Moral rules are principles, or standards concerning the
Fundamentals of the Law
Order of Society
 Human beings live in a society.
 Society means; people living together.
 There must be an Order to live together.
 Order of Society is provided by social rules
 Social rules are; rules of good manner, moral rules,
religious rules and rules of Law.
“Social Order Rules” are necessary for preventing chaos
and anarchy society, and for providing peace and
security for everybody.
Social Order Rules:
 Rules of Good Manners
 Moral Rules
 Religious Rules
 Legal Rules
Law or Legal Order is only one of the parts that make
up the social order
Legal Rules are the most important and most effective
social rules within the order of society.
Legal Rules and institutions constitute the Legal Order
of a country
Legal Rules regulate individuals’ behavior to each other
and society, for protecting rights and freedom of
everybody, and for providing security and equality for
all.
Legal Order Provides
 Peace
Legal rules restrict the power of individuals and
groups to secure other’s rights.
 Security
Legal order protects the weak individual and
groups against the powerful ones.
 Equality
Everybody is equal in front of the law.
 Freedom
Restricted but steady freedom is guaranteed for
everybody
Moral Order
The most important rules of the social conduct, apart
from the law, are moral rules.
right or wrong conduct, which is also called ethics.
They reflect the values which are embraced as desirable
or ideal standards of human conduct in that society/
Public and private morality
Whether an action and/or contract is against good
morals is usually determined according to general
standards of morality.
Generally subjective morality standards of a person are
not taken into account.
Laws and ethics; in other words, legal and moral are
related, insofar both are concerned with human conduct.
Moral Reasoning and Ethical Theories
Moral reasons require us to respect other people as well
as ourselves, to care for others’ good as well as our own.
Moral reasons, for instance, involve respecting persons
by being fair and just with them, respecting their rights,
keeping promises, avoiding unnecessary offence and
pain to them, and not resorting to cheating or practicing
dishonesty.
Theories of Right Action
1. Utilitarianism
- seeks to produce the most utility, defined as a
balance between good and bad consequences of an
action, taking into account the consequences for
everyone affected.
2. Duty Ethics
- contends that there are duties that should be
performed (the duty to treat others fairly or the duty
not to injure others) regardless of whether theses acts
lead to the most good.
3. Rights Ethics
- emphasizes that we all have moral rights, and anu
action that violates these rights is ethically
unacceptable. Like duty ethics, the ultimate overall
good of the actions is not taken into account.
4. Virtue Ethics
- regards those actions as right that manifest good
traits (virtues), and regards those actions as bad that
display bad traits (vices). The ethical theory focuses
on the type of the person we should strive to be.
Uses of Ethical Theories
1. Resolving Moral Dilemmas
2. Justifying Moral Obligations
3. Relating professional and ordinary mortality
Three types of inquiry
1. Normative
Engineering ethics involves normative inquiries
aimed at identifying and justifying the morally
desirable norms or standards that ought to guide
individuals or groups. Normative questions are about
what ought to be and what is good.
2. Conceptual
These are directed toward clarifying the meaning of
concepts, principles, and issues in engineering
ethics. For example, what does “safety” means and
how is it related to the idea of “risk”? These issues
have to do with the meaning of applicability of an
idea.
3. Factual/ Descriptive
Seek to uncover information bearing upon value
issues. Where possible, researchers attempt to
conduct factual inquiries using proven scientific
techniques.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
First stage – Personal Survival
“Me against the world” – no altruism at all. You don’t
expect anyone to help you. You act upon survival
instincts. These people just take what they need without
consideration of the impact on others.
Second stage
“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”. You
recognize that others can help you and that you must
return the favor. Still no altruism.
Third stage
Good or Bad behavior is dictated by whether it is seen
as good or as bad, depending upon whether it conforms
or goes against some learned doctrine of acceptable
behavior (peer pressure). Any altruism is only seeking
the approval of others.
Sixth stage
Recognition of universal principles. The individual
fully realizes that there is a higher law to which we are
all subject. The individual’s highly evolved conscience
is the sole basis for behavior. Most behaviors are for the
benefit of the others. These people are willing to risk
their lives for others.
Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s central claim was that increases in reasoning
skill over time were punctuated by shifts in perspective
that could only be called qualitative change from one
stage of thinking to another. This is a thoroughly
cognitive
Ethical Problems of Engineers in Industry
1. Illegal Acts
An engineer may be asked to perform an act that the
engineer considers unethical and is also clearly
contrary to the law. In such a case, the engineer
should advise the employer that the action is illegal
and should resist any direction to break the law; the
employer des not have the authority to direct the
engineer to break a law.
2. Acts Contrary to the Code of Ethics
An engineer may be asked to perform an act that,
while not clearly illegal, is a breach of the code of
ethics of the provincial Association. In this case, the
engineer should advise the employer of the
appropriate section of the code of ethics and should
decline to take any action on the employer’s request.
3. Acts Contrary to the Conscience of the Engineer
An engineer may be asked to perform an act that,
while not illegal nor a violation of the code of ethics,
nevertheless contravenes the engineer’s conscience
or moral code.

Fourth stage
Law and Order. Recognition that behavior needs to
conform to written laws. The law is the final arbiter and
is seen as something that should be obeyed without
question. Any altruism is seen as a responsibility.
Kolberg calls the nest two stages “Post Conventional”,
these stages go beyond social programming requiring
individuals to discover for themselves the “higher
morality”.

Fifth stage
The social contract. Recognition that laws exists for
common good but these laws must not be viewed as
applying every case. There is a genuine interest in the
welfare of others and the concept of justice. Altruistic.
This stage is typical of those who protest against the
inequities of the system, go to jail on social principles,
etc.