Professional Ethics

Three Unhelpful Views about Technology 1. Technology is a good thing. It liberates human beings and brings about prosperity (utopia). 2. Technology is a bad thing. It is an autonomous force that threatens individuality, freedom, and the environment. 3. Technology s nt as important as the first two groups think. History has shown that people can and have adapted to changes in technology. All three of these views are oversimplifications that fail to grasp how technology causes social change and how it affects the future. Some Countervailing Considerations: 1. Informational technology has not been the boon it was supposed to be in education. 2. The range of possibility and human choice implicit in technology seems to go against pessimism about the effects of technology on human freedom. 3. Technology, the organization of knowledge for practical purposes, is a genuine matter of concern, since (with its pervasive influence) it has ma

Engineering ethics is the field of applied ethics which examines and sets standards for engineer’s obligations to the public, their clients, employers and the profession. This essay addresses the subject for both professional engineers and other engineers. Engineering does not have a single uniform system, or standard, of ethical conduct across the entire profession. Ethical approaches vary somewhat by discipline and jurisdiction, but are most influenced by whether the engineers are independently providing professional services to clients or the public if employed in governmental services; or if they are employees of an enterprise creating products for sale. In the United States the first are usually licensed Professional engineers, are governed by statute, and have fairly consistent codes of professional ethics. The latter, working as engineers in industry, are governed by various laws including whistleblowing, and product liability laws, and often rely on principles of