Fundamentals of Ethics

Abstract

Ethics in science and engineering has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Several well-publicized incidents, like the destruction of the space shuttle Challenger and the accusations surrounding the Thereza Imanishi-Kari/David Baltimore case, have focused heightened attention on the values by which scientists and engineers govern their professional behavior. In response, legislatures and governmental agencies have imposed ever more strict regulations regarding public disclosure, conflict of interest, and the like. Universities and national accrediting agencies are beginning to insist on formal training in ethics. Indeed, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) now specifically requires training in ethics for all engineering undergraduates. The National Institutes of Health requires formal ethics education for the graduate students funded by the NIH Training Grant Program. No doubt this focus on ethics in science and engineering fits into a broader societal debate about personal and social morals in general. This debate is strongly colored by what many perceive to be a steady erosion of moral standards throughout much of Western culture. Regardless of whether such a decline truly exists, the perception of decline has made the debate about moral values increasingly shrill and bitter. Unfortunately, many scientists and engineers remain inadequately prepared to contribute to moral debates in a useful way, even within their own disciplines. Good intentions alone do not substitute for a keen eye for detecting ethical issues and a sound method for reasoning about them. This book seeks to remedy the problem, at least in part.