical tasks. 3. Lack of time or lack of proper materials, both ascribable to poor

management. 4. A silo mentality that keeps information compartmentalized rather

than shared across different departments. 5. The notion that there are safety engineers somewhere down the

line to catch potential problems. 6. Improper use or disposal of the product by an unwary owner or

user. 7. Dishonesty in any activity shown in Figure 1–2 and pressure by

management to take shortcuts. 8. Inattention to how the product is performing after it is sold and

when in use.

Although this list is not complete, it hints at the range of prob- lems that can generate moral challenges for engineers. It also suggests why engineers need foresight and caution, especially in imagining who might be affected indirectly by their products and by their decisions, in good or harmful ways.

What Is Engineering Ethics? In light of this overview of moral complexity in engineering, we can now define engineering ethics and state the goals in studying it. The word ethics has several meanings, and hence so does engi- neering ethics. In one sense, ethics is synonymous with morality. It refers to moral values that are sound or reasonable, actions or policies that are morally required (right), morally permissible (all right), or otherwise morally desirable (good). Accordingly, engineering ethics consists of the responsibilities and rights that ought to be endorsed by those engaged in engineering, and also of desirable ideals and personal commitments in engineering. In a second sense, the one used in the title of this book, ethics is the activity (and field) of studying morality; it is an inquiry into ethics in the first sense. It studies which actions, goals, principles, policies, and laws are morally justified. Using this sense, engineering ethics is the study of the decisions, policies, and values that are morally desirable in engineering practice and research.

7 Irving Janis, Groupthink, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1982).

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9 Ethics and Professionalism

These two senses are normative: They refer to justified val- ues, desirable (not merely desired) choices, and sound policies. Normative senses differ from descriptive senses of ethics. In one descriptive sense, we speak of Henry Ford’s ethics, or the ethics of American engineers, referring thereby to what specific indi- viduals or groups believe and how they act, without implying that their beliefs and actions are justified. In another descrip- tive sense, social scientists study ethics when they describe and

Table 1–1 Engineering tasks and possible problems

Tasks A selection of possible problems

Conceptual design Blind to new concepts. Violation of patents or trade secrets. Product to be used illegally.

Goals; performance specifications

Unrealistic assumptions. Design depends on unavail- able or untested materials.

Preliminary analysis

Uneven: Overly detailed in designer’s area of exper- tise, marginal elsewhere.

Detailed analysis Uncritical use of handbook data and computer pro- grams based on unidentified methodologies.

Simulation, prototyping

Testing of prototype done only under most favorable conditions or not completed.

Design specifications

Too tight for adjustments during manufacture and use. Design changes not carefully checked.

Scheduling of tasks Promise of unrealistic completion date based on insufficient allowance for unexpected events.

Purchasing Specifications written to favor one vendor. Bribes, kickbacks. Inadequate testing of purchased parts.

Fabrication of parts Variable quality of materials and workmanship. Bogus materials and components not detected.

Assembly/ construction

Workplace safety. Disregard of repetitive-motion stress on workers. Poor control of toxic wastes.

Quality control/testing Not independent, but controlled by production man- ager. Hence, tests rushed or results falsified.

Advertising and sales False advertising (availability, quality). Product over- sold beyond client’s needs or means.

Shipping, installation, training

Product too large to ship by land. Installation and training subcontracted out, inadequately supervised.

Safety measures and devices

Reliance on overly complex, failure-prone safety devices. Lack of a simple “safety exit.”

Use Used inappropriately or for illegal applications. Over- loaded. Operations manuals not ready.

Maintenance, parts, repairs

Inadequate supply of spare parts. Hesitation to recall the product when found to be faulty.

Monitoring effects of product

No formal procedure for following life cycle of product, its effects on society and environment.

Recycling/disposal Lack of attention to ultimate dismantling, disposal of product, public notification of hazards.

