Ethics and Engineering Education

A presentation made at a Workshop on Philosophy and Engineering, Technical University of Delft, October 2007. A much shorter version of this paper has been submitted for consideration in the EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION 2008 Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs (SEFI); EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING EDUCATIONABET recommends the study of ethics so that students acquire “an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility”. For the most part, teaching of the subject relies upon the use of scenarios - both hypothetical and “real”- and open discussion framed by the codes. These scenarios and this framing strike me as seriously deficient - lacking in their attention to the complexities of context, almost solely focused on individual agency, while reflecting too narrow and simplistic a view of the responsibilities of the practicing engineer. A critique of several exemplary scenarios, and consideration of the demands placed upon today’s professional, prompt reflection on the need for, not just a more expansive reading of the codes of ethics re what it might mean to be “responsible”, but a substantial reform of undergraduate engineering education across the board