APPLIEDSCIENCE450

ProfessionalEngineeringPractice
Choice,Ethics,ProfessionalEthics,
PersonalEthics,andEngineeringEthics
W.ScottDunbar,PhD,PEng

TheBystanderscenario

you

fiveworkers
sleeper

Youarewalkingbyarailwaytrackandnoticeatankcarfullof
propaneheadingtowardfiveworkerswhocannotescapean
inevitableexplosion.
Amanissleepingonthesiding.
Wouldyoupulltheleveranddivertthetankcartothesiding?

Notjustathoughtexperiment

Friday,June20,2003,11:58am,Commerce,Ca
Thirtyone freight train cars carrying lumber broke loose during a
switching operation and rolled 27 miles before railroad officials
switched the cars to a side track in Commerce.
Twentyeight of the cars derailed, crashing into three homes and
injuring 13 people.
The runaway cars went through 25 highway rail crossings and
reached estimated speeds of 95 mph.
Sources: CNN .com, NTSB accident report NTSB/RAB04/03

Acloserlook

Railways

TheresultinCommerce,Ca

Source: www.trainweb.com
6

UnionPacificspokesperson
UP knew the maneuver was likely to cause a derailment, but it
would have been more dangerous to allow the train to continue
moving into central Los Angeles.

... they did this [because] the train was headed to the more
populated area of Los Angeles, where there are possibly commuter
trains and more population.

TheFootbridgescenario
you

averylarge
person

fiveworkers

Youareonafootbridgeoverarailwaytrackandnoticeatankcarfull
ofpropaneheadingtowardfiveworkerswhocannotescapean
inevitableexplosion.
Nexttoyouisaverylargeperson.
Wouldyoupushthelargepersonoffthefootbridgetostopthe
train?
8

Notes:TheBystanderandFootbridgescenarios
Trolley problems like these are used as models for a number of moral dilemmas:
You are a doctor in a warravaged country. You have five patients, each of whom is about to
die due to a failing organ of some kind. You have another patient with healthy organs, but
who is on life support due to brain damage.
Is it appropriate for you to remove the life support from the man so that he will die and you
can transplant five of his organs into the bodies of the other five patients?

Enemy soldiers have taken over your village. They have orders to kill all remaining civilians.
You and some of your townspeople have sought refuge in the cellar of a large house.
Outside you hear the voices of soldiers who have come to search the house for valuables.
Your baby begins to cry loudly. You cover his mouth to block the sound. If you remove your
hand from his mouth his crying will summon the attention of the soldiers who will kill you,
your child, and the others hiding out in the cellar. To save yourself and the others you must
smother your child to death.
Is it appropriate for you to smother your child in order to save yourself and the other
townspeople?
9

AFootbridgelikedilemmaforyou
You discover that a work colleague (and a close friend) has managed
to embezzle a large sum of money from the company. He has denied
it but you have enough evidence to know he is lying.
If you report him, he will be fired, possibly go to jail, and his life and
job prospects will be ruined. If you dont report him, the
embezzlement will likely continue, the company could go bankrupt,
and you will be out of a job.
Howwouldyouhandlesuchasituation?
Analogies:
Largeperson yourfriend
Fiveworkers yourcompany

10

Sowhatshouldonedo?

11

Itsauniversalconcept:
Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how
could I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353
Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his
brother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al
Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."
Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This
is the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.
Yoruba people: (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick to
pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it
hurts."
12

andagreatidea,but
whatifyouareoneofthosewholikesitwhenothers
insultyou,
orifyou(subtly)trytoattractclientsawayfromother
engineeringconsultants
TheGoldenRuledoesnottelluswhattodo;
itisaconsistencyprinciple

13

Whatisneededisanethicalnorm
Similartoadesignstandard

Resultsof
actionsareused
tomakechoices

Rulesalways
appliedto
makechoices
Takeyourpick
14

ActUtilitarianism
Actionsthatproducethegreatestbenefit(orutility,orhappiness)
forthegreatestnumberofpeoplearemorallycorrect

Hedoniccalculus:
Analgorithmtoestimatethemoralstatusofany
actionbyestimatingtheamountofhappinessin
theaction
Eachactionconsideredindividually
JeremyBentham
17481832

