The Importance Of Virtue Ethics In Engineering

Virtue Ethics in Engineering
Virtues are desirable habits or tendencies in action, commitment, motive, attitude, and emotion, and virtue ethics emphasizes these characteristics more than rules and regulations. It is important for engineers to have certain virtues in order to truly protect the welfare of the public. Most engineering ethics have been oriented towards “preventive ethics” to protect the public from professional misconduct and harmful effects of technology. However, some aspects such as awareness of the social context of technology, respect for nature and commitment to the public good cannot be adequately accounted for in terms of negative rules. Here is where virtue ethics comes in hand. It promotes practical judgment and inner …show more content…
One of them is friendship. I have obtained many good friendships with my colleagues here over the past four years that I know I will continue to be friends with for a good amount of my life. Friendship is one of the most important virtues in achieving the goal of eudaimonia according to Aristotle. The highest level of friendship is one that based on virtue. This type of friendship is based on a person wishing the best for their friends regardless of utility or pleasure. It is long lasting and tough to obtain because these types of people are hard to come by and it takes a lot of work to have a complete, virtuous friendship, but I truly believe that I have reached this level of virtuous friendship with a handful of my colleagues here at Texas A&M. Another virtue that I feel like I have obtained is prudence or practical wisdom. Being at this university has taught me to make sound judgments that are going to affect the rest of my life like choosing a practical career path and making decisions that will get me there. I have also used prudence at my engineering internships and have gained experience in making decisions. This will come in handy in my professional career for the next forty years. A&M has also taught me courage. I feel like when I first arrived, I was afraid to take on challenges but Texas A&M has given me the resources …show more content…
It is important for a chemical engineer to be open and willing to accept limitations because it indicates that he or she is interested and allows them to continue to grow and learn. It is extremely imperative that a new-hire engineer does not come in thinking that they have all the answers and it is extremely imperative that a senior engineer is able to be flexible in admitting that he isn’t always right and needs to value others perspectives as well. A smart, virtuous engineer never stops learning. In connection, there is always something to learn on every occasion whenever constructive criticism is given to us. Criticism is never something that is appreciated, but it really motivates a chemical engineer to strive for the best. The willingness to take risks as a chemical engineer is important, but can also work against your favor so it is important that it used in the right way. The willingness to take risks leads chemical engineers to make great things; those are the type of breakthroughs that lead to Nobel prizes and such. But it is also imperative that one does not blindly take risks without assessing the situation from all