APPLIED SCIENCE 450Professional Engineering Practice

Choice, Ethics, Professional Ethics, Personal Ethics, and Engineering Ethics

W. Scott Dunbar, PhD, PEng

The Bystander scenario

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You are walking by a railway track and notice a tank car full of propane heading toward five workers who cannot escape an 

inevitable explosion.A man is sleeping on the siding.

Would you pull the lever and divert the tank car to the siding?

you

sleeper

five workers

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Not just a thought experiment

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Friday, June 20, 2003, 11:58 am, Commerce, Ca

Thirty‐one freight train cars carrying lumber broke loose during aswitching operation and rolled 27 miles before railroad officialsswitched the cars to a side track in Commerce.

Twenty‐eight of the cars derailed, crashing into three homes andinjuring 13 people.

The runaway cars went through 25 highway rail crossings andreached estimated speeds of 95 mph.Sources: CNN .com, NTSB accident report NTSB/RAB‐04/03

A closer look

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Railways

The result in Commerce, Ca

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Source: www.trainweb.com

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Union Pacific spokesperson

“UP knew the maneuver was likely to cause a derailment, but itwould have been more dangerous to allow the train to continuemoving into central Los Angeles.”

“... they did this [because] the train was headed to the morepopulated area of Los Angeles, where there are possibly commutertrains and more population.”

The Footbridge scenario

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you

a very large person

You are on a footbridge over a railway track and notice a tank car full of propane heading toward five workers who cannot escape an 

inevitable explosion. Next to you is a very large person.

Would you push the large person off the footbridge to stop the train?

five workers

Notes: The Bystander and Footbridge scenarios

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Trolley problems like these are used as models for a number of moral dilemmas:You are a doctor in a war‐ravaged country. You have five patients, each of whom is about todie due to a failing organ of some kind. You have another patient with healthy organs, butwho is on life support due to brain damage.Is it appropriate for you to remove the life support from the man so that he will die and youcan transplant five of his organs into the bodies of the other five patients?‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐Enemy soldiers have taken over your village. They have orders to kill all remaining civilians.You and some of your townspeople have sought refuge in the cellar of a large house.Outside you hear the voices of soldiers who have come to search the house for valuables.Your baby begins to cry loudly. You cover his mouth to block the sound. If you remove yourhand from his mouth his crying will summon the attention of the soldiers who will kill you,your child, and the others hiding out in the cellar. To save yourself and the others you mustsmother your child to death.Is it appropriate for you to smother your child in order to save yourself and the othertownspeople?

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A Footbridge‐like dilemma for you

You discover that a work colleague (and a close friend) has managedto embezzle a large sum of money from the company. He has deniedit but you have enough evidence to know he is lying.

If you report him, he will be fired, possibly go to jail, and his life andjob prospects will be ruined. If you don’t report him, theembezzlement will likely continue, the company could go bankrupt,and you will be out of a job.

How would you handle such a situation?

Analogies: Large person  your friend

Five workers  your company

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So what should one do?

It’s a universal concept:

• Buddhism: "...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, howcould I inflict that upon another?" Samyutta NIkaya v. 353

• Islam: "None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for hisbrother what he wishes for himself." Number 13 of Imam "Al‐Nawawi's Forty Hadiths."

• Judaism: "What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. Thisis the law: all the rest is commentary." Talmud, Shabbat 31a.

• Yoruba people: (Nigeria): "One going to take a pointed stick topinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how ithurts."

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and a great idea, but …

what if you are one of those who likes it when others insult you,

or if you (subtly) try to attract clients away from other engineering consultants

The Golden Rule does not tell us what to do; it is a consistency principle

What is needed is an ethical norm

Similar to a design standard

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Take your pick

Results of actions are used to make choices 

Rules always applied to 

make choices

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Act Utilitarianism

Actions that produce the greatest benefit (or utility, or happiness) for the greatest number of people are morally correct

Jeremy Bentham 1748‐1832

“Hedonic calculus”:

An algorithm to estimate the moral status of any action by estimating the amount of happiness in the action

Each action considered individually

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Rule Utilitarianism

Choose rules or practices that will tend to produce the greatest benefit for the greatest number

John Stuart Mill 1806‐1873

If such rules were generally accepted, then therewill result the greatest benefit for the greatestnumber

Rules may apply over a number of acts.

Notes: Rule Utilitarianism 

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Act and rule utilitarianism can produce different results because an act utilitarian considerseach act individually, whereas a rule utilitarian tends to apply rules over a number of acts.Thus in a particular situation, if lying leads to a result whose benefits outweigh the costs,then as an act utilitarian you should lie. However, as a rule utilitarian you would be guidedby a statement such as “Lying never pays.” (Note the consideration of consequences.)Here’s an example.