15

RuleUtilitarianism
Chooserulesorpracticesthatwilltendtoproducethegreatest
benefitforthegreatestnumber

If such rules were generally accepted, then there

will result the greatest benefit for the greatest
number
Rules may apply over a number of acts.
JohnStuartMill
18061873
16

Notes:RuleUtilitarianism
Act and rule utilitarianism can produce different results because an act utilitarian considers
each act individually, whereas a rule utilitarian tends to apply rules over a number of acts.
Thus in a particular situation, if lying leads to a result whose benefits outweigh the costs,
then as an act utilitarian you should lie. However, as a rule utilitarian you would be guided
by a statement such as Lying never pays. (Note the consideration of consequences.)
Heres an example.
Your company is in negotiations with a potential client for a major contract. The client is
particularly interested in the skills of one of the senior engineers in the company and will
likely give your company the contract because of this. Unfortunately, two days ago, the
senior engineer had an accident and it appears that she will remain in the hospital for a
minimum of two weeks and then will be in therapy for at least six months. She may be able
to work once out of the hospital, but not for too many hours during the day. Because she is
in the hospital, she cannot attend todays meeting between your company and the client
during which the client expresses their wish to start the work within a week. One of the
clients staff asks where she is. What do you say? Should you be an act utilitarian and
consider that the benefits of lying outweigh the costs, or should you be a ruleutilitarian
and follow the rule Lying never pays?
17

Notes:Aspectrumofnorms
In rulebased
consequences
considered) if
circumstances

ethics actions are guided by absolute, categorical rules, not by the

of actions. The rules may be violated (i.e., consequences of an act may be
one accepts that others may do the same at any time under the same
(e.g., lying to avoid someones death)

In resultsbased ethics the benefits and costs of the consequences of a particular act are
estimated to determine whether to carry out the act. Note that each act is considered
separately which could lead to different results in different circumstances.
In between is rulebased utilitarianism where rules that provide the greatest benefit to the
greatest number are used to guide actions. The severity of the rules may vary from weak to
almost categorical, but they are still based on the consequences of acts.
This is not a continuous spectrum. There is a discontinuity between rulebased
utilitarianism and the other two ethical norms on the left and right. This is because rules
based on consequences can not be constructed to approximate absolute, categorical rules
and because act utilitarianism does not consider rules at all.

18

Butthereareproblems
Howdoyoumeasurebenefits?
Whatactionsorpracticesshouldbeconsidered?
Whatifresultsareuncertain?
Howbigagroupisthegreatestnumberofpeople?
Benefitsmaycomeattheexpenseoftherightsof
individuals.Injusticeispossible.

19

AswanHighDam,Egypt

LakeNassar
20

Utilitarianaccounting:AswanHighDam
Costs
Foreseen:
Largeconstructioncosts
Relocationof80,000people

Unforeseen:
Nodepositionoffertilesoil
downstreamofdam

Benefits
Hydropower
Irrigation
Farmland
FishingindustryinLakeNassar
allapparentlygoodthings

Siltaccumulatesbehinddam
IrrigationditchesahabitatforBulinus
snail,ahostforthebilharziaparasite
thatburrowsintothehumanbody
21

Notes:Utilitarianaccounting:AswanHighDam

No deposition of fertile soil occurs downstream of dam farmers must now use fertilizer to
grow crops, an additional cost.
An agricultural system in existence for millennia was destroyed.
No annual floods to flush out salts leading to soil salinity problems
Silt accumulates behind dam reducing reservoir volume and hydropower potential
Irrigation ditches a perfect habitat for Bulinus snail, a host for the bilharzia parasite that
burrows into the human body and causes damage to organs, impairs growth and cognitive
development in children. The result is increased medical costs.

