Hammurabi Code Of Engineering Ethics

Great Essays
• Do not express new ethical principles, but coherently restate existing standards of responsible engineering practice
• Create an environment within the Profession where ethical behavior is the norm
• Not legally binding; an engineer cannot be arrested for violating an ethical code (but may be expelled from or censured by the engineering society)

Are Engineering Codes Needed? NO:

– Engineers are capable of fending for themselves
– Common law is available to defend in ethical disputes
– Offended public can seek redress through courts

Are Engineering Codes Needed? YES:

– Engineers have few or no resources to defend themselves in an ethical dispute
– Common law is available in reality only with great difficulty
– Conversely, the public has
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If it causes the death of the householder’s son, they shall put the builder’s son to death….
(Hammurabi, King of Babylon, 1758 B.C.)

Code of Ethics for Engineers

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
(ABET)
The Fundamental Principles

Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by:
• using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of the human race;
• being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients;
• Striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.
• Supporting the professional and technical societies of their discipline.

The Fundamental Cannons

Engineers shall
• hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties;
• perform service only in areas of their competence;
• issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner;
• act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of
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Codes are restricted to general and vague wording. They cannot be straightaway applied to all situations. It is impossible to foresee the full range of moral problems that can arise in a complex profession like engineering.

2. It is easy for different clauses of codes to come into conflict with each other. Usually codes provide no guidance as to which clause should have priority in those cases, creating moral dilemmas.

3. They cannot serve as the final moral authority for professional conduct. If the code of a professional society is taken as the last word, it means that we are getting into a particular set of conventions i.e. ethical conventionalism. 4. Andrew Oldenquist and Edward Slowter pointed out how the existence of separate codes for different professional societies can give members the feeling that ethical conduct is more relative than it is and that it can convey to the public the view that none is ‘really right’. The current codes are by no means perfect but are definitely steps in the right direction.

The problems of law in

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