Developing a Method to Distinguish Between Normative and Ethical Behaviors in Engineering

Abstract

Engineering education aims to prepare its graduates to be ethical and responsible engineers. Though ethics has been recognized as an important aspect of engineering education, there is not a definitive consensus on what ethical engineering is. The engineering ethics literature reveals expansive definitions of and extensive debates about what constitutes ethical engineering practice. Though scholars may not agree about what ethical engineering entails, it is worthwhile to consider what ethical engineering means to those who practice it daily in their work.