Ethics in science & engineering:
or, What should you do?
Ethics in Science and Engineering
What kinds of guidelines are there for ethics?
Engineers have professional guidelines.
Almost all professional engineering societies
have canons that describe fundamental principles.
An example is the #1 fundamental canon of
engineering practice, from the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers:
#1 Engineers shall hold paramount the safety,
health and welfare of the public in the performance
of their professional duties.
Ethics in Science and Engineering
What kinds of guidelines are there for ethics?
Scientists have guidelines attached to funding and
publishing.
The NSF, NIH, EPA and other funding bodies
have guidelines for researchers they fund.
Other organizations have guidelines covering
practices in research they will publish, such
as the Intl Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Scientific societies such as the American Chemical
Society have codes of ethics.
Ethics in Science and Engineering
Behind these ethical guidelines is the
same fundamental position:
Science and engineering are
professions of public service.
Ethics in Science and Engineering
We have already seen such a statement of public service
in the ASME fundamental canons.
Here is an example from the American Chemical
Society’s Code of Conduct:
Chemical professionals have a responsibility to serve the
public interest and safety and to further advance the
knowledge of science. They should actively be concerned
with the health and safety of co-workers, consumers and the
community. Public comments on scientific matters should be
made with care and accuracy, without unsubstantiated,
exaggerated, or premature statements.
Ethics in Science and Engineering
But are ethical guidelines sufficient?
Ethics in Science and Engineering
…and in Life
“For we can be within the technical
limits of the law and without a shred
of virtue.”
Gerald Grant
• In one informal study at MIT, about 11% of
all homework turned out to be copied from
someone else.
• Many students simply do not view copying
homework answers as wrong, at least not
when it is done with technology.
• The latest surveys by the Center for
Academic Integrity found that 22% of
students say they have cheated on a test
or exam, but about twice as many, 43%,
have engaged in “un-authorized
collaboration” on homework.
An Ethics Grid
The following grid helps analyze ethical
situations in relationship to legal
requirements
Ethical actions are plotted vertically on the Y
axis, and legal actions are plotted
horizontally on the X axis.
Ethical and legal actions will fall in the upper
right quadrant, illegal and unethical ones
in the lower left quadrant.
ethical
unethical
Illegal
legal
ethical
ethical and
legal
legal
Illegal
unethical
ethical
ethical and
legal
legal
Illegal
unethical and
illegal
unethical
ethical
Illegal
ethical but
illegal:
Is this
dangerous??
ethical and
legal
legal
unethical and
illegal
unethical
ethical
Illegal
ethical but
illegal:
Is this
dangerous??
unethical and
illegal
ethical and
legal
legal
unethical but
legal: Is this
dangerous??
unethical
ethical
Illegal
ethical but
illegal:
Is this
dangerous??
unethical and
illegal
ethical and
legal
legal
unethical but
legal: Is this
dangerous??
unethical
Ethics always should
prevail
ethical but
illegal
often acceptable
ethical and
legal
Illegal
legal
unethical and
illegal
unethical but legal
very dangerous
unethical
ethical
A good life
Illegal
legal
jail time
unethical
Gray areas
Some actions will fall into gray areas, being
ethical but illegal, or legal but unethical.
Some examples follow.
Illegal but ethical
• Entering a home because someone
may be injured
• Speeding to get a woman in labor to
the hospital
• Illegal to share medication, but it may
save someone’s life
• Removing someone from life
support???
legal but unethical
• Segregation of African Americans
• Treatment of American Indians
• Abortion?
• Death penalty?
• Leaving your car running & wasting
fuel
• Breaking someone’s heart
• Breaking a gentlemen’s agreement
• Lying to a friend
Use the ethics grid to analyze
the famous case of the Ford Pinto.
Case Study: Ford Pinto… 1970’s
The Ford Pinto was Ford’s first
domestic North American subcompact
automobile marketed beginning on
September 11, 1970.
The model became a focus of a major scandal when it was alleged
that the car's design allowed its fuel tank to be easily damaged in the
event of a rear end collision, which sometimes resulted in deadly fires
and explosions. Critics argued that the vehicle's lack of a true rear
bumper, and no reinforcing structure between the rear panel and the
tank, meant that in certain collisions the tank would be thrust forward
into the differential. The differential had a number of protruding bolts
that could puncture the tank. This, and the fact that the doors could
potentially jam during an accident (due to poor reinforcing) allegedly
made the car less safe than its contemporaries.
Ford knows there is a problem. What
should/did they do?



Ignore the problem
Acknowledge and recall
Pay as you go
Ford’s Action Plan
 Refused to pay for a redesign
 Issued (internal) Ford Pinto Memo: cheaper to pay
off possible lawsuits for resulting deaths (cost
benefit analysis compared the cost of an $11 repair
against the monetary value of a human life)
 acquitted of criminal charges, but lost several
million dollars and gained a reputation for
manufacturing “the barbecue that seats four”
 Eventually provided a dealer installable "safety kit"
to install plastic protective material over the
offending sharp objects, negating the risk of tank
puncture
“the barbecue that seats four”
Ford’s Action Plan
Where would you place Ford’s
response on the Ethics Grid? In
which quadrant do you think it
belongs?
Your opinions on recent case
studies
Use the ethics grid to analyze these short cases
on the handout:
1. Euthanizing laboratory animals
2. Responsibility for climate change impacts
3. Metal on metal hip joints
4. CitiCorp building design
5. Hazardous waste & a boss’s request