Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists and Engineers

by Seebauer, Edmund G.; Barry, Robert L.

• ISBN13: 9780195134889
• ISBN10: 0195134885
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists and Engineers represents a new approach to introductory ethics that is both practical and accessible. Classical virtue theory is employed to provide a time-tested, simple, and easily remembered basis for ethical reasoning. The text is modularized for easy use in both stand-alone ethics courses and as self-contained units within engineering core courses. It is accompanied by an instructor's manual that includes a comprehensive set of sample lectures and course assignments, detailed homework solutions, and many helpful hints for teaching an ethics course. To ground the ethical analysis in practical reality, each chapter contains a real-life case together with several fictional cases. The fictional cases breathe renewed vigor into the study of ethics by employing a new learning device: the "ethical serial." Each fictional case can be understood individually, but the cases are also unified by use of a single set of college-aged characters whose personalities are developed throughout the book. These characters mimic real people far more closely than those in other texts and act in situations that are directly familiar to students. The book is composed of four units. The first two focus on ethical reasoning, outlining within the context of science and engineering the notions of character formation and intention central to virtue theory. To prepare students to handle complex ethical questions, these units extend virtue theory in a readily understandable way, accounting systematically for the consequences that follow an ethical decision. The second two units focus on practical issues such as intellectual property, conflict of interest, whistle blowing, and authorship in scientific publication. These units also treat more advanced topics like risk, resource allocation, conflicting ethical methods, and intuition in ethical decision making.

