Ethics in Engineering Education, Research,

1
Ethics in Engineering Education, Research,
Practice

• Applications for Agricultural and Biological
  Engineering

2
Accountability ForStudent Learning
Outcomes(SLOs)

• Accreditation of educational programs required
  for granting degrees and professional licensure
• We collect data in courses and other student
  activities to document achievement in meeting SLOs

3
SLO 7 for Ph.D. and M.S. students in BAE

• Understanding of professional and ethical
  responsibility.

4
NSPE Fundamental Canons

• Engineers, in the fulfillment of their
  professional duties, shall
• Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of
  the public. 
• Perform services only in areas of their
  competence.
• Issue public statements only in an objective and
  truthful manner.
• Act for each employer or client as faithful
  agents or trustees.
• Avoid deceptive acts.
• Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly,
  ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the
  honor, reputation, and usefulness of the
  profession.

5
Background

• Participated Ethics Education in Science and
  Engineering (ESEE) Workshop
• Main presenters
• Dr. Richard DeGeorge KU Distinguished Professor
  of Philosophy
• Dr. Douglas May KU Professor of Management
• Dr. Dan Bernstein Director, KU Center for
  Teaching Excellence and Professor of Psychology
• Materials based on their notes

6
Purpose

• Discuss how ethics can fit into engineering
  instruction
• Discuss alternative ethical decision-making
  frameworks
• Apply theory to case studies

7
Definition

• ethics noun 1. the study of moral standards and
  how they affect conduct.

8
Science/Engineering Ethics

• Compliance
• Legal Rules
• Codes of Conduct
• Ethics
• Rules
• Decision framework

9
Relation of Ethics Science

• Ethics begins before science and research
• Ethics informs and is informed by science and
  research
• Ethics continues after research ends

10
Ethics Begins Before Science and Research

• Researcher as human being with moral
  responsibilitygeneral moral rules apply
• Human subjects as moral beings with rights
• Moral limits on certain kinds of research
• Moral evaluation of aims of research
• Moral evaluation of research methods

11
Ethics Continues After Research Ends

• Responsible for dissemination of results
• Responsible for uses to which research is put
• Responsible for commercialization of research
• Responsibility of science and engineering as
  professions

12
Aims of Ethics Education Re Science Engineering
Students

• Teach pertinent laws and rules
• Sensitize students to ethical issues
• Give students the tools necessary to think
  through ethical issues vocabulary techniques
• Enable students to take part in ethical
  discussions about policy
• Making philosophers is not an aim of ethics in
  engineering education.

13
Codes Rules (I)

• Re Human and animal subjects
• Institutional Review Boards
• National Institutes of Health Policy
• Nuremberg Code
• World Medical Associations Declaration of
  Helsinki
• Others

14
Codes Rules (II)

• Re Academic Misconduct
• Dept. of Health Human Services (Conflict of
  Interest)
• Federal Policy on Research Misconduct
  (Fabrication, plagiarism)
• Kansas State University Honor Code
• Re Professions and Societies
• National Society of Professional EngineersCode
  of Ethics for Engineers
• The Chemists Code of Conduct

15
Codes Rules (III)

• Necessary but not sufficientneeds interpretation
• Necessarily incompletenew issues
• Gives false impression that what is not covered
  is allowed or not required
• Can be morally evaluated
• Creates impression that ethics is imposed from
  without, and dependent on rule maker (why accept
  them?)

16
Ethics A Two-Edged Sword

• Positive aspect reinforces rules and codes
• Critical aspect questions rules and codes

17
Whose Ethics?

• Start with
• Personal ethical base
• Conventional morality
• Rules of scientific research
• Move to
• Inconsistencies
• Uncovered areas
• Open questions

18
Ethical Relativism

• There are no universal ethical norms. All norms
  are relative to ones society.
• There are no universal ethical norms. All norms
  are relative to the individual.
• Any individuals or any societys norms are as
  valid as any other.

19
Difficulties With Ethical Relativism

• It is inconsistent
• It is not clear in a pluralistic society what the
  societys view is on many issues
• If it is right
• No one judges actions, simply report ones
  feelings or what ones society says
• No two societies (or individuals) can disagree
• No society (or individual) can be mistaken
• One can change the morality of an action by
  changing ones feeling about it.

20
Ethical Relativism

• Ethical relativism is often confused with
• Reluctance to judge others
• Uncertainty about the morality of an action
• Tolerance of differences
• Differences in social customs
• Aversion to absolutism.

21
Key Ethical Terms

• Good and bad consequences
• Fairness and justice
• Rights
• Duties (obligations)
• Ideals
• Moral imagination
• Responsibility, blame, shame, guilt

22
Sources of Ethics

• Scientific method as a source of ethics in
  research
• Ethical theories as a source of ethics in research

23
Scientific Method as a Source of Ethics in
Research

• Moral traits demanded of the scientist/engineer
• Honesty
• Truthfulness
• Accuracy
• Intellectual integrity
• Objectivity
• Patience
• Intellectual courage
• For the scientist/engineer
• Freedom to pursue research
• Freedom to publish

24
Issues

• External to Science
• e.g. embryonic stem cell research
• Issues of informed consent
• Patients rights
• Internal to science
• e.g. truth in reporting results
• Accuracy in record keeping
• Plagiarism and proper citation

25
Ethical Theories as a Source of Ethics in Science
and Research

• Aim
• Make sense of moral experience by finding
  principles that explain (and/or correct)
  conventional morality on basis of reason and
  human psychology
• Techniques
• Evaluate consequences
• Understand basis for duties
• Develop a logic of rights
• Consider demands of justice
• Develop traits of character

26
Three Methods of Ethical Reasoning

• Utilitarianism consequence based approach
• Deontological Approachduties-, rights-,
  justice-based approach
• Consequences not considered
• Virtue character based approach

27
Ethics as Freedom

• Free vs. slave mentality
• Free to engage intelligently in debate, e.g.,
  embryonic stem cell research
• Free to evaluate rules
• Free to take part in creating rules

28
If We Have Those Aims, How Can We Achieve Them?

• Teach pertinent laws, rules, codesthroughout the
  curriculum
• Sensitize to ethical issuesthroughout the
  curriculum
• Give students the tools necessary to think
  through ethical issuesstand-alone course
• Enable students to take part in ethical
  discussions about policystand-alone course

29
Ethical Analysis of Policy Practice

• Get all the pertinent facts
• Whose rights, if anyones are affected?
• Are issues of justice or fairness involved?
• Who is affected by the policy and what are the
  costs benefits for each and all?
• Weigh the various factors
• Imaginatively consider alternatives
• Consider and answer objections to the policy
• Decide
• Act