Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists and Engineers / Edition 1

by Edmund G. Seebauer, Robert L. Barry

Overview

Fundamentals of Ethics for Scientists and Engineers represents a new approach to introductory ethics that is both practical and accessible. Classical virtue theory is employed to provide a time-tested, simple, and easily remembered basis for ethical reasoning. The text is modularized for easy use in both stand-alone ethics courses and as self-contained units within engineering core courses. It is accompanied by an instructor's manual that includes a comprehensive set of sample lectures and course assignments, detailed homework solutions, and many helpful hints for teaching an ethics course.
To ground the ethical analysis in practical reality, each chapter contains a real-life case together with several fictional cases. The fictional cases breathe renewed vigor into the study of ethics by employing a new learning device: the "ethical serial." Each fictional case can be understood individually, but the cases are also unified by use of a single set of college-aged characters whose personalities are developed throughout the book. These characters mimic real people far more closely than those in other texts and act in situations that are directly familiar to students.
The book is composed of four units. The first two focus on ethical reasoning, outlining within the context of science and engineering the notions of character formation and intention central to virtue theory. To prepare students to handle complex ethical questions, these units extend virtue theory in a readily understandable way, accounting systematically for the consequences that follow an ethical decision. The second two units focus on practical issues such as intellectual property, conflict of interest, whistle blowing, and authorship in scientific publication. These units also treat more advanced topics like risk, resource allocation, conflicting ethical methods, and intuition in ethical decision making.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195134889
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/22/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 6.28(h) x 0.52(d)

About the Author

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Chicago

Table of Contents

PrefaceUNIT ONE: FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES1. APPROACHING THE SUBJECT OF ETHICSAn ExampleThe Importance of Ethics in Science and EngineeringManaging Ethical DiscussionPhilosophy, Religion, and EthicsThe Existence of Right and WrongiPrinciple: Certain aspects of right and wrong exist objectively, independent of culture or personal opinion/iThe Subject of Moral AnalysisThe Role of Codes of EthicsiA Real-life Case: Destruction of the Spaceship/i bChallengerr2. THE PERSON AND THE VIRTUESDeveloping a Model for the PersonComponents of the PsycheLimitations of the ModelHabits and MoralsThe Four Main VirtuesiPrinciple: People should always decide and act according to the virtues insofar as possible/iAn ExampleiA Real-life Case; Toxic Waste at Love Canal/i3. ANALYZING EXTERIOR ACTS: SOME FIRST STEPSEthics as a CraftDistinguishing Exterior and Interior MoralityBeginning Case AnalysisEvent TreesiA Real-life Case: Dow Corning Corp. and Breast Implants/i4. ANALYZING INTERIOR INTENTIONS: SOME FIRST STEPSDescribing IntentionThe Importance of IntentionEffort and the VirtuesiPrinciple: People should try insofar as possible to continue to progress in the moral life/iThe Role of BenevolenceiA Real-life Case: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment/iSUMMARYSome Words of CautionNoteUNIT TWO: RESOLVING ETHICAL CONFLICTS5. TOWARD A HIERARCHY OF MORAL VALUESOn Selecting Principles and MethodsHierarchies of Values: Moral and NonmoralLine-drawingAn ExampleMathematical AnalogiesRanking the VirtuesiA Real-life Case: Scientific Tests Using Animals/i6. STARTING MORAL JUDGMENTS: EVALUATING EXTERIOR ACTSA Mathematical AnalogyAn ExampleiA Real-life Case: Chemical Disaster at Bhopal/i7. COMPLETING MORAL JUDGMENTS: THE DECISIVE ROLE OF INTENTIONEvaluating Interior GoodnessAn ExampleBalancing Evaluations of Interior and Exterior GoodnessThe "Solomon Problem"iPrinciple: The obligation to avoid what is bad outweighs the obligation to do what is good /iCooperating in the Evil of OthersiA Real-life Case: The Problem of Performance Evaluation—Grade Inflation/i8. MORAL RESPONSIBILITYFactors Limiting Moral ResponsibilityDegrees of ResponsibilityAn ExampleThe "Sainthood" and "Devil" ProblemsiA Real-life Case: Responsibility in Software Engineering/iSUMMARYSome Words of CautionUNIT THREE: JUSTICE: APPLICATIONS9. TRUTH: PERSON-TO-PERSONTruth in ActionsTruth in WordsHarm from DeceptionHarm from Withholding TruthWhistleblowingHarm from Spreading TruthPrivacyiA Real-lfe Case: Censorship of the Internet/i10. TRUTH: SOCIALDistinctions between Science and EngineeringApproach to Knowledge in ScienceRecognition from Scientific PublicationBlack and Gray in Scientific PracticeApproach to Knowledge in TechnologyIntellectual PropertyiA Real-life Case: Copying Music Illegally Using the Internet/i11. FAIRNESS: PERSON-TO-PERSONConflict of InterestQualitative versus Quantitative FairnessCredit or Blame in Team ProjectsAuthorship QuestionsFairness in SupervisingFairness in Contracting with ClientsiA Real-life Case: Problems with Peer Review/i12. FAIRNESS: SOCIALIntellectual Property and the SocietyEnvironmental IssuesExperts and PaternalismSocial Aspects of EmploymentiA Real-life Case: Environmental Cleanup—Problems with the Superfund/iSUMMARYSome Words of CautionUNIT FOUR: ADVANCED TOPICS13. RESOURCE ALLOCATIONWhat is Resource Allocation? Allocation by MeritAllocation by Social WorthAllocation by NeedAllocation by Ability to PayAllocation by Equal or Random AssignmentAllocation by SimilarityHow to Decide among MethodsiA Real-life Case: Ethical Issues in Affirmative Action/i14. RISKA Historical PerspectiveDefining Safety and RiskEvaluating RiskMaking Decisions about RiskSome General GuidelinesiA Real-life Case: Experimental Drug Testing in Humans/i15. DEALING WITH DIFFERING ETHICAL SYSTEMSDiffering AnthropologiesDiffering Principles and MethodsMonism and RelativismPostmodernismTrue PluralismConclusioniA Real-life Case: Geological Experiments in Sacred Mountains/i16. HABIT AND INTUITIONRationalist Approaches to Moral ActionAdvantages of Rationalist ApproachesProblems with Rationalist ApproachesToward a More Comprehensive Approach to Moral BehavioriA Real-life Case: The Ethics of Human Cloning/iChapters 1-15 end with Notes and ProblemsChapter 16 ends with Notes