Author Meets the Critics – Engineering Ethics, Contemporary and Enduring Debates
Engineering Ethics, Contemporary and Enduring Debates by Deborah G. Johnson (Yale University Press, 2020) is the first engineering ethics textbook to use debates as the framework for presenting engineering ethics topics. The book addresses foundational issues in engineering ethics, such as whether engineering needs a code of ethics; employment relationships, especially those with clients and employers; and contemporary, societal issues, including whether autonomous cars will ever be safe enough and whether engineers are responsible for social justice. The debate format exposes the underlying rationales for many commonly held beliefs about engineering and technology, and encourages the development of reflective and critical thinking. Johnson approaches engineering ethics with the premise that engineering is both a technical and a social endeavour, and ethical issues arise in the social practices of the profession that are often intertwined with technical decision making.
Presenter:
Deborah G. Johnson, Philosopher, STS scholar whose research interests focus on computer ethics and engineering ethics.
Critics:
Keith Miller, University of Missouri – St. Louis
Dayoung Kim, Purdue University
Lambèr Royakkers, Eindhoven University of Technology
Moderator:
Brent Jesiek, National Institute of Engineering Ethics, Purdue University