Engineering Ethics: Theories, Evolution & Professional Codes
Engineering Ethics: Evolution and Theories
Evolution of Ethics
- Early Ethics: Rooted in religion and divine commands (e.g., Ten Commandments).
- Philosophical Ethics: Shift to reason and rationality in ancient Greek philosophy (e.g., Aristotle’s virtue ethics, Plato’s theory of the ideal state).
- Modern Ethics: Emergence of autonomous ethics in the Enlightenment (e.g., Kant’s deontological ethics).
- Postmodern Ethics: Ethics become relativized, where moral values depend on culture, context, and individual
Marx’s Dialectical Materialism: Reality and Alienation
Marx’s Dual Philosophical Aims
Marx aimed to transform philosophy into a science capable of explaining all reality. Simultaneously, he intended his theory to critique the historical reality of his time and thereby help transform it. For this reason, Marx’s philosophy had two dimensions:
- Theoretical: A scientific explanation of reality, seeking to understand human reality, society, and history to develop a theory of consciousness that illuminates ideological and alienated existence.
- Practical: Aimed
Pre-Socratic Concepts of Reality: The Arche
The Arche in Pre-Socratic Philosophy
The arche represents the basic reality, the fundamental principle or substance from which everything originates and is composed. It is the beginning foundation, the element or substance underlying all things.
Milesian School: Material Monism
- Thales of Miletus: Considered the first philosopher, Thales believed the arche is water, observing its necessity for all living organisms. He also held that everything possesses a soul (hylozoism), implying universal life.
- Anaximander:
Overcoming Fear: Douglas’s Journey to Conquer Water
Why Was Douglas Determined to Overcome His Fear of Water?
The near-drowning experience left a lasting impact on Douglas, marring his enjoyment of water sports like fishing, canoeing, boating, and swimming. Determined to live without this fear, he resolved to overcome it at any cost.
Why Did His Mother Warn Him Against the River Yakima?
His mother warned Douglas about the River Yakima because it was treacherous, with several drowning incidents having occurred there. She didn’t want her children near
Read MorePre-Socratic Philosophers: Key Thinkers and Core Concepts
Pre-Socratic Philosophers: Myths and the Dawn of Reason
The Pre-Socratic philosophers sought rational explanations (logos) for the natural world, moving away from mythical accounts. Philosophy emerged as a reflection on the fundamental principle of nature.
The Milesians
Thales
Thales posited that the fundamental principle (arkhe) of everything is water, from which all things arise and to which they return.
Anaximander
Anaximander believed that the arkhe is the apeiron, an indefinite and boundless substance
Read MorePlato’s Theory of Forms: Ideas and the Physical World
Plato’s Theory of Forms
Ideas find their home, influencing creatures in the physical world through constant movement and transformation. These forms mirror the world, embodying the idea of a copy.
The world’s creation involved matter yielding to ideas. This duality reflects in Plato’s concept of the world and the expression of ideas.
Different ideas form the essence of existence, creating a hierarchy. Goodness is paramount, encompassing mathematical concepts and more.
Distinctive Ideas
- Traditional ideas.