22

Rulebasedethics
Selectionofmoralactionsmustbebasedonrules
Selectionisnotexclusivelyafunctionofconsequences

Forexample
Neverlie

ImmanuelKant
17241804

Noexceptions,eveniflyingwouldprotect
someonefromharm
23

Kantandrulebasedethics
Rulesformoralconductareabsoluteand
mustbederivedfromrationalthought,independentof
consequences andexperience
mustbeuniversalandconsistent applytoeveryone
andtoallsimilarcases
Arationalruleisnotselfdefeating

24

Lieifitbenefitsyou
Shouldthisbeauniversalmoralrule?
If everyone lied, no one would believe anyone, including
you, and the possibility that something is true would
disappear.
Itsaninconsistentrule,notrational,selfdefeating
Cantbeuniversal

25

Notes:Kantandrulebasedethics
Suppose you find a wallet on the street. As a utilitarian, you might want to give the money
to a homeless person spread the wealth, do the most good.
But rulebased ethics would say:
A rational person would return the wallet because it is the right thing to do, no matter
what the consequences. One would always want someone else to do the same thing.
If lost wallets were not returned by others, the world would be a chaotic place.

26

Hypotheticalvs Categoricalrules
Hypotheticalruleshaveconditionsattached:
Tellthetruthonlyifitbenefitsmanypeople
Theconditionsleadtoinconsistency.
Categoricalrulesresultfromreasoningandhavenosuchconditions:
Tellthetruth
Firstformulationofthe CategoricalImperative(CI)
CI(1): Follow a categorical rule; to do otherwise is irrational
because it is inconsistent and selfdefeating
27

Consistency,yes,butisitright?
CI(1) provides a means to determine consistency but no means to
decide if an act is right or wrong.
e.g.,itisselfdefeatingtolie,butisitwrong?
Rationalpeoplerequiredformoralbehaviour
rationalpeoplearetoberespected aprimarymotive
SecondformulationoftheCategoricalImperative (CI)
CI(2): To be morally right, an act must not use a rational person
only as a means to an end
28

Notes:Consistency,yes,butisitright?

What does it mean to treat someone as an end and not as a means? If morality is derived
from reason, then rational people are a fundamental requirement. Without rational people
capable of acting autonomously on the basis of reason, morality would disappear.
Therefore, all rational people are to be treated with respect, as an end, not merely or only
as a means to attain some other goal.
Consider someone who is willing to loan money and you only know her because of her
willingness to lend money. You cannot lie to her about your ability to repay a loan because
that would be manipulation, using her as a means to an end. It would have no respect for
her rationality. An alternative is to say that you may not be able to repay the loan and let
her freely decide what to do based on her own set of values. If, for example, you want to
borrow the money for a good cause, she may decide to give you the money for that
purpose thus choosing to make your goal her own.

29

Rulescanconflict
Tworationalandconsistentrules:
Alwaystellthetruth
Donotharmpeople
Whatiftellingthetruthwillharmsomeone?
Either
one of these rules is not rational and consistent or,
ruleviolationispossibleifoneacceptsthatothersmay
dothesameatanytimeunderthesamecircumstances
30

Notes:Categoricalrulescanconflict
Kants insistence on absolute rules that can never be violated was challenged by the Case
of the Inquiring Murderer proposed by a Swiss contemporary of Kant named Benjamin
Constant. Suppose a man runs past you and says he is being chased by a murderer and is
going to hide in his house. Then along comes the murderer and, knowing that you must
have seen the man, asks where the man went. What do you do? If you tell the truth the
man will likely be murdered. Remaining silent will likely get you in trouble. Lying to send
the murderer the wrong way would save the mans life. But then you have violated the rule
Always tell the truth.
Most people think that it is obvious that you should lie what is more important: telling
the truth or saving someones life? Thus the idea that rule violation is possible under the
same circumstances.