Your company is in negotiations with a potential client for a major contract. The client isparticularly interested in the skills of one of the senior engineers in the company and willlikely give your company the contract because of this. Unfortunately, two days ago, thesenior engineer had an accident and it appears that she will remain in the hospital for aminimum of two weeks and then will be in therapy for at least six months. She may be ableto work once out of the hospital, but not for too many hours during the day. Because she isin the hospital, she cannot attend today’s meeting between your company and the clientduring which the client expresses their wish to start the work within a week. One of theclient’s staff asks where she is. What do you say? Should you be an act utilitarian andconsider that the benefits of lying outweigh the costs, or should you be a rule‐utilitarianand follow the rule “Lying never pays”?

Notes: A spectrum of norms

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In rule‐based ethics actions are guided by absolute, categorical rules, not by theconsequences of actions. The rules may be violated (i.e., consequences of an act may beconsidered) if one accepts that others may do the same at any time under the samecircumstances (e.g., lying to avoid someone’s death)

In results‐based ethics the benefits and costs of the consequences of a particular act areestimated to determine whether to carry out the act. Note that each act is consideredseparately which could lead to different results in different circumstances.

In between is rule‐based utilitarianism where rules that provide the greatest benefit to thegreatest number are used to guide actions. The severity of the rules may vary from weak toalmost categorical, but they are still based on the consequences of acts.

This is not a continuous spectrum. There is a discontinuity between rule‐basedutilitarianism and the other two ethical norms on the left and right. This is because rulesbased on consequences can not be constructed to approximate absolute, categorical rulesand because act utilitarianism does not consider rules at all.

But there are problems

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How do you measure benefits? 

What actions or practices should be considered?

What if results are uncertain?

How big a group is “the greatest number of people”? 

Benefits may come at the expense of the rights of individuals. Injustice is possible.

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Aswan High Dam, Egypt

Lake Nassar

Utilitarian accounting: Aswan High Dam

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BenefitsHydropowerIrrigationFarm land

Fishing industry in Lake Nassar

all apparently good things

CostsForeseen:

Large construction costsRelocation of 80,000 people

Unforeseen:No deposition of fertile soil 

downstream of damSilt accumulates behind dam

Irrigation ditches a habitat for Bulinussnail, a host for the bilharzia parasite that burrows into the human body

Notes: Utilitarian accounting: Aswan High Dam

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No deposition of fertile soil occurs downstream of dam –farmers must now use fertilizer togrow crops, an additional cost.An agricultural system in existence for millennia was destroyed.No annual floods to flush out salts leading to soil salinity problemsSilt accumulates behind dam reducing reservoir volume and hydropower potentialIrrigation ditches a perfect habitat for Bulinus snail, a host for the bilharzia parasite thatburrows into the human body and causes damage to organs, impairs growth and cognitivedevelopment in children. The result is increased medical costs.

Rule‐based ethics

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Immanuel Kant 1724‐1804

For example

“Never lie”

No exceptions, even if lying would protect someone from harm 

Selection of moral actions must be based on rules

Selection is not exclusively a function of consequences

Selection of moral actions must be based on rules

Selection is not exclusively a function of consequences

Kant and rule‐based ethics 

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Rules for moral conduct are absolute and

must be derived from rational thought, independent of consequences and experience 

must be universal and consistent – apply to everyone and to all similar cases 

A rational rule is not self‐defeating

“Lie if it benefits you”

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Should this be a universal moral rule?

If everyone lied, no one would believe anyone, includingyou, and the possibility that something is true woulddisappear.

It’s an inconsistent rule, not rational, self‐defeating

Can’t be universal

Notes: Kant and rule‐based ethics 

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Suppose you find a wallet on the street. As a utilitarian, you might want to give the moneyto a homeless person – spread the wealth, do the most good.But rule‐based ethics would say:

A rational person would return the wallet because it is the right thing to do, no matterwhat the consequences. One would always want someone else to do the same thing.If lost wallets were not returned by others, the world would be a chaotic place.

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Hypothetical vs Categorical rules

Hypothetical rules have conditions attached:

Tell the truth only if it benefits many people

The conditions lead to inconsistency.

Categorical rules result from reasoning and have no such conditions:

Tell the truth

First formulation of the Categorical Imperative (CI) 

CI(1):  Follow a categorical rule; to do otherwise is irrationalbecause it is inconsistent and self‐defeating

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Consistency, yes, but is it right?

