Engineering Ethics

By
Dr. Ganesh Chandra Chattopadhyay
 Meaning of the term “Ethics”
 The term 'Ethics' comes from the Greek word 'ethos', which means 'character‘
 Ethics is related to the philosophical science that deals with the issues of
propriety, rightness and wrongness of human character. What is right is ethical
and what is wrong is unethical. The words ‘proper’ 'fair' and 'just' are also used
in place of 'right’ and 'ethical'. Ethics is a matter of practical concern.
Why do we learn ethics?
 It is inescapable. The study of ethics leads to develop skills in articulating
(expressing) one’s values, to provide others with reasons for one’s actions and
gives means of questioning the values of others.
 It brings clarity in thought and in reasoning.
 Helps those people who want to be ethical. They like to keep their conduct
good in order to rise in their own self-esteem and building character.
 Helps people in adjusting and adhering to organizational values.
 Helps in reducing and avoiding stress.
 Helps in facing moral ethical dilemmas with confidence.
 ENGINEERING ETHICS
 Engineering ethics is the field of applied ethics and system of
moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering.
 Engineering ethics is defined by the codes and standards of
conduct endorsed by engineering (professional) societies with
respect to the particular set of beliefs, attitudes and habits
displayed by the individual or group

 Engineering Ethics is the activity and discipline aimed at

(a) Understanding the moral values that ought to guide engineering
profession or practice,
(b) Resolving moral issues in engineering, and
(c) Justifying the moral judgments in engineering. It deals with set of
moral problems and issues connected with engineering.
 ENGINEERING ETHICS
 Scope
The scope of engineering ethics is twofold:
 1. Ethics of the workplace which involves the co-workers and employees
in an organization.
 2. Ethics related to the product or work which involves the
transportation, warehousing, and use, besides the safety of the end
product and the environment outside the factory.
 Approach
There are conventionally two approaches in the study of ethics:
 1. Micro-ethics which deals with decisions and problems of individuals,
professionals, and companies.
 2. Macro-ethics which deals with the societal problems on a regional/
national level. For example, global issues, collective responsibilities of
groups such as professional societies and consumer groups
 SENSES OF ENGINEERING ETHICS

