PHL 316: Engineering Ethics

Winter Term, 2004

Course objectives:

1. To become more knowledgeable about various types of ethical problems and the ways they can arise in the course of engineering work, so that ethical issues can be recognized, anticipated, and addressed before becoming dangerous, irresolvable, or costly crises.

2. To develop greater moral autonomy in engineering decision-making.  This involves skills in articulating (in both speaking and writing), critically reflecting upon, and justifying through reasoned argument our own moral beliefs.

3. To become familiar with some tools from contemporary moral philosophy and professional ethics (e.g., models, conceptual analyses, principles, and arguments) that help promote objective 2.

4. To develop greater appreciation for the nontechnical dimensions of good engineering. These include ethical virtues such as responsibility, integrity, fairness, fidelity, public spiritedness, and respect for autonomy, the claims of engineering to be a profession, and a better understanding of the social, political, economic, and cultural forces that shape engineering work. (See Albert Einstein's and Sharon Beder's statements on the course home page.)

5. To learn to recognize, define, discuss, analyze, and creatively resolve ethical issues in team environments.

[This course has been approved for the Values, Technology, and Society cluster and has been designed to promote the goals of that cluster.]

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