31

Isthisconsistentandrational?
APEGBCCodeofEthics,Item5:
Uphold the principles of appropriate and adequate
compensation for the performance of engineering and
geoscience work.
Rational: to do otherwise would lower the value of
engineering which would be selfdefeating
Consistent: applies to every engineer or geoscientist
YesandYes
32

RichardTaylordoesntthinkitspossibletobeKantian
If I were ever to find, as I luckily never have, a man who
assured me that he really believed Kants metaphysical
morals, and that he modeled his own conduct and his
relations with others after those principles, then my
incredulity and distrust of him as a human being could not be
greater than if he told me he regularly drowned children just
to see them squirm.
Taylor,R.,1970.GoodandEvil.Macmillan,p.xii

33

Ethicsis
a framework for the study of personal or professional
dilemmas using ethical norms
Oftenmorality ethicsbutadistinctionisnecessary:
Moraloramoralconductissomethingpersonaland
privateandmayormaynotbeethical
Forexample,theconductofaprofessionalisusuallyeither
ethicalorunethical,notmoraloramoral

34

Ethicsisnot
Religion
Individualmorality
Obeyingthelaw
Blindlyfollowingprofessionalcodes
Followingstandardpractice
Actsinanycontextarenotnecessarilyethical
Ethicsstandsindependent

35

Professionalethics
Standards used to guide conduct of professionals at all
times, but especially when practicing their profession.
Ethics can be used to judge professional ethical standards

Professional
Ethics

36

Individualmorality
What you were taught by your parents, religion, and culture
Ethics is not related to culture or religion but can be used to
assess individual morality

Individual
morality
37

Therelationships
Ethicsand
ethicalnorms
Thelaw

Professional
Ethics
Individual
morality
Possible
interaction

Onesculture,
religion,
upbringing
38

Notes:Therelationships
This distinction and separation between professional ethics and individual morality is
important since it can be used to illustrate the situations in which professional ethics
applies and where it does not or cannot.
Possible interaction between professional ethics and individual morality. For example,
suppose your individual morality makes you uncomfortable with working on matters
related to national defence or with the development of processes involving genetic
engineering. A professional code of ethics cannot help you determine the best course of
action in such a situation. But if you do decide to do the work, you must do it according to
the standards set by the code of ethics.
A more difficult example is whether you should tell your boss that your work colleague
(and close friend) has embezzled money from the company. For most people, the situation
is this: embezzlement is in conflict with individual morality but there is this nagging issue of
what effect disclosure of the crime could have on your friend. However, from a professional
ethics perspective, you have a duty to your employer.

39

Whatisit?Thefirstdecisionorchoice
Personalissue

Professionalethics
Legalissue
Anonissue

40

Thiscouldbealegalissue
You discover that a work colleague (and a close friend) has managed
to embezzle a large sum of money from the company. He has denied
it but you have enough evidence to know he is lying.
If you report him, he will be fired, possibly go to jail, and his life and
job prospects will be ruined. If you dont report him, the
embezzlement will likely continue, the company could go bankrupt,
and you will be out of a job.
Howwouldyouhandlesuchasituation?
Analogies:
Largeperson yourfriend
Fiveworkers yourcompany

41

Artisanalmining
Step1:minealotofsoil

fromadeepunventilated,unsupportedhole
Source:http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/ Sept17,2012
42

orfromalargepitusingchildlabor

Source:http://africasacountry.com/ May17,2011
43

Steps2a,2b,and2c
Mixsoilwithwaterandmercury

toformanamalgam
ofgoldandmercury

Throwawaythemercury
contaminatedsoilandwater
mixture
Source:Science,Sept27,2013
44

Step3:Coverthenoseandburnoffthemercury

Source:Science,Sept27,2013

45

Whatissuesdidyouperceivewithartisanal
mining?

46

Notes:ArtisanalMining asafetyissue
Artisanal miners dig very deep holes in soil or clay to mine gold entrained in the sediments
by weathering of rocks lying beneath the sediments. Most of this type of mining occurs in
equatorial latitudes. It is extremely dangerous since the holes may cave in or become
flooded. Ventilation in these holes is also nonexistent and suffocation can occur.
Water and mercury are mixed with the soil and an amalgam forms with gold particles. Then
the mercury is boiled off leaving a gold nugget. The remaining soil and water, which is
contaminated with mercury, is thrown out and finds its way into surface and groundwater.
Mercury vapor resulting from the boiling is toxic and can lead to brain damage.
It is possible to make the mining safer, but how and who should do it? There is also the
issue that if one makes it safer by say, having the miners place supports (e.g., trench boxes)
against the walls of the excavation, what guarantee is there that it will be done or even
done properly? Training would be required. A $30 retort will capture most of the mercury
vapor, but its not used because it is thought that it reduces recovery of the gold
These miners are poor people and are willing to take large risks to obtain gold its
subsistence mining.
47