 There are two different senses (meanings) of engineering ethics,

namely the Normative and the Descriptive senses.
 The normative sense includes:
 (a) Knowing moral values, finding accurate solutions to moral
problems and justifying moral judgments in engineering practices,
 (b) Study of decisions, policies, and values that are morally desirable
in the engineering practice and research, and
 (c) Using codes of ethics and standards and applying them in their
transactions by engineers.
 The Descriptive sense refers to what specific individual or
group of engineers believe and act, without justifying their beliefs
or actions.
 VARIETY OF MORAL ISSUES
 The reasons for people including the employer and employees, behaving
unethically may be classified into three categories:
1. Resource Crunch
Due to pressure, through time limits, availability of money or budgetary
constraints, and technology decay or obsolescence.
2. Opportunity
(a) Double standards or behavior of the employers towards the employees and
the public
(b) Some organizations over-emphasize short-term gains and results at the
expense of themselves and others,
3. Attitude : Poor attitude of the employees set in due to
(a)Low morale of the employees because of dissatisfaction and downsizing,
(b) Absence of grievance redressal mechanism,
(c) Lack of promotion or career development policies or denied promotions,
 TYPES OF INQUIRIES
The three types of inquiries are discussed below to illustrate the differences and preference.
1. Normative Inquiry
It seeks to identify and justify the morally-desirable norms or standards that should guide
individuals and groups.
Normative questions are about what ought to be and what is good, based on moral values
1. How far does the obligation of engineers to protect public safety extend in any given
situation?
2. Conceptual Inquiry
It is directed to clarify the meaning of concepts or ideas or principles that are expressed by
words or by questions and statements. For example,
(a) What is meant by safety?
(b) How is it related to risk
3. Factual or Descriptive Inquiry
It is aimed to obtain facts needed for understanding and resolving value issues. Researchers
conduct factual inquiries using mathematical or statistical techniques.
The facts provide not only the reasons for moral problems but also enable us to develop
alternative ways of resolving moral problems. For example,
1. How were the benefits assessed?
2. What are procedures followed in risk assessment?
 MORAL DILEMMA
 Dilemmas are situations in which moral reasons come into conflict and
one is not clear of the immediate choice or solution of the problems.
Moral reasons could be rights, duties, goods or obligations.This makes
the decision making complex.
 For example, a person promised to meet a friend and dine, but he has
to help his uncle who is involved in an accident – here one has to fix
the priority
 The three complex situations leading to moral dilemmas are:
 1. The problem of vagueness: One is unable to distinguish between
good and bad (right or wrong) principle.
 2. The problem of conflicting reasons: One is unable to choose
between two good moral solutions. Here One has to fix priority,
through knowledge or value system.
 3. The problem of disagreement: There may be two or more
solutions and none of them mandatory. One has to interpret, apply
different morally reasons, and analyze and rank the decisions. Select the
best suitable, under the existing and the most probable conditions.
 Steps to Solve Dilemma
 1. Identification of the moral factors and reasons. The clarity to
identify the relevant moral values from among duties, rights, goods
and obligations is obtained (conceptual inquiry).
 2. Collection of all information, data, and facts (factual inquiry)
relevant to the situation
 3. Rank the moral options. E.g. in fulfilling responsibility, the codes
give prime importance to public safety and protection of the
environment, not individuals or the employers
 4. Generate alternative courses of action to resolve the dilemma.
Write down the main options and sub-options
 5. Discuss with colleagues and obtain their perspectives, priorities,
and suggestions on various alternatives.
 6. Decide upon a final course of action, based on priority fixed or
assumed.
 MORAL AUTONOMY
 Defined as, decisions and actions exercised on the basis of moral
concern for other people and recognition of good moral reasons.

 Threats: Periodical performance appraisals, tight-time schedules and fear

of foreign competition etc.
 To remember to tackle these problems:
 If management views profitability is more important than consistent quality
and retention of the customers that discourage the moral autonomy, engineers
are compelled to seek the support from their professional societies and
outside organizations for moral support.
 Blue-collar workers with the support of the union can adopt better
autonomy than the employed professionals.
 Only recently the legal support has been obtained by the professional
societies in exhibiting moral autonomy by professionals.
 MORAL AUTONOMY
 The engineering skills related to moral autonomy are listed as follows:
1. Proficiency in recognizing moral problems in engineering and ability to
distinguish as well as relate them to problems in law, economics, and
religion,
2. Skill in comprehending, clarifying, and critically-assessing arguments on
diverse aspects of moral issues,
3. Ability to form consistent and comprehensive view points based on facts,
4. Awareness of alternate responses to the issues and creative solutions for
practical difficulties,
5. Sensitivity to genuine difficulties and intricacies, including willingness to
undergo and tolerate some uncertainty while making decisions,
6. Using rational dialogue in resolving moral conflicts and developing
tolerance of different views.
7. Maintaining moral integrity (truth).
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT (THEORIES)
1. Lawrence Kohlberg Theory(based on human Psychology)
Kohlberg suggested three levels of moral development, based on the type of reasoning and motivation
of the individuals in response to moral questions that occurs over age and experience
In the pre-conventional level, right conduct for an individual is regarded as whatever directly
benefits oneself. At this level, individuals are motivated by obedience or the desire to avoid
punishment or to satisfy their own needs or by the influence by power on them. All young children
exhibit this tendency and few adults who never manage to go beyond it.
At the conventional level, people respect the law and authority. They want to please or satisfy,
and get approval by others and to meet the expectations of the society, rather than their self-interest
(e.g., good boy, good girl). Loyalty is regarded as most important. Many adults remain in this level.
At the post-conventional level, people are called autonomous (self-ruling). They live by general
principles (morality). They have no self-interest. They live by universally good principles and welfare
of others. They follow the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’. They
Maintain moral integrity, self-respect and respect for others.
Note: Kohlberg believed that individuals could only progress through these stages, one stage at a
time. He believed that most of the moral development occurs through social interactions.
 MORAL DEVELOPMENT (THEORIES)
2. Gilligan’s Theory (A former student and colleague of Kohlberg)
Carol Gilligan found that Kohlberg’s theory had a strong male bias and is based on abstract
moral principles overriding other rules. In contrast, women give importance to preserve
personal relationships with all the people involved.
She emphasized on maintaining personal relationships what was called the
ethics of care, in contrast with the ethics of rules and rights adopted by men.

