Along with the technological development, roles which engineers play in our society today have been getting increasingly more
important. Meanwhile, professional skills and knowledge required for engineering practice have never been this extensive and
complex, and face individual engineers with more difficult ethical issues than ever. The main topic of this course is contemporary
engineers’ moral responsibility and many actual cases of engineering disasters. They are examined mainly from philosophical
perspective.
This course does not try to offer a specific solution to each ethical problem concerning engineering practice. Rather, the
main purpose is to examine engineers’ moral responsibilities from multiple respects to obtain deeper insights, and by doing
so, to help students think of how to deal with future troubles in their professional careers.
- To understand ethical issues faced by engineers today.
- To obtain insights into engineers’ roles and their existence.
- To become familiar with important ethical notions.
| Class schedule | HW assignments (Including preparation and review of the class.) | Amount of Time Required | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Introduction: What is it like to learn ‘ought’? | Reading the course syllabus | 60minutes |
| 2. | Who are engineers? | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 3. | Professional ethics | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 4. | Engineers' ethical codes | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 5. | Ethical dilemma | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 6. | How far can one be responsible? | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 7. | Standard of care (Kansas city hyatt regency hotel, City corp building) | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 8. | Organizational responsibility and individual responsibility (Columbia accident) | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 9. | Why can't one behave responsibly? (1) (Challenger accident) | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 10. | Why can't can behave responsibly? (2) (Milgram Experiment, Group think) | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 11. | Fact and value | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 12. | Cost-benefit analysis and its ethics (Ford Pinto) | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 13. | Criticisms against utilitarianism | Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Making a summary of the previous lecture | 90minutes | ||
| 14. | Final Review |
Reviewing slides from the previous lecture | 90minutes |
| Preparing for the final | 240minutes | ||
| Total. | - | - | 2550minutes |
| Final Exam | In-class asignment | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 20% | 15% | 35% |
| 2. | 20% | 15% | 35% |
| 3. | 20% | 10% | 30% |
| Total. | 60% | 40% | - |
An open book final exam *handwritten lecture notes only. The final consists of both multiple choice and essay questions (each
1-2 pts, total 60 pts). The point allotment is on the exam.
In-class assignments are to ask points in the lecture.
In-class assignments are to ask points in the lecture.
N/A. *Study aids (books and websites) are notified in class, if any. The lecture notes are available online.
- Course that cultivates a basic interpersonal skills
Last modified : Wed Oct 17 07:28:58 JST 2018