ME-310 Ethical & Legal Dimensions of

Engineering

Course Instructor/s:
• Dr. Naveed Ahmad
• Engr. Muhammad Arsalan Khan
Recommended Books:

1. Mike W. Martin & Roland Schinzinger, Ethics in

Engineering, 4th Edition, ISBN-13: 978-0072831153, 2004.
2. D.L. Marston, Law for Professional Engineers, 5th Ed.,
McGraw-Hill Ryerson, ISBN-13: 978-1260135909, 2019.
 Introduction to
“Engineering Ethics”

“Bringing the engineering profession within

the framework of morality.”
Scope of the Course:

• Engineers create products and processes to improve food

production, shelter, energy, communication, transportation,
health, and protection against natural calamities—and to
enhance the convenience and beauty of our everyday lives.
• They make possible spectacular human triumphs once only
dreamed of in myth and science fiction.
• Most technology, however, has double implications: As it
creates benefits, it raises new moral challenges.
• The major scope of this course is to understand the importance
of accepting and sharing moral responsibility within the
corporate setting in which today most engineering takes place,
and also the need for a basic congruence between the goals of
responsible professionals, professions, and corporations.
The Need of Ethics

• From designing a mere chicken coop Vs an extensive Space

shuttle programs
• From the use of SUVs Vs a normal Sedan
• An Engineer working in a plant releasing toxic wastes
• A flaw in the architect’s design
• Tactics of a contractor to maximize his profits
• Tactics of an industrialist to maximize his profits
Definition of Ethics

• Ethics is synonymous with morality.

• What is morality? Dictionaries tell us that morality is about right
and wrong, good and bad.
• But such definitions are incomplete, for these words also have
double meanings.
• Thus, to start a car, a person ought to put the key in the ignition;
that is the right thing to do. But is it the right thing to do if its not
your car?
• It refers to moral values that are sound or reasonable, actions
or policies that are morally required (right), morally permissible
(all right), or otherwise morally desirable (good).
Engineering ethics

• “It is the study of decisions, policies and values that are morally
desirable in engineering practice and research.”

• Engineering ethics consists of a system of moral principles that

apply to the practice of engineering. The field examines and
sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and
to the profession.
 Definition of Morality

Generally, it can be stated as

• Principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or
good and bad behavior.
To be specific
• It concerns respect both for others & ourselves being fair & just,
meeting obligations and respecting rights and not causing
unnecessary harm by dishonesty and cruelty.
• In addition, it involves the ideals of character study such as
integrity, gratitude and willingness to help people in distress
and it implies minimizing sufferings to animals and damage to
the environment.
Three worths were high lighted in the previous definition

• Human worth.

• Animal worth.

• Ecological worth
Why Study Engineering Ethics?

• Engineering ethics should be studied because it is important,

both in contributing to safe and useful technological products
and in giving meaning to engineers’ endeavors.
• In our view, the direct aim is to increase our ability to deal
effectively with moral 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.