Aspirational Ethics as a Contributing Factor in Engineering Students’ Ethical Awareness and Behavior

As ethical behavior is a part of engineers' professional identity and practice, developing ethical behavior skills in future engineers is a vital component of the engineering curriculum. There are already established instructional methods to teach engineering ethics (EE), however, it is concentrated on ethical awareness, and little attention has been given to how this will affect the ethical behavior. Even though students are capable of exercising ethical judgment, it does not mean that they are ethically literate or likely to act ethically. The assessment of engineering ethics cannot be conducted based on ethical judgment, because the ethical awareness of some engineers has not translated into ethical behavior. An alternative instructional method for measuring the ethical behavior is required to see how the ethical awareness given in the classroom setting is translated to the actual ethical behavior. Therefore, the focus of this paper is to propose an instructional method that correlates with both ethical awareness and ethical behavior, through aspirational ethics which require the students to contribute to the society. This method integrates the theory of morals and values, ethical and unethical conduct, code of practices of an engineer, ethics with the environment, and the responsibility of the engineer for the safety of everybody. Students’ ethical behavior in the society will be demonstrated through the University Social Responsibility (USR) projects. From these projects, the students’ ethical behavior is assessed by their peers, beneficiaries that they are serving, as well as by the educators, regarding their ethical conduct. This will be the tools to observe the degree of correlations between the ethical awareness instilled and behavior manifested. Applying these instructional methods will allow educators to build confidence and trust in their students' ability to build a professional identity and be prepared for the engineering profession and practice.

The Responsibility of Engineers

Victor Weisskopf said “Human existence is based upon two pillars: compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; knowledge without compassion is inhuman.” A cursory examination of how science and engineering have operated historically reveals a litany of instances where they serve oppression. Neither is inherently good. Both exist within the context of societal frameworks and cannot be isolated panaceas for challenges of the day. Whether to install pipeline infrastructure in Standing Rock or Flint results in disparate health and economic outcomes depending on race and class. Whether to introduce the class “Hacking 4 Defense” into curriculums, or one titled “Engineering Ethics and the Public,” trains engineers towards drastically different ends. Recognition of such frameworks may imbue us with the critical conscientiousness and political consciousness necessary to take commensurate action. Only then will science and engineering contribute to reimagining and remaking the world in an equitable fashion never seen before.