Chapter 5 in 2 nd Edn.)
This chapter explores different ways in which engineers might understand and act on their responsibilities.

Whether they work for clients or corporate employers engineers have basic job responsibilities.
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NSPE’s Code of Ethics
Canon 4: “ engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees”
This will be discussed in
Chaper 8 “Engineers As Employees”

In this Chapter we will concentrate on issues of responsibility concerning possible harm and benefits to society
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Concepts of Responsibility
Obligation-responsibility, blameresponsibility, role-responsibility
(The Minimalist View)
Reasonable Care
Good Works
Do Engineers Need Virtue
Impediments to Responsibility

and
Responsibility are distinct but related to each other.
Responsibility for causing harm can be distinguished as: (in both law and morality)
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Causing harm
Causing Harm
Causing Harm

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Intentionally Causing Harm: Knowingly deliberately causing harm!
Negligently Causing Harm: not knowingly causing harm but failing to exercise “due care”
Recklessly Causing Harm: not aiming to cause harm but acting in conscious awareness that harm is likely to result

engineers are morally responsible for harms they intentionally, negligently, or recklessly cause regardless of whom is held legally responsible.
-those who cause the harms
-their supervisors
-company itself

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Engineers have a responsibility to serve their employers and the public in ways that reduce the likelihood of harms to others for which either they, their supervisors, or their companies can be held legally liable.

refers to the obligation of professionals to use their specialized knowledge and skill in a way that benefits clients and the public and does not violate the trust placed in them. (positive responsibility; obligation responsibility)

Obligation-responsibilty refers to the positive obligations of engineers to observe professional standards and even go beyond them
Blame-responsibility refers to the responsibility for harmful action.
Role-responsibility refers to being in a role with certain responsibilities so that one has obligation responsibilities and can also be blamed for harm.

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 minimalist view (2 nd edition) reasonable care (obligation responsibility) good works

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The minimalist view of responsibility holds that engineers have a duty to conform to the of their profession and to fulfill the harm: reasonable care) standard operating procedures basic duties of their job as defined by the terms of their employment. (includes avoiding
Unexpected problems can arise that standard operating procedures are not well equipped to handle!
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Avoidance of blame or “staying out of trouble” tends to be the dominant concern.
This minimalist view also emphasizes a negative approach to responsibility: eg. “its his job, not mine!”

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The reasonable care view is more directly concerned with the perspective of those who are at risk of being harmed and trying to prevent that harm.
From the moral point of view intentionally, negligently or recklessly causing harm to others is to fail to exercise reasonable care.

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“above and beyond the call of duty”
Engineers with good works view take on responsibilities that no one has a right to expect from them. If they do not do it no one will fault them.
Instead of
someone else responsible engineers assume to be responsible or
certain responsibilities.

The Good Works concept can be illustrated with the following simple example which is outside the engineering context
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Ralph wakes up, prepares to go to work, when he looks out the window he realizes that his long driveway is drifted over with snow. He has a shovel not a plow, even though he will be late to work he steps out to shovel, surprised to see his driveway is being cleared by his neighbor which he never met. Of course he appreciates what his neighbor is doing. What would he think if his neighbor had done nothing to help? Would he fault him, think that he has failed to do his duty, or think that his neighbor has a sort of moral deficiency?
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NO. His neighbor has gone above and beyond the call of duty!

Good Works
An example from professional life:
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A design engineer devotes a great deal of time after regular working hours to see if the features of a safety rope for those who wash windows of high rises can be improved-even though the current design more than satisfies legal requirements. Asked why he is not satisfied with the current design, he comments, “you have to do the best you can-and that’s usually inadequate”
No one expect this from him. No one would fault him if he didn’t do these things.
Limitations: time, money and other responsibilities

(Moral Excellence, goodness)
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Virtues reflect the moral character of an engineer!
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“one test of (professional) character and virtue is what a person does when no one else is watching. A society that rests on expertise needs more people who can pass this test”

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Virtues associated with basic duties: honesty, fair-mindedness, reliability, integrity.
If we are to go beyond basic duty: benevolence, perseverance, publicspiritless, compassion, kindness, generosity, and many others character traits and virtues invite us to consider more than basic duties.

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Self-interest
Fear
Self-deception
Ignorance
Egocentric Tendencies
Microscopic Vision
Uncritical Acceptance of Authority
Groupthink