Professional

Ethics In Engineering

Lecture One
Lecturer / Ahmed A. Amer
University of Kufa
Electrical Engineering
 The Goal

To gain sense of professional responsibility

To better serve society

To gain knowledge and learn from past

engineering failure
 Ethics
 Ethics
Standards or codes of behavior expected of
an individual by a group
 Virtues
 Habits that incline people to do what is
acceptable
 Vices
Habits of unacceptable behavior

Virtues and vices define a personal value system

 Morals
•One’s personal beliefs about right and wrong

•Morals may vary according to:

–Age
–Cultural group
–Ethnic background
–Religion
–Life experiences
–Education
–Gender
 The Difference Between
Morals, Ethics, and Laws
 Morals: one’s personal beliefs about right
and wrong.
 Ethics: standards or codes of behavior
expected of an individual by a group.
 Law: system of rules that tells us what we
can and cannot do
– Laws are enforced by a set of institutions
– Legal acts conform to the law
 Why study ethics?
 When students enter the professional world,
they will be expected to follow clear ethical
code.
 To responsibly manage moral issues raised
by technological activity
 How to deal with ethical dilemmas in their
professional lives?
 To achieve moral autonomy
Stages of Moral Development

 Pre-conventional Level
Whatever benefits oneself or
avoids punishment
 Conventional Level
Uncritical acceptance of society’s
rules
 Post-conventional Level
Moral autonomy
 Moral Autonomy
 independent individuals think for
themselves and do not assume that
customs are always right.
 They seek to reason and live by
general principles.
 Their motivation is to do what is morally
reasonable for its own aim, keep
integrity, self-respect, and respect for
others.
 An example:
 “One who breaks an unjust law must do
so openly, lovingly, and with a
willingness to accept the penalty. I
submit that an individual who breaks a
law that conscience tells him is unjust
and willingly accepts the penalty… is in
reality expressing the highest respect for
the law.” Rev. Martin Luther King, 1963.
 The Four Main Virtues

 Prudence (mind): to think about a

moral problem clearly and
completely
 Temperance (emotions): control
attraction to positive emotions
 Fortitude (emotions): control
aversion for negative emotions
 Justice (will): choose according to
truth and fairness.
 Moral Responsibility
 Morality concerns the goodness of
optional human activity that effect the
self or other living existence .
 we have complete moral responsibility
for what we do with enough knowledge,
freedom. if we are not remain ignorant .