GE 6075 – PROFESSIONAL ETHICS IN ENGINEERING

1. UNIT-2
ENGINEERING ETHICS

2. UNIT II ENGINEERING ETHICS
 Senses of ‘Engineering Ethics’ – Variety of
moral issues – Types of inquiry – Moral
dilemmas – Moral Autonomy – Kohlberg’s
theory – Gilligan’s theory – Consensus and
Controversy – Models of professional roles -
Theories about right action – Self-interest –
Customs and Religion – Uses of Ethical
Theories

3. ENGINEERING ETHICS - INTRODUCTION
 Engineers make products and methods that satisfy
basic needs, food and shelter.
 Scientists and engineers make discoveries and
inventions.
 They improves the standard of living of the people
 Have to consider the safety, health, welfare of the
people and environment.
 This has to be taken into account in understanding
what is morally required and not morally required of
engineers.
 Hence, we need to know the ‘engineering ethics’.

4. ENGINEERING ETHICS -DEFINITION
 Engineering Ethics is a study of related questions
about the moral ideals, character, policies and
relationships between the people and corporations,
involved in technical activities.

5. SENSE OF “ENGINEERING ETHICS”
 Engineering ethics is an activity and discipline, aimed at understanding
the moral values to guide the engineering practice to solve the moral
issues.
 E.E refers to set of specific moral problems and issues related to
engineering i.e., political, legal issue.
 It accepts the codes and standard of conduct endorsed by various group
of Engineering, Engineering Societies, and Professional Bodies like;
-Institution of Engineers, (India), Kolkata
- All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi
- Medical Council of India

6. Morality
 The word Ethics means “morally correct”
 Sense of Engineering ethics means ‘study of morality’
Morality concerns with:
a) What need or no need to be done in a given situation?
b) What is right or wrong while handling a situation?
c) What is good or bad about the people, policies and
ideals involved?

7. MORAL REASONS
 Respecting others and ourselves
 Respecting the rights of others
 Keeping promises to others
 Avoiding unnecessary offence and pain to others
 Avoiding cheating and dishonesty
 Showing gratitude for favour to others
 Encouraging teamwork.

8. VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
Engineering disasters caution us about safety beyond
the level of acceptable risk.
1. The “Challenger” Explosion
Date January 28, 1986
Time
11:39:13 EST
(16:39:13 UTC)
Location
Atlantic Ocean, off the
coast of central Florida
Outcome
Grounding of the Space
Shuttle fleet for nearly
three years during which
various safety measures,
solid rocket booster
redesign, and a new
policy on management
decision-making for future
launches were
implemented.

9. Major problem in challenger was:
 Failed at liftoff. The O-ring failure caused a breach in
the SRB(Solid Rocket Booster) joint it sealed,
allowing pressurized hot gas from within the solid
rocket motor to reach the outside and impinge upon
the adjacent SRB attachment hardware and external
fuel tank.
 People who died…..

10. ISSUE NO:2
The accidents at Nuclear Power Plant at Chernobyl –
Russia, Three Mile Island (USA);
 The Three Mile Island accident was a partial
nuclear meltdown which occurred in one of the two
Three Mile Island nuclear reactors in Dauphin
County, Pennsylvania, United States, on March 28,
1979. It was the worst accident in U.S. commercial
nuclear power plant history.
 The partial meltdown resulted in the release of small
amounts of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine
into the environment

11.  The accident, which occurred in the early morning of April 26,
1986, resulted when operators took actions in violation of the
plant’s technical specifications.
 Operators ran the plant at very low power, without adequate
safety precautions and without properly coordinating or
communicating the procedure with safety personnel.
 The hot fuel particles reacted with water and caused a steam
explosion, which lifted the 1,000-metric-ton cover off the top of
the reactor, rupturing the rest of the 1,660 pressure tubes,
causing a second explosion and exposing the reactor core to
the environment. The fire burned for 10 days, releasing a large
amount of radiation into the atmosphere.
 Twenty-eight highly exposed reactor staff and emergency
workers died from radiation and thermal burns within four
months of the accident. Officials believe the accident also was
responsible for nearly 7,000 cases of thyroid cancer among
individuals who were under 18 years of age at the time of the
accident. As of 2005, 15 children had died of thyroid cancer.
Improved monitoring has been implemented to help ensure that
thyroid cancer is detected early, when it is highly treatable.