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10 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics explain what people believe and how they act; they conduct opinion polls, observe behavior, examine documents written by professional societies, and uncover the social forces shaping engi- neering ethics. In its normative senses, “engineering ethics” refers to justified moral values in engineering, but what are moral values? What is morality? Dictionaries tell us that morality is about right and wrong, good and bad, values and what ought to be done. But such definitions are incomplete, for these words also have nonmoral meanings. Thus, to start a car a person ought to put the key in the ignition; that is the right thing to do. Again, chocolate tastes good, and beauty is an aesthetic value. In contrast, morality con- cerns moral right and wrong, moral good and bad, moral values, and what morally ought to be done. Saying this is not especially illuminating, however, for it is a circular definition that uses the word we are trying to define. As it turns out, morality is not easy to define in any compre- hensive way. Of course, we can all give examples of moral val- ues, such as honesty, courage, compassion, and justice. Yet, the moment we try to provide a comprehensive definition of morality we are drawn into at least rudimentary ethical theory. For exam- ple, if we say that morality consists in promoting the most good, we are invoking an ethical theory called utilitarianism. If we say that morality is about human rights, we invoke rights ethics. And if we say that morality is essentially about good character, we might be invoking virtue ethics. These and other ethical theories are discussed in Chapter 3.

Why Study Engineering Ethics? Engineering ethics should be studied because it is important, both in contributing to safe and useful technological products and in giving meaning to engineers’ endeavors. It is also complex, in ways that call for serious reflection throughout a career, begin- ning with earning a degree. But beyond these general observa- tions, what specific aims should guide the study of engineering ethics? In our view, the direct aim is to increase our ability to deal effectively with moral complexity in engineering. Accordingly, the study of engineering ethics strengthens our ability to reason clearly and carefully about moral questions. To invoke terms widely used in ethics, the unifying goal is to increase moral autonomy. Autonomy means self-determining, but not just any kind of independent reflection about ethics amounts to moral autonomy. Moral autonomy can be viewed as the skill and habit of thinking rationally about ethical issues on the basis of moral concern and

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11 Ethics and Professionalismcommitment. This foundation of general responsiveness to moral

values derives primarily from the training we receive as children in being sensitive to the needs and rights of others, as well as of ourselves. When such training is absent, as it often is with seri- ously abused children, the tragic result can be an adult sociopath who lacks any sense of moral right and wrong. Sociopaths (or psychopaths) are not morally autonomous, regardless of how independent their intellectual reasoning about ethics might be. Improving the ability to reflect carefully on moral issues can be accomplished by improving various practical skills that will help produce autonomous thought about moral issues. As related to engineering ethics, these skills include the following.

1. Moral awareness: Proficiency in recognizing moral problems and issues in engineering

2. Cogent moral reasoning: Comprehending, clarifying, and assess- ing arguments on opposing sides of moral issues

3. Moral coherence: Forming consistent and comprehensive view- points based on consideration of relevant facts

4. Moral imagination: Discerning alternative responses to moral issues and finding creative solutions for practical difficulties

5. Moral communication: Precision in the use of a common ethical language, a skill needed to express and support one’s moral views adequately to others

These are the direct goals in college courses. They center on cognitive skills—skills of the intellect in thinking clearly and cogently. It is possible, however, to have these skills and yet not act in morally responsible ways. Should we therefore add to our list of goals the following goals that specify aspects of moral commitment and responsible conduct?

6. Moral reasonableness: The willingness and ability to be morally reasonable

7. Respect for persons: Genuine concern for the well-being of oth- ers as well as oneself

8. Tolerance of diversity: Within a broad range, respect for ethnic and religious differences and acceptance of reasonable differ- ences in moral perspectives

9. Moral hope: Enriched appreciation of the possibilities of using rational dialogue in resolving moral conflicts

10. Integrity: Maintaining moral integrity and integrating one’s pro- fessional life and personal convictions

In our view we should add these goals to the study of engineer- ing ethics, for without them there would be little practical point in studying ethics. At the same time, the goals are often best

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12 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics pursued implicitly and indirectly, more in how material is studied and taught than in preaching and testing. A foundation of moral concern must be presupposed, as well as evoked and expanded, in studying ethics at the college level.