TheAltamontConcert,December6,1969
Afreeconcertwithtopnamebandsofthedaywithstagesecurity
providedbytheHellsAngels
300,000peopleshowup!
Andmanyfightsbreakout

48

Afanpullsagunnearthestage
MeredithHunter,highonmeth,pulls
agunnearthestage

Stabbedbysecurityand
dies

49

astheRollingStoneswereonstage...
Playingasongcalled
SympathyfortheDevil

Whatwouldyoudoifyouweretheband?Allyouseeisalotof
fightingwhichmightgetworseifyoustoppedplaying.
50

Thebandplayedon
Wasthebandbeingutilitarianorweretheyfollowinga
rule?

Google:RollingStonesAltamont

51

Toomanyjobinterviews
You live in Vancouver and are invited to two job interviews, one in
Toronto, the other in nearby Burlington. Both companies allow you
to claim expenses for the trip but each will want the original
receipts.
You have no idea whether either company will hire you, but claiming
expenses from one company and not the other seems unfair.
Whatshouldyoudoandwhy?

52

Hmmm
You are a registered electrical engineer. An unregistered but
qualified electrical engineer offers you a fee to review his design of a
control system for electrical power in a private hospital and to seal
the plans once you have reviewed them.
Whatshouldyoudo?

53

HmmmWhatshouldyoudo?
This situation raises a number of issues. First of all signing this design without a detailed
review of the work contravenes the Engineers and Geoscientists Act, Item 20(9):
A member or licensee receiving a seal or stamp under this section must use it, with
signature and date, to seal or stamp estimates, specifications, reports, documents,
plans or things that have been prepared and delivered by the member or licensee in
the member's or licensee's professional capacity or that have been prepared and
delivered under the member's or licensee's direct supervision.
It also contravenes Item 3 of the Code of Ethics:
provide an opinion on a professional subject only when it is founded upon adequate
knowledge and honest conviction
If you are registered, you could seal the design provided you thoroughly reviewed it.
Presumably the unregistered engineer has done a reasonable job so that you wouldnt
have to start from scratch. However, you must be paid an appropriate fee for your time and
that fee may well be more than the fee the unregistered engineer is willing to pay you.
There are also liability and insurance issues you would be taking responsibility for another
persons mistakes.
Note that this is different from the EIT situation. The work of EITs is supervised by
registered engineers and, once checked and reviewed, is sealed by a registered engineer.
54

Professionalethics Individualmorality
Designofnuclearweaponssystems
effectivethreatbutsignificantcollateraldamage
Smartweaponsdesign
lesscollateraldamageiftheywork
Bioengineering
Nuclearpowerdevelopment
Onehastolookoutforengineerstheybeginwithsewingmachines
andendupwiththeatomicbomb
Maurice Pagnol French writer, producer, film director, 1895-1974

55

PaulCottle resignsfromMDA
Paul Cottle, an engineer who had helped
develop satellite technology for MacDonald
Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), resigned
from his job of three years after MDA
announced it had been sold to Alliant
Techsystems (ATK).
IdonotwanttoworkforacompanylikeATKthatmanufactures
weaponsthatkillciviliansandsoldiersindiscriminately
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080117/bc_engineer_080117/20080117?hub=TopStories

56

CommitmenttoSociety acomparison
APEGBCCodeofEthics,Item1:
Holdparamountthesafety,healthandwelfareofthepublic,
theprotectionoftheenvironment andthepromotionofhealth
andsafetywithintheworkplace.

BCCollegeofSocialWorkersCodeofEthics,Item1:
Asocialworkershallmaintainthebestinterestoftheclientasthe
primaryprofessionalobligation.

