Title Details

Robert McGinn is a Professor of Management Science and Engineering, and of Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford University, USA, where he coordinates the School of Engineering's "Technology in Society Requirement" After attending Stevens Institute of Technology as an undergraduate, he earned a PhD in philosophy and humanities at Stanford. Dr. McGinn's academic specialties are engineering ethics and technology in society. He is the author of Science, Technology, and Society (Prentice-Hall, 1990).

Acknowledgments xiii

1 THE ETHICS GAP IN CONTEMPORARY ENGINEERING 1

1.1 Two Vignettes 1

1.2 The Gap Between Education and Experience 2

1.3 Evidence 3

1.4 Importance 5

1.5 Unfruitful Approaches to Bridging the Gap 7

Requiring a Typical Philosophy-Department Ethics Class 8

Integrating Ethics Study into Technical Engineering Classes 8

1.6 Preferred Approach 10

2 SOCIOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL PRELIMINARIES 11

2.1 Sociology of Engineering 12

2.2 Engineering Society Codes of Ethics 15

3 THE FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF ENGINEERS 21

3.1 An Ethical Responsibilities Approach 21

3.2 Ethical Issues and Harm 22

3.3 The Fundamental Ethical Responsibilities of Engineers 25

FERE1 27

FERE2 32

FERE3 32

FERE4 33

4 SIXTEEN CASE STUDIES OF ETHICAL ISSUES IN ENGINEERING 37

4.1 Introduction 37

4.2 Case Studies 39

Case 1: The Cadillac “DeVille”/“Seville” Engine-Control Chip (1990–1995) 39

Case 2: SDI Battlefield Management Software (1983–1985) 45

Case 3: Collaborative Research Practices at Bell Laboratories (1997–2002) 52

Case 4: The Apple “Newton MessagePad” (1990–1993) 60

Case 5: An Employee Database Management System 65

Case 6: The “Citicorp Center” Tower (1970–1978) 70

Case 7: The Union Carbide MIC Plant in Bhopal (1970–1984) 81

Case 8: The Space Shuttle “Challenger” (1983–1986) 98

Case 9: A Composite-Material Bicycle Project (1989–1992) 110

Case 10: Nanotechnology R&D (1985–present) 121

Case 11: The Ford “Pinto” (1969–1972) 132

Case 12: Topf & Sons: Crematorium Ovens for the Nazi SS (1939–1945) 138

Case 13: TRW and the US Ballistic Missile Defense System (1995–2003) 149

Case 14: The Kansas City “Hyatt Regency” Hotel Walkways (1979–1981) 158

Case 15: The Manhattan “Westway” Project (1974–1985) 170

Case 16: Product Design for Kenya (1991–present) 186

5 ETHICAL ISSUES AND SITUATIONAL FACTORS CONDUCIVE TO MISCONDUCT 197

5.1 Specific Ethical Issues Raised in the Case Studies 198

5.2 General Engineering-Related Ethical Issues 207

5.3 Specific Situational Factors Involved in Misconduct in the Cases 208

5.4 General Situational Factors Conducive to Engineering Misconduct 214

6 KEY IDEAS AND LESSONS OF THE CASES 217

6.1 The Leading Precept of Most Current Codes of Engineering Ethics 217

6.2 The FEREs 218

6.3 Ethics and the Sociology of Contemporary Engineering 219

6.4 An Ethically Problematic Pattern of Engineering Practice 220

6.5 Conditions for Whistle-Blowing to be an Engineer’s Ethical Responsibility 220

6.6 Risk and the Idealization of Technology in Society 221

6.7 Ethical Responsibility and the Culture of the Engineering Workplace 222

6.8 Codes and Regulations: Letter, Spirit, and Ethics 223

6.9 An Overlooked Ethical Responsibility of Engineers 223

6.10 An Engineering Professional 224

6.11 Radical Engineering Design and the Ethics of Precaution 225

6.12 Normalizing Risk and Routinizing the Experimental 226

6.13 Technology Transfer and Ethical Responsibility 227

6.14 “Two Cultures” and Ethical Responsibility 228

6.15 Decontextualization 228

6.16 The Politicization and Economization of Engineering Decision-Making 229

6.17 Negligence 229

6.18 Workplace Culture and the Ethically Responsible Engineer 230

7 RESOURCES AND OPTIONS FOR ETHICALLY RESPONSIBLE ENGINEERS 233

7.1 Organizational Resources 234

7.2 Legal Resources and Options 238

7.3 Employment-Related Options 241

8 CONCLUSION 245

8.1 Bucciarelli’s Critique of US Engineering-Ethics Education 245

8.2 A Foundational-Contextual Ethical Responsibilities Approach 249

8.3 Two Quotes 252

Bibliography 255

Index 267