ETHICS PROBLEMS ARE LIKE DESIGN PROBLEMS
At fi rst, many engineering students fi nd the types of problems and discussions that take place in an engineering ethics class a little alien. The problems are more open ended and are not as susceptible to formulaic answers as are problems typically assigned in other engineering classes. Ethics problems rarely have a correct answer that will be arrived at by everyone in the class. Surprisingly, however, the types of problem-solving techniques that we will use in this book and the nature of the answers that result bear a striking resemblance to the most fundamental engineer- ing activity: engineering design.
The essence of engineering practice is the design of products, structures, and processes. The design problem is stated in terms of specifi cations: A device must be designed that meets criteria for performance, aesthetics, and price. Within the limits of these specifi cations, there are many correct solutions. There will, of course, be some solutions that are better than others in terms of higher perfor- mance or lower cost. Frequently, there will be two (or more) designs that are very different, yet perform identically. For example, competing automobile manufac- turers may design a car to meet the same market niche, yet each manufacturer’s solution to the problem will be somewhat different. In fact, we will see later that although the Pinto was susceptible to explosion after rear-end impact, other simi- lar subcompact automobiles were not. In engineering design, there is no unique correct answer!
Ethical problem solving shares these attributes with engineering design. Although there will be no unique correct solution to most of the problems we will examine, there will be a range of solutions that are clearly right, some of which are better than others. There will also be a range of solutions that are clearly wrong. There are other similarities between engineering ethics and engineering design. Both apply a large body of knowledge to the solution of a problem, and both involve the use of analytical skills. So, although the nature of the solutions to the problems in ethics will be different from those in most engineering classes, approaches to the problems and the ultimate solution will be very similar to those in engineering practice.