Author Biography

Edmund G. Seebauer is Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
UNIT ONE Foundational Principles
Approaching The Subject Of Ethics	3	(16)
An Example	3	(1)
The Importance of Ethics in Science and Engineering	4	(2)
Managing Ethical Discussion	6	(1)
Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics	6	(2)
The Existence of Right and Wrong	8	(1)
Principle: Certain aspects of right and wrong exist objectively, independent of culture or personal opinion	8	(1)
The Subject of Moral Analysis	9	(1)
The Role of Codes of Ethics	9	(2)
A Real-life Case: Destruction of the Spaceship Challenger	10	(1)
Note	11	(1)
Problems	11	(8)
The Person And The Virtues	19	(6)
Developing a Model for the Person	19	(1)
Components of the Psyche	20	(1)
Limitations of the Model	21	(1)
Habits and Morals	22	(1)
The Four Main Virtues	22	(2)
Principle: People should always decide and act according to the virtues insofar as possible	24	(1)
An Example	24	(3)
A Real-life Case: Toxic Waste at Love Canal	26	(1)
Notes	27	(1)
Problems	28
Analyzing Exterior Acts: Some First Steps	25	(27)
Ethics as a Craft	35	(1)
Distinguishing Exterior and Interior Morality	36	(1)
Beginning Case Analysis	37	(3)
Event Trees	40	(3)
A Real-life Case: Dow Corning Corp, and Breast Implants	42	(1)
Notes	43	(1)
Problems	43	(9)
Analyzing Interior Intentions: Some First Steps	52	(19)
Describing Intention	52	(1)
The Importance of Intention	53	(2)
Effort and the Virtues	55	(1)
Principle: People should try insofar as possible to continue to progress in the moral life	56	(1)
The Role of Benevolence	56	(2)
A Real-life Case: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment	57	(1)
Note	58	(1)
Problem	58	(8)
Summary	66	(1)
Some Words of Caution	67	(1)
Note	67	(4)
UNIT TWO Resolving Ethical Conflicts
Toward A Hierarchy Of Moral Values	71	(17)
On Selecting Principles and Methods	71	(1)
Hierarchies of Values: Moral and Nonmoral	72	(1)
Line-drawing	73	(2)
An Example	75	(1)
Mathematical Analogies	76	(2)
Ranking the Virtues	78	(2)
A Real-life Case: Scientific Tests Using Animals	78	(2)
Notes	80	(1)
Problems	80	(8)
Starting Moral Judgments: Evaluating Exterior Acts	88	(18)
A Mathematical Analogy	88	(2)
An Example	90	(7)
A Real-life Case: Chemical Disaster at Bhopal	96	(1)
Notes	97	(1)
Problems	98	(8)
Completing Moral Judgments: The Decisive Role Of Intention	106	(18)
Evaluating Interior Goodness	106	(1)
An Example	107	(3)
Balancing Evaluations of Interior and Exterior Goodness	110	(1)
The ``Solomon Problem''	111	(1)
Principle: The obligation to avoid what is bad outweighs the obligation to do what is good	111	(1)
Cooperating in the Evil of Others	111	(3)
A Real-life Case: The Problem of Performance Evaluation---Grade Inflation	113	(1)
Notes	114	(1)
Problems	115	(9)
Moral Responsibility	124	(19)
Factors Limiting Moral Responsibility	124	(1)
Degrees of Responsibility	125	(1)
An Example	126	(2)
The ``Sainthood'' and ``Devil'' Problems	128	(2)
A Real-life Case: Responsibility in Software Engineering	129	(1)
Note	130	(1)
Problems	130	(8)
Summary	138	(1)
Some Words of Caution	138	(5)
UNIT THREE Justice: Applications
Truth: Person-To-Person	143	(14)
Truth in Actions	143	(1)
Truth in Words	144	(1)
Harm from Deception	144	(1)
Harm from Withholding Truth	145	(1)
Whistelblowing	146	(1)
Harm from Spreading Truth	147	(1)
Privacy	147	(3)
A Real-life Case: Censorship of the Internet	148	(2)
Notes	150	(1)
Problems	150	(7)
Truth: Social	157	(16)
Distinctions between Science and Engineering	157	(1)
Approach to Knowledge in Science	158	(1)
Recognition from Scientific Publication	159	(1)
Black and Gray in Scientific Practice	160	(1)
Approach to Knowledge in Technology	161	(1)
Intellectual Property	162	(3)
A Real-life Case: Copying Music Illegally Using the Internet	164	(1)
Notes	165	(1)
Problems	166	(7)
Fairness: Person-To-Person	173	(14)
Conflict of Interest	173	(1)
Qualitative versus Quantitative Fairness	174	(1)
Credit or Blame in Team Projects	175	(1)
Authorship Questions	175	(1)
Fairness in Supervising	176	(2)
Fairness in Contracting with Clients	178	(2)
A Real-life Case: Problems with Peer Review	179	(1)
Notes	180	(1)
Problems	180	(7)
Fairness: Social	187	(18)
Intellectual Property and the Society	187	(1)
Environmental Issues	188	(2)
Experts and Paternalism	190	(1)
Social Aspects of Employment	191	(2)
A Real-life Case: Environmental Cleanup---Problems with the Superfund	192	(1)
Notes	193	(1)
Problems	193	(8)
Summary	201	(1)
Some Words of Caution	201	(4)
UNIT FOUR Advanced Topics
Resource Allocation	205	(16)
What Is Resource Allocation?	205	(2)
Allocation by Merit	207	(1)
Allocation by Social Worth	207	(1)
Allocation by Need	208	(1)
Allocation by Ability to Pay	209	(1)
Allocation by Equal or Random Assignment	209	(1)
Allocation by Similarity	210	(1)
How to Decide among Methods	210	(3)
A Real-life Case: Ethical Issues in Affirmative Action	212	(1)
Note	213	(1)
Problems	213	(8)
Risk	221	(15)
A Historical Perspective	221	(1)
Defining Safety and Risk	222	(1)
Evaluating Risk	223	(2)
Making Decisions about Risk	225	(1)
Some General Guidelines	226	(2)
A Real-life Case: Experimental Drug Testing in Humans	227	(1)
Notes	228	(1)
Problems	229	(7)
Dealing With Differing Ethical Systems	236	(17)
Differing Anthropologies	236	(1)
Differing Principles and Methods	237	(2)
Monism and Relativism	239	(1)
Postmodernism	240	(1)
True Pluralism	241	(1)
Conclusion	242	(1)
A Real-life Case: Geological Experiments in Sacred Mountains	242	(1)
Notes	243	(1)
Problems	244	(9)
Habit And Intuition	253	(10)
Rationalist Approaches to Moral Action	253	(1)
Advantages of Rationalist Approaches	254	(1)
Problems with Rationalist Approaches	255	(2)
Toward a More Comprehensive Approach to Moral Behavior	257	(2)
A Real-life Case: The Ethics of Human Cloning	257	(2)
Notes	259	(2)
Summary	261	(1)
Some Words of Caution	262	(1)
Cases: The Rest of the Story	263	(2)
Index	265