ENGINEERING ETHICS

Jim Ridler. P.Eng.

Clearly, the need for

engineers to meet

obligations and strive

for excellence has

never been greater.

ast year's engineering ethicsseries focused on the engineer'sworkplace, how to handle

related ethics issues and how the engi-neer could contribute to an ethicalworkplace. This year's series is going"back to the basics." Starting with therelevance of ethics to engineering and itsphilosophical underpinnings, we willmove on to professional standards andcharacter, ethical engineering decisionmaking and finally some thoughts onhow to maintain and enhance our ethi-cal professional engineering culture.

This year will also feature mini-cases,often based on questions from past PEOProfessional Practice & Ethics exams,upon which we will ask readers to com-ment. We will print responses as appro-

priate.This year's series and this issue's subject

are particularly topical because of the

ongoing licensure review and related dis-cussions. It is increasingly apparent thatengineering ethics is a fundamental foun-dation, not just a separate, equal and par-allel pillar alongside technical compe-tence. The debate about methods of assur-ing that this competence exists, and thatit is perceived to exist, ultimately endsup back on the subject of the ethics ofthe engineering profession and its mem-bers. For example, what level of trust isacceptable to provide the needed assur-ance? This inextricable link is clear in arti-cles in, and letters to, both The Link andEngineering Dimensions.

This debate is often driven by beliefswhich have their origins in different eth-ical theories of philosophy. While oftenonly implicit, these are theories of longstanding in society and centuries and evenmillennia of age.

In addition, PEo members are report-ed to be asking for more emphasis on theCode of Ethics and more proactive ele-ments of an ethics program (e.g. anombudsman). Taken together, all thisinput ftom PEo members shows the cur-rent vitality of the "ethics" subject in theengineering culture.

History of engineering

One of the reasons for this vitality is thelong tradition that has gone into build-ing engineering practice into a disci-pline, which can truly be called a voca-tion or calling. Thus we each share apride in our profession, based on thistradition and the integrity inherent in it.Engineers were building pyramids forthe Pharaohs, ships for the Phoenicians,cities for the Greeks and roads for theRomans. Later engineers developedmines for the Germans and the mechan-ical marvels behind the IndustrialRevolution. From these developmentscame the first engineering schools, then

ENGINEERING DIMENSIONS January/February '98

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