12. ISSUE NO:3
Gas leak at chemical plant, (Union Carbide Plant) –
Bhopal, India:
 The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal
gas tragedy, was a gas leak incident in India,
considered the world's worst industrial disaster.
 It occurred on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at
the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide
plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Over 500,000
people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and
other chemicals

13. Date
2 December 1984–
3 December 1984
Location Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Coordinates
23°16′51″N
77°24′38″ECoordinates:
23°16′51″N 77°24′38″E
Also known as Bhopal gas tragedy
Cause
Gas leak from Union Carbide India
Limited storage tank
Deaths At least 3,787; over 16,000 claimed
Injuries At least 558,125

14. VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
APPROACHES OF ENGINEERING ETHICS
 Micro ethics
 Macro ethics
- Micro-ethics: This approach addresses typical,
everyday problems that the engineers face in their
professional life.
- Macro-ethics: This approach deals with all societal
problems that engineers encounter during their
career.

15. MORAL PROBLEM ARISE WHEN:
 Their activities ultimately lead to a product, i.e., unsafe, or
less useful.
 A product may be designed intentionally for early
obsolescence ( to become out dated -
வழக்ககொழிந்துப ொக).
 An inferior(lower) material may be used under pressure of
time or budget.
 Product’s ultimate harmful effects.
 Engineers are tempted of bribes(dishonestly) and
corruption.

16. VARIOUS MORAL ISSUES
 The various bodies with which engineers may face problems
6. Society
Environment
7.
Family
1Organization
• Engineers
• Managers
• Colleagues
5. Engineering
Professional
Societies
(ASME, IEEE,
NSPE)
4. Law, Govt.
Public
Agencies
3. Industry,
Other firms
(Competitors)
2. Clients,
customers

17. INQUIRY

18. INQUIRY
 Inquiry means asking or investigation or search for
knowledge.
Or
 Inquiry means, conducting a detailed survey
about the project or a product, to know its pros
and cons. When they are put into use.

20. TYPES OF INQUIRY
1. Normative inquiry
2. Conceptual inquiry
3. Factual inquiry

21. NORMATIVE INQUIRY
 How far the engineers are mobilized to
protect the public safety in a given
situation?
 Whose values are to be given importance
primarily in making judgments about the risks
involved in a design for public transport
system, wherein government, engineers and
citizens are involved?

22. CONCEPTUAL INQUIRIES
 Conceptual inquiries clarity the meaning of concepts,
principles and issues in Engineering Ethics.
For example:
1. What does ‘safety’ mean?
2. How is safety related to “Risk”?
3. What does it mean when codes of ethics say what
engineers should do and should not do?
4. Protective safety, Health and welfare of the people
5. What is a profession?
6. What defines professionals?
7. Where moral concepts are at issue, and how the
normative and conceptual inquiries are interrelated?

23. FACTUAL INQUIRIES
 The factual inquiries are descriptive (ACTUAL) enquiries.
 These inquiries give information that has got
bearing(relevance) upon value issues.
 They provide important information about the business
that are in practice during the same time.
These three types of inquiries are complimentary
(Appreciate) and interrelated.

24. MORAL DILEMMAS

25. MORAL DILEMMAS
Moral - Concerned with the principles of right and wrong
behaviour
Dilemmas - a difficult situation or problem (CONFUSION)
 Dilemma is a state of mind or situation in which we are
unable to decide in one way or other.
 When such a situation is combined with moral
considerations that is when we have to be morally correct,
then such a situation is known as “moral dilemma”.

26. Three sorts of situations that are involved in moral
dilemmas are as follows:
1. Problems of vagueness (not clearly)
2. Problems of conflicting reasons (incompatible or at
variance)
3. Problems of disagreement.

27.  Problems of vagueness:
An engineer may have doubts about whether
it is morally permissible to accept and expensive
“desk set” as a gift from a sales person with whom
their company does business.
will this amount to accepting a bribe ?
 Problems of conflicting reasons:
Two or more moral problems conflicting
each other.
Independently each one is good and correct.
But its comes together it is very difficult to
choose good one.

28. Problems of disagreement:
 Each individuals having different views, suggestions
and solutions on a moral problems in a particular reasons.
 The disagreement among individuals and groups on
involving moral issues will create moral dilemma.
 Example: Company inspection by customer.

