James 1:17

“Every good thing

given & every perfect
gift is from above
coming down the
Father of lights, with
whom there is no
variation or shifting
shadow”
 Engineers create products and processes to improve food
Introduction production, shelter, energy, communication, transformation,
health, and protection against natural calamities- and to
to enhance the convenience and beauty of our everyday lives.
They make possible spectacular human triumphs once only
Engineering dreamed of in myth and science fiction. Almost a century and
half ago in From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne imagined
Ethics American space travelers being launched from Florida, circling
the moon, and returning to splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
Engr. Sarah In December 1968, three astronauts aboard an Apollo
spacecraft did exactly that. Seven months later, on July 20
Marcos- 1969, Neil Armstrong took the first human step on the moon.
Faustino This extraordinary event was shared with millions of
earthbound people watching the live broadcast on television.
Engineering had transformed our sense of connection with the
cosmos and even fostered dreams of routine space travel for
ordinary citizens.
 Introduction
Most technology, however, has double implications: As it creates benefits, it
raises new moral challenges. Just an exploration of the moon and planets
stand as engineering triumphs, so the explosions to the space shuttles,
Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003, were tragedies that could have
been prevented had urgent warnings voiced by experienced engineers been
heeded. We will examine these and human error, for in considering ethics
and engineering alike we can learn from seeing how things go wrong.
In doing so, however, we should avoid allowing technological risks to
overshadow technological benefits. Ethics involves appreciating the vast
positive dimension of engineering that so deeply enriches our lives. To cite
only a few examples, each of us benefits from the top 20 engineering
achievements of the twentieth century, as identified by the National
Academy of Engineering: electrifications, automobiles, airplanes, water
supply, and distribution electronics, radio and television, agricultural
mechanization, computers, telephones, air-conditioning and refrigeration,
highways, spacecraft, internet, imaging technologies in medicine and
elsewhere, household appliances, health technologies, petrochemical
technologies, laser and fiber optics, nuclear technologies and high-
performance materials.
 Moral values and embedded in engineering projects as standards of
excellence, not “tacked on” as external burdens. This is true of even simple
engineering projects, as illustrated by the following assignment given to
Ethics and students in a freshman engineering course: *Design a chicken coop that would
increase egg and chicken production, using materials that are readily available
Excellence in and maintainable by local workers. The end users were to be the women of the
Engineering weaving cooperative who want to increase the protein in their children’s diet in
ways that are consistent with their traditional diet, while not appreciably
distracting from their weaving.
 The task proved more complex than first appeared. Students had to identify feasible building
Materials, decide between cages or one large fenced area, and design structures for strength and
endurance. They had to create great access for the villagers, including ample head and shoulder
room and entrance for a safe floor for bare feet. They had to ensure humane conditions for the
chickens, including adequate space and ventilation, comfort during climate changes, convenient Ethics and
delivery of food and water, and protection from local predators that could dig under fences. They
also had to improve cleaning procedures to minimize damage to the environment while recycling
Professionalism
chicken dropping as fertilizers. The primary goal, however, was to double the current chicken and egg
production. A number of design concepts were explored before a variation of fence-in concept
proved preferable to a set of cages. Additional modification needed to be made as students worked
with villagers to implement the design in ways that best served their needs and interests.
In combining myriad design goals and constraints, engineering projects integrate multiple moral
values connected with these goals and constraints for example, safety, efficiency, respect for persons,
and respect for the environment. As elsewhere, moral values are myriad, and they can give rise to
ethical dilemmas: situations in which moral reasons come into conflict, or in which the application of
moral values are problematic, and it is not immediately obvious what should be done. The moral
reason might be obligations, rights, goods, ideals, or other moral considerations. For example, at
what point are the aims of increasing chicken and egg production compromise humane conditions
for the animals?
Technical skills and morally good judgment need to go together in solving ethical dilemmas, and,
in general, in making moral choices. So do competence and conscientiousness, creativity and good
character. These combinations were identified by the ancient Greeks, whose word arête translated
into English as “excellent” or as “virtue”. In engineering, as in other professions, excellence and ethics
go together for the part and in the long run.
 Potential Moral Problems
To repeat, engineering generally does not consist of
completing design or processes one after another in a
straightforward progression of isolated tasks. Instead,
it involves a trial-and-error process with backtracking
based on decisions made after examining results
obtained along the way. The design iterations
resemble feedback loops, and like any well-functioning
feedback control system, engineering takes into
account natural and social environments that affect
the product and people using it. “Let us therefore
revisit the engineering task, this time as listed in table
1-1, along with examples of problems that might arise.
The grab bag of problems in Table 1-1 can arise from short-
comings on the part of engineers, their supervisors, vendors, or
the operator of the product. The underlying cause can have
different forms:
1.Lack of vision, which in the form of tunnel vision biased toward traditional pursuits
overlooks suitable alternatives, and in the form of groupthink promotes acceptance at the
expense of critical thinking.
2.Incompetence among engineers carrying out technical tasks
3.Lack of tie or lack of proper materials, both ascribable to poor management
4.A silo mentality that keeps information compartmentalized rather than shared across
different departments.
5.The notion that there are safety engineers somewhere down the line to catch potential
problems
6.Improper use or disposal of the product by an unwary owner or user
7.Dishonesty in any activity shown in Figure 1-2 pressure y management to take shortcuts.
8.Inattention to how the product is performing after it is sold and when in use
Although this list is not complete, it hints at the range of problems that can generate moral
challenges for engineers. It also suggests why engineers need foresight and caution,
especially in imagining who might be affected indirectly by their products and by their
decisions, in good or harmful ways.
 In light of this overview of moral complexity I engineering, we can
now define engineering ethics and state the goals in studying it. The
word ethics has several meanings, and hence so does engineering
ethics. In one sense, ethics is synonymous with morality. It refers to
What is moral values that are sound or reasonable, actions or policies that are
morally required(right), orally permissible(all right), or otherwise
Engineering morally desirable (goods). Accordingly, engineering ethics consists of
the responsibilities and rights that ought to be endorsed by those
Ethics? engaged in engineering, and also of desirable ideas and personal
commitments in engineering.
In the second sense, the one used in the title of this book, ethics is
the activity (and field) of studying morality; it is inquiry into ethics in
the first sense. It studies which actions, goals, principles, policies &
laws are morally justified. Using this sense, engineering ethics is the
study of the decisions, policies, values that are morally desirable in
engineering practice and research.
Table1.1 Engineering Task & Possible Problems
Task A selection of possible problems
Conceptual design Blind to new concepts. Violation of new patents or trade secrets. Product to be used illegally.