CI(1) provides a means to determine consistency but no means todecide if an act is right or wrong.

e.g., it is self‐defeating to lie, but is it wrong?

Rational people required for moral behaviour 

rational people are to be respected – a primary motive

Second formulation of the Categorical Imperative (CI)

CI(2):  To be morally right, an act must not use a rational persononly as a means to an end

Notes: Consistency, yes, but is it right?  

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What does it mean to treat someone as an end and not as a means? If morality is derivedfrom reason, then rational people are a fundamental requirement. Without rational peoplecapable of acting autonomously on the basis of reason, morality would disappear.Therefore, all rational people are to be treated with respect, as an end, not merely or onlyas a means to attain some other goal.

Consider someone who is willing to loan money and you only know her because of herwillingness to lend money. You cannot lie to her about your ability to repay a loan becausethat would be manipulation, using her as a means to an end. It would have no respect forher rationality. An alternative is to say that you may not be able to repay the loan and lether freely decide what to do based on her own set of values. If, for example, you want toborrow the money for a good cause, she may decide to give you the money for thatpurpose thus choosing to make your goal her own.

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Rules can conflict

Two rational and consistent rules:

“Always tell the truth” 

“Do not harm people” 

What if telling the truth will harm someone? 

Either 

one of these rules is not rational and consistent or,

rule violation is possible if one accepts that others may do the same at any time under the same circumstances

Notes: Categorical rules can conflict

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Kant’s insistence on absolute rules that can never be violated was challenged by the “Caseof the Inquiring Murderer” proposed by a Swiss contemporary of Kant named BenjaminConstant. Suppose a man runs past you and says he is being chased by a murderer and isgoing to hide in his house. Then along comes the murderer and, knowing that you musthave seen the man, asks where the man went. What do you do? If you tell the truth theman will likely be murdered. Remaining silent will likely get you in trouble. Lying to sendthe murderer the wrong way would save the man’s life. But then you have violated the rule“Always tell the truth”.Most people think that it is obvious that you should lie – what is more important: tellingthe truth or saving someone’s life? Thus the idea that rule violation is possible under thesame circumstances.

Is this consistent and rational?

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APEGBC Code of Ethics, Item 5:

Uphold the principles of appropriate and adequatecompensation for the performance of engineering andgeoscience work.

Rational: to do otherwise would lower the value ofengineering which would be self‐defeating

Consistent: applies to every engineer or geoscientist

Yes and Yes

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Richard Taylor doesn’t think it’s possible to be Kantian

If I were ever to find, as I luckily never have, a man whoassured me that he really believed Kant’s metaphysicalmorals, and that he modeled his own conduct and hisrelations with others after those principles, then myincredulity and distrust of him as a human being could not begreater than if he told me he regularly drowned children justto see them squirm.

Taylor, R., 1970. Good and Evil. Macmillan, p. xii

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Ethics is …

a framework for the study of personal or professionaldilemmas using ethical norms

Often morality  ethics but a distinction is necessary:

Moral or amoral conduct is something personal and private and may or may not be ethical

For example, the conduct of a professional is usually either ethical or unethical, not moral or amoral

Ethics is not …

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Acts in any context are not necessarily ethical

Ethics stands independent

Religion

Individual morality

Obeying the law

Blindly following professional codes 

Following “standard practice” 

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Professional ethics

Standards used to guide conduct of professionals at alltimes, but especially when practicing their profession.

Ethics can be used to judge professional ethical standards

ProfessionalEthics

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Individual morality

What you were taught by your parents, religion, and cultureEthics is not related to culture or religion but can be used toassess individual morality

Individual morality

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The relationships

Ethics and ethical norms

One’s culture, religion, 

upbringingPossible 

interaction

The law

Individual morality

ProfessionalEthics

Notes: The relationships

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This distinction and separation between professional ethics and individual morality isimportant since it can be used to illustrate the situations in which professional ethicsapplies and where it does not or cannot.Possible interaction between professional ethics and individual morality. For example,suppose your individual morality makes you uncomfortable with working on mattersrelated to national defence or with the development of processes involving geneticengineering. A professional code of ethics cannot help you determine the best course ofaction in such a situation. But if you do decide to do the work, you must do it according tothe standards set by the code of ethics.A more difficult example is whether you should tell your boss that your work colleague(and close friend) has embezzled money from the company. For most people, the situationis this: embezzlement is in conflict with individual morality but there is this nagging issue ofwhat effect disclosure of the crime could have on your friend. However, from a professionalethics perspective, you have a duty to your employer.

