Good Engineers
John Monk · European Journal of Engineering Education · 1997
SUMMARY Engineers continually make judgements and promote their decisions. Codes of practice offer little practical kelp, but engineering texts are full of declarations of what is approved and what is not. There is also a practical knowledge gained by exposure to dilemmas which teaches us through our feelings what it means, for us, to be a good engineer. Engineering judgements are seldom easy since judgements frequently require a balance between the good and the bad. Science is inappropriate for ethical judgements; it leads us to forsake wisdom and maturity. It is literature, especially in the form of the novel and the tragedy, that highlights how people cope with ethical dilemmas. There are many relevant tragedies and novels with a technological flavour that can be compared and contrasted, debated and discussed by students and professionals.