Gilligan revised the three levels of moral development of Kohlberg, as stages of growth
towards ethics of caring.
The pre-conventional level, which is same as that of Kohlberg’s first one, right
conduct, is viewed in a selfish manner solely as what is good for oneself.
The second level called conventional level. Here the importance is on not hurting
others but willing to sacrifice one’s own interest and help others i.e. caring about others. This
is the characteristic feature of women.
At the post-conventional level, a reasoned balance is found between caring about others
and pursuing the self-interest.They balance one’s own need and the needs of others by
maintaining relationship based on mutual caring.
 An Example and stands of two theories
 The difference in these two theories is explained through the well-
known example, Heinz’s dilemma1. Heinz being poor and a debtor
could not buy the costly medicine for his sick wife, at ten times the
normal cost. Initially he begged the Pharmacist to sell at half the price
or allow him to pay for it later. Pharmacist refused to oblige him either
way. Finally he forcibly entered the Pharmacy and stole the drug.
 According to Kohlberg study, men observed that the theft was
morally ‘wrong’ at the conventional level, because the property right
was violated. But men at the post-conventional level, concluded that
the theft was ‘right’, as the life of the human being was in danger.
 But women observed that Heinz was wrong. They observed
that instead of stealing he could have tried other solutions (threatening
or payment in installments?) to convince the Pharmacist. Gilligan
however attributed the decision by women as context-oriented and
not on the basis of rules ranked in the order of priority.
 Consensus and controversy
Consensus means agreement and controversy means conflict
or disagreement.
In exercising moral autonomy, one is not likely to obtain the same results
as by others. This situation is likely to end in a controversy. This does not
mean forcing the engineers to reach unique moral solutions.

The ethics make the engineers realize the importance of

tolerance among them, in case of disagreement while applying moral
autonomy as they need to be autonomous, reasonable and responsible.
 MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL ROLES
Promotion of public good is the primary concern of the professional
engineers. There are several role models which provoke their thinking,
attitudes and actions.
1. Savior (rescuer): The engineer as a savior, save the society from
poverty, illiteracy, wastage, inefficiency, ill health, human dignity and lead
it to prosperity, through technological development and social planning.
2. Guardian: He guards the interests of the poor and general public. As
one who is conversant with technology development, is given the authority
befitting his expertise to determine what is best suited to the society.
3. Bureaucratic (organizational) Servant: He serves the organization
and the employers. The management of an enterprise fixes its goals and
assigns the job of problem solving to the engineer, who accepts the
challenge and shapes them into concrete achievements.
 MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL ROLES
4. Social Servant: It is one who exhibits social responsibility. The
engineer translates the interest and aspirations of the society into a reality,
remembering that his true master is the society at large. For example, Sir
M.Viswesvarayya.
5. Social Enabler and Catalyst (facilitator): It is one who changes the
society through technology by knowing desirability of the technological
development and minimizing the negative effects of it on people and their
living environment for further growth. For example, Sri Sundarlal
Bahuguna.
6. Game Player: He is neither a servant nor master. An engineer is an
assertive player, not a passive player who may carry out his master’s voice.
He plays a unique role successfully within the organization, enjoying the
excitement of the profession and having the satisfaction of surging ahead in
a competitive world. For example, Narayanamurthy, Infosys.
 THEORIES ABOUT RIGHT ACTION
(ETHICAL THEORIES)
Uses : The most important uses are:
1. They provide clarity, consistency, systematic and comprehensive understanding of moral
dilemmas.
2. It provides helpful practical guidance in moral issues towards the solution.
3. It justifies professional obligations and decisions, and
4. In relates ordinary and professional morality.
[

