Ethics in Environmental Engineering

Engineering Ethics Chapter 2

• Chapter 2 of Engineering Ethics, prepared by Dr. Omar Alkhatib, Dr. Mohammed Hamadan and Jon and modified by Mohammed Esmaail Shakfah, covers topics related to resolving ethical dilemmas, making moral choices, and codes of ethics.
• The document was prepared in Spring 2021.

Contents

• 2.1 Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
• 2.2 Making Moral Choices
• 2.3 Codes of Ethics

Personal Ethics - Everyday Examples

• Borrowing nuts and bolts, office supplies from employer
• Copying videos or CDs
• Plagiarism
• Using copy machines at work
• Software piracy
• Expense account padding
• Copying homework or tests

Ethics Vocabulary

• Ethical dilemmas are situations where moral reasons conflict, or moral values are unclear.
• Routine moral decision-making in engineering often requires weighing and balancing conflicting values.
• A reasonable solution to an ethical dilemma must be clear, informed, and well-reasoned.

Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas

• Moral Clarity: Identifying relevant moral values
• Conceptual Clarity: Clarifying key concepts (e.g., holding paramount, safety, welfare)
• Informed about the Facts: Obtaining relevant information, being certain about the facts
• Informed about the Options: Considering all potential options, including unlikely ones
• Well-Reasoned: Weighing relevant moral reasons and facts, careful reasoning

Case Study: Chemical Engineer

• A chemical engineer discovers her company may be illegally discharging lead and arsenic into the city sewer.
• Her supervisor argues the cost of pollution controls is too high, and the company is in compliance with the law.
• The engineer is scheduled to testify before town officials.
• The engineer needs to consider alternatives, including the safety implications of lead and arsenic discharge and perhaps speaking to colleagues.

Moral Clarity (Details)

• Identifying relevant moral values and reasons in a situation
• Including obligations, duties, rights, goods, ideals, and other moral considerations
• Using resources like:
  • Talking to colleagues
  • Interpreting moral frameworks
  • Applying professional codes of ethics

Conceptual Clarity (Details)

• Clarifying relevant concepts in a specific case study.
• Examples: Holding paramount, Safety, Welfare, Threat, Danger, Truthful, etc

Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas (page 9)

• Professionalism requires being a faithful agent of one's employer but doing what is good for the corporation long-term versus a supervisor's short-term goals.
• This could involve conflict when a supervisor's actions might harm the long-term interests of the corporation.

Informed about the Facts (Details)

• Gathering relevant information in regard to moral values.
• Making certain of the facts
• Uncertainty about the facts can be a key difficulty in resolving moral dilemmas.

Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas (page 11)

• The chemical engineer must carefully check findings and consult colleagues for perspectives.
• The need to understand the potential harm caused by specific quantities of lead and arsenic over time and its seriousness.

Informed about the Options (Details)

• Consider all options, not just obvious ones
• List all options and sub-options, even unlikely ones
• Writing down options as a matrix or decision tree can facilitate consideration of all options
• Examples being careful with a supervisor's orders or blowing the whistle.

Well-Reasoned

• Arriving at a carefully reasoned judgment by considering all relevant moral reasons and facts.
• Not a mechanical process; a more thorough deliberation where all facts, reasons, and values are considered in a manner consistent with moral values.
• Ethical codes can help, but they may not resolve all dilemmas or situations, and sometimes different codes or principles conflict.

Right-Wrong or Better-Worse?

• Right-wrong dilemmas: A clear course of action is obligatory, and deviating from it may be unethical
• Better-worse dilemmas: Several solutions exist, none completely mandatory. Choosing the best option will likely require careful consideration of possible moral implications.

Steps in Resolving Ethical Dilemmas (Page 15)

• Obeying the law and adhering to engineering standards
• Avoiding bribes and speaking/writing truthfully.
• Maintaining confidentiality

Case Study: Industrial owner

• Engineer A examines certain lands next to an industrial facility.
• The owner's attorney requests that A won't share data outside the legal process.
• A signs a confidentiality agreement.