What is it? The first decision or choice

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Personal issue

Professional ethics

Legal issue

A non‐issue

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This could be a legal issue

You discover that a work colleague (and a close friend) has managedto embezzle a large sum of money from the company. He has deniedit but you have enough evidence to know he is lying.

If you report him, he will be fired, possibly go to jail, and his life andjob prospects will be ruined. If you don’t report him, theembezzlement will likely continue, the company could go bankrupt,and you will be out of a job.

How would you handle such a situation?

Analogies: Large person  your friend

Five workers  your company

Artisanal mining

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Step 1: mine a lot of soil

from a deep unventilated, unsupported holeSource: http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/ Sept 17, 2012

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or from a large pit using child labor

Source: http://africasacountry.com/ May 17, 2011

Steps 2a, 2b, and 2c …

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Mix soil with water and mercury

Source: Science, Sept 27, 2013

to form an amalgam of gold and mercury

Throw away the mercury contaminated soil and water 

mixture

Step 3: Cover the nose and burn off the mercury

45Source: Science, Sept 27, 2013

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What issues did you perceive with artisanal mining? 

Notes: Artisanal Mining – a safety issue

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Artisanal miners dig very deep holes in soil or clay to mine gold entrained in the sedimentsby weathering of rocks lying beneath the sediments. Most of this type of mining occurs inequatorial latitudes. It is extremely dangerous since the holes may cave in or becomeflooded. Ventilation in these holes is also non‐existent and suffocation can occur.Water and mercury are mixed with the soil and an amalgam forms with gold particles. Thenthe mercury is boiled off leaving a gold nugget. The remaining soil and water, which iscontaminated with mercury, is thrown out and finds its way into surface and groundwater.Mercury vapor resulting from the boiling is toxic and can lead to brain damage.It is possible to make the mining safer, but how and who should do it? There is also theissue that if one makes it safer by say, having the miners place supports (e.g., trench boxes)against the walls of the excavation, what guarantee is there that it will be done or evendone properly? Training would be required. A $30 retort will capture most of the mercuryvapor, but it’s not used because it is thought that it reduces recovery of the goldThese miners are poor people and are willing to take large risks to obtain gold – it’ssubsistence mining.

The Altamont Concert, December 6, 1969

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A free concert with top name bands of the day with stage security provided by the Hell’s Angels

300,000 people show up!And many fights break out

A fan pulls a gun near the stage

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Meredith Hunter, high on meth, pulls a gun near the stage 

Stabbed by security and dies

as the Rolling Stones were on stage ...

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What would you do if you were the band? All you see is a lot of fighting which might get worse if you stopped playing.

Playing a song called “Sympathy for the Devil”

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The band played on

Was the band being utilitarian or were they following a rule?

Google: “Rolling Stones Altamont”

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Too many job interviews

You live in Vancouver and are invited to two job interviews, one inToronto, the other in nearby Burlington. Both companies allow youto claim expenses for the trip but each will want the originalreceipts.

You have no idea whether either company will hire you, but claimingexpenses from one company and not the other seems unfair.

What should you do and why?

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Hmmm…

You are a registered electrical engineer. An unregistered butqualified electrical engineer offers you a fee to review his design of acontrol system for electrical power in a private hospital and to sealthe plans once you have reviewed them.

What should you do?

Hmmm … What should you do?Hmmm … What should you do?

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This situation raises a number of issues. First of all signing this design without a detailedreview of the work contravenes the Engineers and Geoscientists Act, Item 20(9):

A member or licensee receiving a seal or stamp under this section must use it, withsignature and date, to seal or stamp estimates, specifications, reports, documents,plans or things that have been prepared and delivered by the member or licensee inthe member's or licensee's professional capacity or that have been prepared anddelivered under the member's or licensee's direct supervision.

It also contravenes Item 3 of the Code of Ethics:provide an opinion on a professional subject only when it is founded upon adequateknowledge and honest conviction

If you are registered, you could seal the design provided you thoroughly reviewed it.Presumably the unregistered engineer has done a reasonable job so that you wouldn’thave to start from scratch. However, you must be paid an appropriate fee for your time andthat fee may well be more than the fee the unregistered engineer is willing to pay you.There are also liability and insurance issues – you would be taking responsibility for anotherperson’s mistakes.

Note that this is different from the EIT situation. The work of EITs is supervised byregistered engineers and, once checked and reviewed, is sealed by a registered engineer.