29. MORAL AUTONOMY
 The aim of studying and teaching the engineering
ethics course is to foster(growth) the moral
autonomy of future engineers.
 Autonomy means “self-determining” or
“Independent”.
 Moral autonomy means that skill and habit of
thinking rationally (logic) and about ethical
issues based on morals.

30. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE MORAL
AUTONOMY
 Atmosphere of the person in his childhood.
 Ones relationship with friends and relatives
 Interaction with his neighbors
 Family structure and family economy
 Influence of religious institutions such as temple,
churches etc,
 Influence of educational institutions
 Influence of teachers and other mentors
 Influence of newspapers, novels movies etc,.
 Influence of some social events

31. SKILLS REQUIRED TO IMPROVE
MORAL AUTONOMY
 Skill required to identify and differentiate problems related to
LAW, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENT, SOCIETY ,AND RELIGION.
 Skill in understanding and evaluating the problems.
 The Ability to make Imaginative and creative alternative
solutions.
 Sensitive nature to engage with others problems and issues.
 Enough knowledge we need for support or defend one’s
moral views.

32. THEORIES OF MORAL AUTONOMY
1. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory
2. Carol Gilligan’s Theory
Moral Autonomy pertains to psychological theories of
moral development suggested by Lawrence Kohlberg
and Carol Gilligan
Lawrence Kohlberg’s Theory: suggested that there
are three levels of moral developments. They are
1. Pre-conventional level
2. Conventional level
3. Post-conventional level

34. Pre-conventional level: is to satisfy one’s own needs. The individual
is interested in things which directly benefit oneself.
Conventional level: is to follow accepted norms and satisfy
expectation of others.
In this level, the norms of one’s family, group or society are
accepted as the standards of morality.
Kohlberg studies reveal that most adults never mature
beyond this stage.
Post-Conventional level: In this guided by strong principles , not by
selfish needs or pressures from society.
Kohlberg says that only a few people in society reach the post-

35. CAROL GILLIGAN’S THEORY: studies about the approaches
made by male professionals and female professional to attain moral
autonomy.
 she criticizes that Kohlberg’s theory on moral autonomy is more
male – oriented.
 Gilligan’s studies suggest that there are more men interested in
trying to solve moral problems by applying moral principles.
 Male professionals solve moral dilemmas by determining the most
important moral rule.
 Women professional by contrast try to preserve personal
relationships with all people involved in a situation.
 Men = Ethics of rules and rights
 Women= Ethics of care
 And also she recasting….1. pre-conventional, 2. conventional, 3.
post-conventional

36.  1. pre-conventional:
 Almost same as the Kohlberg’s first level(Self centered reasoning)
 2. conventional:
 Differs from Kohlberg’s 2nd level.
 Women will not hurt others and have willingness to sacrifice their own
interests in order to help others.
 3. post-conventional:
 Differs from Kohlberg’s 3rd level.
 In this level Individual is able to maintain balance between his own needs
with the needs of others.

37. CONSENSUS AND CONTROVERSY
Consensus - a general agreement
Controversy - disagreement
 While exercising moral autonomy there some
decisions taken by the persons the other persons
cannot attain the same results, There may be a
kind of variations.

38. PROFESSION: profession means a “job” or an
“occupation”
PROFESSIONAL: A professional is someone who is
a member of a profession or someone who is
practicing a profession.
Professionalism: (job) means employed engineers
as professionals having obligations to both employers
and the public.

39. PROFESSION HAVE TO MEETS SPECIAL
CRITERIA
 Knowledge: involves sophisticated skills, theoretical
knowledge, judgment and discussion to be engaged in the
work.
 Organization – obey the rules and regulations
 Public good- Engineer can protect public health, safery.
 Honours of engineering profession: it is a great profession.
An engineer imagine with the help of science to draw a plan on
a paper. Then it is realized stone or metal or energy..

40. LIABILITIES OF ENGINEERING
PROFESSION
 The greatest liability(responsibility) of
engineer compared to other professionals is
that he works out in the open area, where all
can see them.
 He works hard.
 Engineer cannot bury his mistakes in the
grave as the doctors.
 Engineer cannot argue like lawyers blaming
the judges, like the politicians blaming the
opponents and so on.

41. THEORIES OF RIGHTS ACTION
 Theories of Rights Action are philosophical concepts
concerned with human nature and their rights and
duties to lead the life with ethical values.
 The concepts mainly focus on individual person’s
actions and their consequences.
 There are different versions of rights action
introduced by difference ethicists during the eighteen-
century Enlightenment.
 Era: utilitarianism; rights ethics, and duty.