Discussion Questions

1. Identify the moral values, issues, and dilemmas, if any, involved in the following cases, and explain why you consider them moral values and dilemmas. a. An engineer notified his firm that for a relatively minor cost

a flashlight could be made to last several years longer by using a more reliable bulb. The firm decides that it would be in its interests not to use the new bulb, both to keep costs lower and to have the added advantage of “built-in obso- lescence” so that consumers would need to purchase new flashlights more often.

b. A linear electron accelerator for therapeutic use was built as a dual-mode system that could either produce X-rays or electron beams. It had been in successful use for some time, but every now and then some patients received high overdoses, resulting in painful after-effects and several deaths. One patient on a repeat visit experienced great pain, but the remotely located operator was unaware of any problem because of lack of communication between them: The intercom was broken, and the video monitor had been unplugged. There also was no way for the patient to exit the examination chamber without help from the out- side, and hence the hospital was partly at fault. On cursory examination of the machine, the manufacturer insisted that the computerized and automatic control system could not possibly have malfunctioned and that no one should spread unproven and potentially libelous information about the design. It was the painstaking, day-and-night effort of the hospital’s physicist that finally traced the problem to a soft- ware error introduced by the manufacturer’s efforts to make the machine more user-friendly.8

2. Regarding the following example, comment on why you think simple human contact made such a large difference. What does it say about what motivated the engineers, both before and after the encounter? Is the case too unique to permit generalizations to other engineering products?

8 N. B. Leveson and C. Turner, “An Investigation of the Therac-25 Accidents,” Computer (IEEE, July 1993), 18–41.

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13 Ethics and Professionalism A team of engineers are redesigning an artificial lung marketed

by their company. They are working in a highly competitive mar- ket, with long hours and high stress. The engineers have little or no contact with the firm’s customers, and they are focused on technical problems, not people. It occurs to the project engineer to invite recipients of artificial lungs and their families to the plant to talk about how their lives were affected by the artificial lung. The change is immediate and striking: “When families began to bring in their children who for the first time could breathe freely, relax, learn, and enjoy life because of the firm’s product, it came as a revelation. The workers were energized by concrete evi- dence that their efforts really did improve people’s lives, and the morale of the workplace was given a great lift.”9

3. Should SUV problems at the macro level be of concern to engi- neers as a group and their professional societies? Should indi- vidual automotive engineers, in their daily work, be concerned about the general social and environmental impacts of SUVs?

4. It is not easy to define morality in a simple way, but it does not follow that morality is a hopelessly vague notion. For a long time, philosophers thought that an adequate definition of any idea would specify a set of logically necessary and sufficient condi- tions for applying the idea. For example, each of the following features is logically necessary for a triangle, and together they are sufficient: a plane figure, having three straight lines, closed to form three angles. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889–1951), however, argued that most ordinary (nontechni- cal) ideas cannot be neatly defined in this way. Instead, there are often only “family resemblances” among the things to which words are applied, analogous to the partly overlapping simi- larities among members of a family—similar eye color, shape of nose, body build, temperament, and so forth.10 Thus, a book might be hardback, paperback, or electronic; printed or hand- written; in English or German; and so forth. Can you specify nec- essary and sufficient conditions for the following ideas: chairs, buildings, energy, safety, engineers, morality?

5. Mention of ethics sometimes evokes groans, rather than engagement, because it brings to mind onerous constraints and unpleasant disagreements. Worse, it evokes images of self- righteousness, hypocrisy, and excessively punitive attitudes of blame and punishment—attitudes that are themselves subject to moral critique. Think of a recent event that led to a public outcry. With regard to the event, discuss the difference between being

9 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Good Business (New York: Viking, 2003), 206. 10 Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, 3rd ed., trans. G. E. M.

Anscombe (New York: Macmillan, 1958), 32.

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14 Introduction to

Engineering Ethics morally reasonable and being moralistic in a pejorative sense. In doing so, consider such things as breadth of vision, tolerance, sensitivity to context, and commitment.

Moral responsibility is an idea that applies to individual engi- neers, groups of engineers, and the corporations in which most engineers do their work. It is also a multifaceted idea that com- bines obligations, ideals of character, accountability, praisewor- thiness, and blameworthiness. Let us begin with an example of a responsible engineer.