Professional ethics  Individual morality

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“One has to look out for engineers they begin with sewing machines and end up with the atomic bomb”

Maurice Pagnol French writer, producer, film director, 1895-1974

Design of nuclear weapons systemseffective threat but significant “collateral damage”

Smart weapons designless “collateral damage” if they work

Bio‐engineering

Nuclear power development

Paul Cottle resigns from MDA

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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080117/bc_engineer_080117/20080117?hub=TopStories

Paul Cottle, an engineer who had helpeddevelop satellite technology for MacDonaldDettwiler and Associates (MDA), resignedfrom his job of three years after MDAannounced it had been sold to AlliantTechsystems (ATK).

“I do not want to work for a company like ATK that manufactures weapons that kill civilians and soldiers indiscriminately” 

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Commitment to Society – a comparison

APEGBC Code of Ethics, Item 1: 

Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public, the protection of the environment and the promotion of health 

and safety within the workplace. 

BC College of Social Workers Code of Ethics, Item 1: 

A social worker shall maintain the best interest of the client as the primary professional obligation.

The essential aspect is:

Place the public’s needs first before your own

So who is the public?

Similar principles to APEGBC Item 1 in every engineering code of ethics

NSPE (US) code of ethics does not mention the environment

Let’s try some definitions

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Is the public everyone?The result of engineers trying to protect everyone (withoutexception) is that some are affected, some are partially affected, andsome are not affected.

affected

unaffected

Yet the engineers would still be compliant with the code of ethics.

This definition is too weak.

partially affected

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Everyonemeans every person, without exception and anyonemeans any person, without 

discrimination.

Is the public anyone? 

It is impossible to do anything without incurring some risk to some members of the public.

This definition is too strong.

The result of engineers trying to protect anyone (withoutdiscrimination) is that nothing would happen.

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A more robust definition

Davis (1991, p. 165) suggests:

... “public” would refer to those persons whose lack ofinformation, technical knowledge, or time for deliberationrenders them more or less vulnerable to the power an engineerwields on behalf of his client or employer.

In other words it’s the helpless innocents, those who do not or couldnot know any better.

This places a responsibility on the engineer to define his/her public.

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Should I do engineering for the armed forces? 

First thought:

Well no because it’s partly about endangering the safety of thepublic of the other side who are indeed helpless innocents.

On second thought:

No it isn’t, it’s about endangering the soldiers of the other sidewho are not helpless innocents – they know the dangers of thejob and may have knowingly signed up for it.

So I can take that $100K job and have fun designing systems that shoot pointy things at buildings and enemy soldiers, right?

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You could try that argument ...

but there are always some buts ...• Innocent civilians do get killed in war, often by mistake• Bombing infrastructure is a good way to destroy aneconomy, but that affects and endangers innocentpeople.

• There’s war for a good cause and war for a bad causeand you really can’t be selective.

• More generally what about the morality of it?

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The fact is ...

an engineering code of ethics can’t help you with this decision

It’s a personal ethics/morality issue 

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But if you decide to take that defence job …

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your public becomes the armed forces who expect this stuff to work 

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Nature of ethical issues

• Often choice between “right and right” – a dilemma– Either choice results in a loss. Which loss is important?

• Choice within a discrete set or a continuous range of alternatives

• Unstructured, at least initially• Uncertainty usually present• Involve human emotions and human foibles

May seem unfamiliar and intimidating but engineering itself is often like this

Notes: Nature of ethical issues

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It is important to understand that ethics involves a choice and whatever choice you makewill result in some form of loss. This is a dilemma. The issues are what will guide yourchoice and what you consider important in the particular context – ie, what are youprepared to forego or lose?Uncertainty contributes to the lack of structure and often plays a role in the decision made.A real and challenging engineering design problem is somewhat like an ethical dilemma.Design always involves choices. The design problem is typically open‐ended andunstructured. An engineer would use his or her analytical skills to provide structure to theproblem. Some uncertainty is always present and an essential part of design is to eliminate,reduce or mitigate this uncertainty.Although they are not supposed to, engineers may become emotionally attached to aparticular design decision or solution. And finally engineers are human and therefore havehuman foibles. All of this affects decision‐making.

Common ethical issues for engineers

• Public welfare, health and safety• Fairness to other engineers• Duties to employers and clients

– Confidentiality– Conflicts of interest

• Fair compensation• Whistle‐blowing• Bribery and fraud

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Thankfully usually not life and death

Some macro‐ethical issues for engineers

• Large projects:– dams or infrastructure

• The Internet: great tool but …– forum for perverts, pedophiles, pornographers, and terrorists– search engine algorithms can be used to create unwanted links between users

• Design of complex systems with emergent properties that cannot be predicted– digital control systems, fossil fuel systems, aquifer use, gradual encroachment on ecosystems by infrastructure

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If you come to a fork in the road …

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Take it!