Case Study: Software Engineering Engineer

• An engineer (A) designs specialized software.
• Software passes current tests, but is subject to new, stringent standards likely to make current testing insufficient.
• Company wants to move forward quickly but also maintain quality.
• Potential conflicts between short-term gains and long-term ramifications, company finances, and employee jobs.

2-Making Moral Choices (Page 18)

• Case Study: Aluminum Cans
  • US company controlled the aluminum can market since 1925, and often asked other companies to consult.
  • Monopolies were present and questioned as a "crime in US."
  • Managers had a picnic and needed aluminum can openers, but this inadvertently had a larger implication in asking employees to solve the issue.

Design Analogy: Whitbeck (page 19)

• Moral decision-making is similar to the engineering design process.
• Both design and ethical decision-making involve:
  • Engaged participation
  • Process similarities
  • Uncertainties and ambiguities being always present
  • Problems being dynamic (cluster of problems that evolve over time).

3-Code of Ethics

• Codes of ethics represent a profession's collective commitment to ethics; they identify engineers' responsibilities & the freedom to exercise professional judgment.
• Example codes include NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers).

3-Code of Ethics (NSPE) (Page 22)

• Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
• Perform services only in areas of competence.
• Issue public statements in an objective & truthful manner.
• Act in professional matters as faithful agents/trustees.
• Avoid deceptive acts.
• Conduct oneself honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully to enhance the profession's honor.

Importance of Codes

• Serving & Protecting the Public: Engineers have a fiduciary relationship with the public
• Guidance: Codes outline ethical responsibilities and give guidance for decision-making.
• Inspiration: Codes inspire a collective commitment from engineers to uphold public good
• Shared Standards: Ethical standards are created to address a diverse set of moral views
• Supportive Roles for Responsible Professionals: Gives ethical tools for when pressured by parties acting against professional codes.
• Education & Mutual Understanding: Codes help the public, government organizations, and other professionals understand the moral obligations of engineers.
• Deterrence & Discipline Codes facilitate investigation of unethical actions and can deter such conduct.
• Contributing to the Profession's Image Demonstrates engineering as an ethical profession committed to the public's interests.

Abuse of Codes

• Codes may not be acted upon or seriously enforced.
• Can stifle dissent; if taken absolutely rather than principles, then engineers can't honestly discuss various code provisions and obligations, which can hide immoral actions.
• Can restrict honest moral effort or restrain commerce.

Limitations of Codes

• Codes can have vague language, leading to unclear meanings.
• Conflicting entries are sometimes a problem within a code.
• Proliferation of multiple codes addressing different disciplines can become challenging.

Ethical Relativism

• Subjective Relativism: Moral judgments are based on individual preference.
• Cultural Relativism: Moral judgments depend on the norms of a particular culture, so certain actions are regarded as right or wrong within that culture alone.
• Emotivism: View that moral judgments express emotions, aiming to influence others, but not supported by valid moral reasons.
• Ethical Objectivism: Moral judgments are universally valid.
• Ethical Pragmatism: Understanding a code of ethics by recognizing and recording ethical obligations already practised by the profession.

Justification of Codes

• Clarity and Coherence: Codes need clear, consistent language.
• Systematic and Comprehensive: Cover a broad range of relevant situations/ethics.
• Compatibility with Moral Conviction: Align with generally acceptable moral beliefs

Mini-Project (1): Genetic Engineering and Cloning

• Ethical dilemma: Should an engineer accept a scholarship position in a genetically engineered product company involved in cloning, stem research, agricultural, medical, and military applications?
• Steps to address the ethical dilemma:
  • Discuss the ethical dilemma
  • Identify relevant facts
  • Identify involved parties/factors
  • Discuss relevant code of ethics principles