Example
If an ethical theory says that it is all right for engineers to make explosive devices without
the informed consent of the public, we can conclude that the theory is inadequate.
Theories and judgments are continually adjusted to each other until we reach a reflective
equilibrium. Most of the theories converge towards the welfare of the humanity. The duty
ethics and right ethics differ in great extent on their emphasis. But they remain
complementary always.
 Ethical Theories/Approaches
Several ethical theories have been developed over times. These theories converge and
reinforce the ethics, in deciding upon the actions and justifying the results. Some of them
are:
1. Utilitarian Theory (most good for most people):
The moral of this theory is ‘those actions are right that produce the greatest total
amount of human well-being’.
The term Utilitarianism was conceived in the 19th century by Jeremy Bentham and
John Stuart Mill. They suggested that the standard of right conduct is maximization of
good consequences.
Good consequences mean either ‘utilities’ or the ‘balance of good over evil’. This
approach weighs the costs and benefits.
In analyzing an issue in this approach, we have to:
(a) Identify the various courses of action available to us.
(b) Ask who will be affected by each action and what benefits or harms will
be derived from each.
(c) Choose the action that will produce the greatest benefits and the least harm. The
ethical action is the one that provides the greatest good for the greatest number.
 Utilitarian Theory - Examples
The act utilitarian theory permitted a few immoral actions.
Hence, there was need to develop rule utilitarian theory to
establish morality and justice, in the transactions.
Example, stealing an old computer from the employer will benefit
the employee more than the loss to the employer. As per Act
utilitarian, this action is right. But rule utilitarian observes this as
wrong, because the employee should act as ‘faithful agent or trustee of
the employees’.
In another example, some undisciplined engineers are terminated
with the blame for the mistakes they have not committed. The process
is unfair although this results in promotion of overall good.
 Ethical Theories/Approaches
2. Duty Ethics (contributed by different experts)
A. The duty ethics theory, proposed by Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) states
that actions are consequences of performance of one’s duties such as, ‘being
honest’, ‘not cause suffering of others’, ‘being fair to others’, ‘being grateful’,
‘keeping promises’ etc.
As per Kant we have duties to ourselves, as we are rational and autonomous
beings. We have a duty not to commit suicide; a duty to develop our talents and
a duty to avoid harmful drugs. Kant insisted that moral duties are categorical
imperatives. They are commands that we impose on ourselves as well as other
rational beings.
Example, a businessman is to be honest because honesty pays — in terms of
profits from customers and from avoiding jail for dishonesty.
B. On the other hand, the DUTY ethics theory, as enunciated by John Rawl,
gave importance to the actions that would be voluntarily agreed upon by all
persons concerned, assuming impartiality. His view emphasized the autonomy
each person exercises in forming agreements with other rational people.
 Ethical Theories/Approaches
3. Rights Theory (relates to individual human rights)
Rights are entitlement to act or to have another individual act in a certain
way. For every right, we have a corresponding duty of noninterference.
The RIGHTS approach to ethics has its roots in the 18th century philosopher Immanuel
Kant, who focused on the individual’s right to choose for oneself.
According to him, People are not objects to be manipulated; it is a violation of
human dignity to use people in ways they do not freely choose.
Rights a he advocated are:
1. The right to access the truth: We have a right to be told the truth and to be informed
about matters that significantly affect our choices.
2. The right of privacy: We have the right to do, believe, and say whatever we choose in
our personal lives so long as we do not violate the rights of others.
3. The right not to be injured: We have the right not to be harmed or injured unless we
freely and knowingly do something to deserve punishment.
4. The right to what is agreed: We have a right to what has been promised by those with
whom we have freely entered into a contract or agreement.
Ethical Theories/Approaches
In deciding whether an action is moral or immoral, we must ask, does the action respect
the moral rights of everyone? Actions are wrong to the extent that they violate the rights
of individuals; the more serious is the violation, the more wrongful is the action.

