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How do Indian philosophical and ethical traditions speak to modern engineer- ing practice? The emphasis on the practical everyday nature of philosophy directly speaks to modern engineers and engineering practice. In addition, the emphasis on reinforcing virtues and avoiding vices directly mirrors the language used in modern engineering codes of ethics. Indeed, codes of ethics […]

Non-Western Ethical Thinking Daugert, 1965 ]. This practical orientation speaks directly to our interest in ethics; nothing could be more practical than the ethical concerns about human social behavior. In a very general way, like Chinese ethics, Indian ethical philosophy has much in common with virtue ethics discussed in Western ethical traditions. For example, “the

How might Confucian ethics inform our decision making as engineers? First, its emphasis on virtues and the importance of leading a virtuous life speaks very directly to the engineering profession especially in terms of integrity, honesty, and other core values of engineers. It also speaks toward ensuring that we do not harm others by our

NON-WESTERN ETHICAL THINKING It is tempting to think that the ethical theories that have been described here are applicable only in business relations within cultures that share our Western ethical traditions: Europe and the Americas. Since the rest of the world has different foun- dations for its ethical systems, it might seem that what we

What happens when the different theories seem to give different answers? What happens when the different theories seem to give different answers? This scenario can be illustrated by the discussion of WIPP presented previously. Rights ethics indicated that transporting wastes through communities is not a good idea, whereas utilitarianism concluded that WIPP would be benefi

Which Theory to Use? Now that we have discussed four different ethical theories, the question arises: How do we decide which theory is applicable to a given problem? The good news is that in solving ethical problems, we don’t have to choose from among these theories. Rather, we can use all of them to analyze

How, then, do we resolve this problem? In their capacity to deal with individuals, corporations should be considered pseudo-moral agents and should be held account- able in the same way that individuals are, even if the ability to do this within the legal system is limited. In other words, with regard to an ethical problem,

Can a company truly be expected to display honesty or loyalty? This dilemma comes most sharply into focus in a discussion of virtue ethics. Can a company truly be expected to display honesty or loyalty? These are strictly human traits and cannot be ascribed to a corporation. In the strictest defi nition of moral agency,

Put another way, can a corporation be a moral agent as an individual can? 3.3.6 Personal vs. Corporate Morality This is an appropriate place to discuss a tricky issue in engineering ethics: Is there a distinction between the ethics practiced by an individual and the ethics practiced by a corporation? Put another way, can a

Is there a distinction between the ethics practiced by an individual and the ethics practiced by a corporation? 3.3.6 Personal vs. Corporate Morality This is an appropriate place to discuss a tricky issue in engineering ethics: Is there a distinction between the ethics practiced by an individual and the ethics practiced by a corporation? Put