Goals; performance Unrealistic assumptions. Design depends on unavailable or untested materials Specification

Preliminary Analysis Uneven: Overlay detailed in designer’s area of expertise, marginal elsewhere

Detailed Analysis Uncritical use of handbook data and computer programs based on unidentified methodologist

Simulation Prototyping Testing of prototype done only under most favorable conditions or not completed

Design Specification Too tight for adjustment during manufacture and use. Design changes not carefully checked

Scheduling of task Promise of unrealistic completion based on insufficient allowance for unexpected events

Purchasing Specifications written to favor one vendor. Bribes, kickbacks. Inadequate testing of purchased part

Fabrication of Parts Variable quality of materials and workmanship. Us materials and component not detected.

Assembly/Construction Workplace safety. Disregard of repetitive-motion stress on workers. Poor control of toxic wastes.

Quality control/ testing Not independent. But controlled by the production manager. Hence, tests rushed or results falsified

Advertising and sales False advertising(availability, quality). Product over- sold beyond client’s need or means

Shipping, Installation, Product too large to ship by land. Installation and training subcontracted out, training inadequately supervised.

Safety measures and Reliance on overlay complex, failure-prone devices. Lack of simple “safety-devices exit”.

Used Use appropriately or for illegal applications, Over-loaded. Operations manuals not ready

Maintenance, parts,, Inadequate supply of spare parts. Hesitation to recall the product when repairs found to be faulty

Monitoring effect of No formal procedure for following life cycle of product, its effect on society product and the environment.