Theessentialaspectis:
Placethepublicsneedsfirstbeforeyourown
57

Sowhoisthepublic?
SimilarprinciplestoAPEGBCItem1ineveryengineeringcodeof
ethics
NSPE(US)codeofethicsdoesnotmentiontheenvironment

Letstrysomedefinitions

58

Isthepubliceveryone?
The result of engineers trying to protect everyone (without
exception) is that some are affected, some are partially affected, and
some are not affected.
affected
partially
affected

unaffected

Yettheengineerswouldstillbecompliantwiththecodeofethics.
Thisdefinitionistooweak.

59

Everyone meanseveryperson,withoutexception
andanyone meansanyperson,without
discrimination.

60

Isthepublicanyone?
The result of engineers trying to protect anyone (without
discrimination) is that nothing would happen.

Itisimpossibletodoanythingwithoutincurringsomerisktosome
membersofthepublic.
Thisdefinitionistoostrong.
61

Amorerobustdefinition
Davis (1991, p. 165) suggests:
... public would refer to those persons whose lack of
information, technical knowledge, or time for deliberation
renders them more or less vulnerable to the power an engineer
wields on behalf of his client or employer.
In other words its the helpless innocents, those who do not or could
not know any better.

Thisplacesaresponsibilityontheengineertodefinehis/herpublic.

62

ShouldIdoengineeringforthearmedforces?
First thought:
Well no because its partly about endangering the safety of the
public of the other side who are indeed helpless innocents.
On second thought:
No it isnt, its about endangering the soldiers of the other side
who are not helpless innocents they know the dangers of the
job and may have knowingly signed up for it.

SoIcantakethat$100Kjobandhavefundesigningsystemsthat
shootpointythingsatbuildingsandenemysoldiers,right?
63

Youcouldtrythatargument...
buttherearealwayssomebuts...
Innocent civilians do get killed in war, often by mistake
Bombing infrastructure is a good way to destroy an
economy, but that affects and endangers innocent
people.
Theres war for a good cause and war for a bad cause
and you really cant be selective.
More generally what about the morality of it?

64

Thefactis...
anengineeringcodeofethicscanthelpyouwiththis
decision

Itsapersonalethics/moralityissue

65

Butifyoudecidetotakethatdefencejob
yourpublicbecomesthearmedforceswhoexpectthis
stufftowork

66

Natureofethicalissues
Oftenchoicebetweenrightandright adilemma
Eitherchoiceresultsinaloss.Whichlossisimportant?

Choicewithinadiscretesetoracontinuousrangeof
alternatives
Unstructured,atleastinitially
Uncertaintyusuallypresent
Involvehumanemotionsandhumanfoibles
Mayseemunfamiliarandintimidatingbutengineering
itselfisoftenlikethis
67

Notes:Natureofethicalissues

It is important to understand that ethics involves a choice and whatever choice you make
will result in some form of loss. This is a dilemma. The issues are what will guide your
choice and what you consider important in the particular context ie, what are you
prepared to forego or lose?
Uncertainty contributes to the lack of structure and often plays a role in the decision made.
A real and challenging engineering design problem is somewhat like an ethical dilemma.
Design always involves choices. The design problem is typically openended and
unstructured. An engineer would use his or her analytical skills to provide structure to the
problem. Some uncertainty is always present and an essential part of design is to eliminate,
reduce or mitigate this uncertainty.
Although they are not supposed to, engineers may become emotionally attached to a
particular design decision or solution. And finally engineers are human and therefore have
human foibles. All of this affects decisionmaking.

68

Commonethicalissuesforengineers
Publicwelfare,healthandsafety
Fairnesstootherengineers
Dutiestoemployersandclients
Confidentiality
Conflictsofinterest

Faircompensation
Whistleblowing
Briberyandfraud
Thankfullyusuallynotlifeanddeath
69

Somemacroethicalissuesforengineers
Largeprojects:
damsorinfrastructure

TheInternet:greattoolbut
forumforperverts,pedophiles,pornographers,andterrorists
searchenginealgorithmscanbeusedtocreateunwanted
linksbetweenusers

Designofcomplexsystemswithemergentproperties
thatcannotbepredicted
digitalcontrolsystems,fossilfuelsystems,aquiferuse,
gradualencroachmentonecosystemsbyinfrastructure
70

Ifyoucometoaforkintheroad

Takeit!

71