42.  Right action is the action which controls by law;
 Right action considers to good consequences of
action;
 Right action is the action which is benefits to all;
 Right action is the consequences of action that is
not violate the moral rule.

43. UTILITARIANISM:
 Utilitarianism holds that those actions are produce the most
good for the most people, giving equal consideration to
everyone affected.
1. Act - utilitarianism holds that individual actions should
maximize utility. Not by general rules.
 An action is good if it benefits someone
 An action is bad if it harms someone

44. 2. RULE UTILIARIANISM:
Rule utilitarianism differs from act utilitarianism because
moral rules are more important than individual actions.

45. Right Ethics:
Right ethics holds that people have fundamental
rights that other people have a duty to respect
TWO VERSIONS OF RIGHT ETHICS:
1. LOCKE’S VERISON
2. MELDON’S VERISON

46. LOCKE’S VERISON:
Humans have human rights of life, liberty, property
generated by one’s labour.
Humans were highly individual, they cant interfere
with one’s life.
 MELDON’S VERISON:
 Human rights is intimately related to communities of
people.
 Community benefits needed for living a minimum decent
human life.

47. DUTY ETHICS :
 Duty ethics states that moral duties such as Being honest,
being help to others, these acts lead to the most good.
 Act so as to respect persons,
 Act on principles, and
 Act autonomously
 Two versions of duty ethics are:
1. Kant’s theory of duty ethics and
2. John rawls’s modern theory of duty ethics

48.  1. Kant’s Theory of duty:
 Duties are BE HONEST, DON’T SUFFER OTHER PEOPLE, SHOW
GRATITUTE FOR OTHERS, DON’T COMMIT SUSCIDE, IMPROVE
ONE’S OWN INTELLIGENTS AND CHARACTER
 ACCORDING TO KANT, DUTIES ARE:
 Express respect for persons (Equal respect for each person)
 Express un quantified commands for autonomous moral
 They are universal principles
 DRAWBACKS:
 Major problems are principles of duty were absolute they are
never having exceptations

49. 2. John Rawl’s modern theory:
 All rational persons in an imaginary “
CONTRACTING “Situation.
 The person more easily and honestly about moral
principles.

50. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN DUTY ETHICS
AND RIGHT ETHICS
 Duty ethics and right ethics are like two different
sides of same coin
 Both to achieve the same end result
 AS PER DUTY ETHICS : People have duties ,
Primary one to protect the right of others
 AS PER RIGHT ETHICS : People have fundmental
rights that others have protect their duties

51. USE OF ETHICAL THEORIES
Ethical theories have three important uses:
1. Understanding moral dilemma
2. Justify professional obligations and ideals
3. Relating ordinary and professional morality

52. 1. UNDERSTANDING MORAL DILEMMA
 Ethical theories help the professional in identifying the moral
consideration
Virtue ethics emphasize loyalty to employer and colleagues and
loyalty to public safety.
Duty ethics emphasizes that professional has duties to protect the
public affected by his work.
Right ethics emphasizes the rights of the public that are to be
protected, while at the same time, the rights of the management has
to be respected.
 It provides relevant information in solving moral dilemmas

53. 2. JUSTIFY PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATIONS AND
IDEALS
 It focuses the safety of public, while bringing
useful technological products to the public.
3.RELATING PROFESSIONAL AND ORDINARY
MORALITY
 Law
 codes of ethics
 safety obligations
 public to protect

54. SELF-INTEREST, CUSTOMS & RELIGION
1. Self-respect and Ethical Egoism:
 Self-interest means one’s personal good
 Ethical theories acknowledges the importance of
self-respect.
 Self-interest should be balanced and restrained by
moral responsibilities to other people.
Concept of ethical egoism:
 Sole duty of each of us is to maximize his or her own
good.
 Egoism is an exclusive concern to satisfy one’s own
interest, even at the possible expense of others.

55. CUSTOMS
Customs: an action or way of behaving that is usual
and traditional among the people in a particular
group or place.
Customs are considered to have a great
significance in deciding one’s moral values.

56. RELIGION
 It is understood that moral values are highly
influenced by religious beliefs.
 For example: the Christianity has been influential in
Western countries; Islam has been influential in the
Middle East; and Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Confucianism(a system of philosophical and ethical
teachings founded by Confucius and developed by
Mencius) have been influential in Asian countries