Recycling disposal Lack of attention to ultimate dismantling, disposal of product, public notification of hazards
These two senses are normative: They refer to justified values, desirable (not merely desire) choices, and
sound policies. Normative sense differs from descriptive sense of ethics. In one descriptive sense, we
speak of Henry Ford’s ethics, or the ethics of American engineers, referring thereby to what specific
individuals or groups believe and how they act, without implying that their beliefs and actions are
justified. In another descriptive sense, social scientists study ethics when they describe and explain what
people believe and what they act; they conduct opinion polls, observe behavior, examine documents
written by professional societies, and uncover the social forces shaping engineering ethics.
In its normative senses, “engineering ethics” refers to justified moral values in engineering, but what are
moral values?. What is morality? Dictionaries tell us that morality is about right and wrong, good and bad,
values and what ought to be done. But such definitions are incomplete, for these words also have non
moral meanings. Thus, to start a car a person ought to put the key in the ignitions; that Is the right thing to
do. Again, chocolates tasted goods, and beauty is an aesthetic value. In contrast, morality concerns right
and wrong, moral good and bad, moral values, and morality ought to be done. Saying this is not especially
illuminating, however, for It is a circular definition that uses the word we are trying to define.
As it turns out, morality is not easy to define in any comprehensive way. Of course, we can all give
examples of moral values, such as honesty, courage, compassion, and justice. Yet, the moment we try to
prove a comprehensive definition of morality we are drawn into at least rudimentary ethical theory. For
example, if we say morality consists in promoting the most good, we are invoking an ethical theory called
utilitarianism. If we say that morality is about human rights, we invoke right ethics. And if we say that
morality is essentially about good character, we might be invoking virtual ethics.
Why Study Engineering Ethics
Engineering ethics should be studied because it is important, both in contributing to
safe and useful technological products and giving meaning to engineers’ endeavors. It is
also complex, in ways that calls for serious reflection throughout a career, beginning with
earning a degree. But beyond these general observations, what specific aims should
guide the study of engineering ethics?
In our view, the direct aim is to increase our ability to deal effectively with oral
complexity in engineering. Accordingly, the study of engineering ethics strengthens our
ability to reason clearly and carefully about moral questions. To invoke terms widely
used in ethics, the unifying goal is to increase moral autonomy.
Autonomy means self-determining, but not just any kind of independent reflection
about ethics amounts to moral autonomy. Moral autonomy can be viewed as the skill
and habit of thinking rationally about ethical issues on the basis of moral concern and
commitments. This foundation of general responsiveness to moral values derives
primarily from the training we receive as children in being sensitive to the needs and
rights of others, as well as of ourselves. When such training is absent, as it often is with
seriously abused children, the tragic result can be an adult sociopath who lacks a sense
of moral right and wrong. Sociopaths(or psychopaths) are not morally autonomous,
regardless of how independent their intellectual reasoning about ethics might be.
Improving the ability to reflect carefully on moral issues can be
accomplished by improving various practical skills that will help
produce autonomous thought about moral issues. As related in
engineering ethics, these skills include the following:
1.Moral awareness: Proficiency in recognizing moral problems and
issues in engineering
2.Cogent moral reasoning: Comprehending, clarifying, and assessing
arguments on opposing sides of moral issues
3.Moral coherence: Forming consistent and comprehensive view
points based on consideration of relevant facts
4.Moral imagination: Discerning alternative responses to moral
issues and finding creative solutions for practical difficulties
5.Moral communication: Precision in use of common ethical
language, a skill needed to express and support one’s moral views
adequately to other
 These are the direct goals in college courses. They center on cognitive skills- skills of the
intellectual in thinking clearly and cogently. It is possible, however, to have these skills and yet
not act morally in responsible ways. Should we therefore add to our list of goals the following
goals that specify aspects of moral commitment and responsible conduct?
6.Moral reasonableness: The willingness and ability to be morally reasonable
7.Respect for persons: Genuine concern for well-being of others as well as oneself
8.Tolerance of diversity: within a broad range, respect for ethics and religious differences and
acceptance of reasonable differences in moral perspective
9.Moral hope: Enriched appreciation of the possibilities of using dialogue in resolving moral
conflicts
10.Integrity: Maintaining moral integrity and integrating one’s professional life and personal
convictions.

In our view we should add these goals to the study of engineering ethics, for without them
there would be little practical point in studying ethics. At the same time, the goals are often
best pursued implicitly and indirectly, more in how materials are studied and taught than in
reaching and testing. A foundation of moral concern must be presupposed, as well as evoked
and expanded, in studying ethics at the college level.
 CODE OF ETHICS
It shall be considered unprofessional and inconsistent with honorable and dignified bearing for any registered Civil Engineer:

*To act for his clients* in professional matters otherwise than as a faithful agent or trustee, or to accept any remuneration other than his
stated charges for services rendered to his clients.

*To attempt to injure falsely or maliciously, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation, prospects, or business of another Engineer.

*To attempt to supplant another Engineer after definite steps have been taken toward his employment.

*To compete with another Engineer for employment based on his professional charges, by reducing his usual charges and in his manner
attempting to underbid after being informed of the charges named by another.

*To review the work of another engineer for the same client, except with the knowledge or consent of such Engineer, or unless the
connection of such Engineer with the work has been terminated.

*To advertise in self-laudatory language, or any other manner derogatory to the dignity of the Profession.

*To use the advantages of a salaried position to compete unfairly with Engineers in private practice.

*To act in any manner or engage in any practice which will tend to bring discredit on the honor or dignity of the Engineering Profession.

-the word “clients” is considered to be inclusive of the meaning of the word “employers”
 Fundamental Principles

Civil engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the civil
engineering profession by:

1. using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the
environment;

2. being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their
employers/employees and clients;

3. striving to increase the competence and prestige of the civil engineering profession;
and

4. supporting the professional and technical societies of their disciplines.

Fundamental Canons
James 1:17

“Every good thing

given & every perfect
gift is from above
coming down the
Father of lights, with
whom there is no
variation or shifting
shadow”

THANK YOU & GOD

BLESS EVERYONE!