Human rights:
Human rights are explained in two forms, namely liberty rights and welfare rights.
Liberty rights are rights to exercise one’s liberty and stresses duties on other
people not to interfere with one’s freedom.
The Welfare Rights are the rights to benefit the needy for a decent human life,
when one can not earn those benefits and when those benefits are available in the society.
Economic rights:
In the free-market economy, the very purpose of the existence of the manufacturer, the
sellers and the service providers is to serve the consumer. The consumer is eligible to
exercise some rights.
The consumers’ six basic rights are: Right to Information, Right to Safety, Right to
Choice, Right to be Heard, Right to Redressal, and Right to Consumer Education.
 Ethical Theories/Approaches
4.TheVirtue Theory (relates to the traits of character making)
This emphasizes on the character rather than the rights or duties. The
character is the pattern of virtues (morally-desirable features).
The theory advocated by Aristotle, stressed on the tendency to act at
proper balance between extremes of conduct, emotion, desire, attitudes to
find the golden mean between the extremes of ‘excess’ or ‘deficiency’.
5. Justice (Fairness) Theory
Also advocated by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who said that
“equals should be treated equally and un-equals unequally.”
The basic moral question in this approach is:
How fair is an action?
Does it treat everyone in the same way, or does it show favoritism and
discrimination?
Issues create controversies simply because we do not bother to check the
fairness or justice. Both favoritism and discrimination are unjust and
wrong.
 6. THEORY OF SELF-INTEREST
It is pursuing what is good for oneself. It is very ethical to possess self-interest.
As per utilitarian theory, this interest should provide for the respect of others also.
Duty ethics recognizes this aspect as duties to ourselves. Then only one can help
others.
Right ethicist stresses our rights to pursue our own good.
Virtue ethics also accepts the importance of self-respect as link to social practices.
In Ethical Egoism, the self is conceived in a highly individualistic manner. However this
self interest should not degenerate into egoism or selfishness, i.e., maximizing only own
good in the pursuit (quest) of self-interest.
The ethical egoists hold that the society benefits to maximum when (a) the individuals
pursue their personal good and (b) the individual organizations pursue maximum profit as
a competitive enterprise.
This is claimed to improve the economy of the country as a whole, besides the individuals
as Self-interest is necessary initially to begin with. However, one’s self-interest should not
harm others. The principles of ‘Live and let (others) live’, and ‘reasonably fair
competition’ are recommended to professionals by the ethicists.
 CASE STUDY: CHOICE OF THE THEORY
The choice of the ethical theory to study a problem is illustrated herein with an example.
In tackling ethical problems, we can apply all the theories and analyze the actions and
results from different angles and see what result each theory gives rise to. This enables us
to examine the problem in different perspectives. Many a time, the result will be the same
though we have applied various theories.

Case: A chemical plant near a small town is discharging hazardous wastes into the fields
nearby. The ground water gets contaminated and significant health problems surface in the
community.
Since harm is caused to the residents, the action is unethical as per rights ethics. The
agriculturists who have the agrarian right of water supply have been over looked. The
pollutants may endanger their profession and welfare. Hence, rights ethics also concludes
that the action is unethical.
The effects of polluted water and the cost to purify the water by the municipality may out
weigh the economic benefits of the plant. Hence, the utilitarian analysis leads to the same
conclusion.
 CASE STUDY: CHOICE OF THE THEORY
The groundwater harms the people and caused health problems. Hence,
discharging the pollutants is unethical as per duty ethics.
Generally, because the rights of the individuals should weigh strongly than
the needs of the society as a whole, rights and duty ethics take precedence
over utilitarian considerations.
Caution is necessary in applying theory of virtue ethics. When we use the
word ‘honor’, we mean it to be a measure of dignity and integrity. It is a
positive virtue. When it points to ‘pride’ it is not a
virtue and has a negative connotation. History abounds with examples of
war, which have been fought and atrocities were committed on innocent
people in order to preserve the honor (pride) of an individual or a nation. In
using virtue ethics, we have to ensure that the traits of virtue are actually
virtuous and will not lead to negative consequences.