ENGG 400

The Practice of the

Engineering Profession

(understanding our commitments,

duties & responsibilities)
 ENGG 400 Coordinators

 Dr. Fraser Forbes, P.Eng., Dean

 Dr. Tim Joseph, P.Eng., Associate Dean
 Mr. Connor Harper,
Recruitment & Student Programs Officer
 Mr. Torrey Dance,
Recruitment & Student Liaison Specialist
 Acknowledgements

Some of the materials for the following presentation

were obtained from and provided by several
sources, including:
APEGA, The PEG, The Edmonton Journal
Mr. Len Shrimpton, P.Eng.
Mr. Ray Chopiuk, P.Eng.
Philippa Foot, Wikipedia
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
 Course Description

ENGG 400 - The Practice of the Engineering Profession

The technical and professional duties and responsibilities

of the engineer; the ethics of the engineering profession;
technical and professional organizations. The role of the
engineer in the social environment including elements of
equity, concepts of sustainable development and
environmental stewardship, public and worker safety
and health considerations including the context of the
Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act.
 ENGG 400 Key Elements

 duties & responsibilities of an engineer.

 engineering ethics.
 technical & professional organizations.
 role of an engineer in society.
 sustainability and environmental stewardship.
 Health & safety.
 Course Components & Requirements

 Credit (CR)/Non-Credit (NC)

To obtain credit you must successfully complete all
assignments and the final exam (70%+).
 no textbook required
(use presentation and eClass material).
 Special considerations:
 No talking.
 Do not leave until session finished.
 Be professional.
 Mandatory attendance in registered section
 ENGG 400 Student Inquiries
 Lec B1 Thursday 11:30 am – 12:20 pm
 Lec B2 Thursday 12:30 pm – 1:20 pm

 Email: ENGG400@ualberta.ca
 eClass Website: https://eclass.srv.ualberta.ca

 Connor Harper or Torrey Dance, 2nd Floor ICE

 Regular Office Hours:
Tues 2:00 - 3:00 pm, Wed 9:00 - 10:00 am,
Thurs 9:00 - 10:30 am
 Ethics
 An unmanned train is out-of-control and racing down
a track (such as at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec where 47
people were killed on July 6, 2013)

 There are five people working on the tracks who are

listening to music on their headphones. They do not
hear the approaching train and cannot be warned. All
five people will definitely be killed by the train.

 You do not work for the railroad company, but you

could pull a switch. This will direct the train onto a rail
siding and save the five people. Alternatively, you
can stay uninvolved and let the train hit the people.
 Ethics

You have only two choices:

A. Do nothing – the group of five people will all die

(no one will know that you did nothing),

or:

B. Pull the switch – the five people will live

(no one will know that you are a hero).

What is your choice: A or B ?

 Ethics
Variation #1
 An unmanned train is out-of-control and racing down
a track. There are five people working on the tracks
who will not hear the approaching train and cannot
be warned. All five people will definitely be killed by
the train.

 You could pull a switch to direct the train onto the rail
siding to save the five people, but there is another
worker who is on the rail siding listening to music on
headphones. This one person will definitely be killed
by the train, if you pull the switch.
 Ethics

You have only two choices:

A. Do nothing – five people die, one person lives.

(no one will know that you did nothing),

or:

B. Pull switch – one person dies, five people live.

(no one will know that you pulled the switch).

What is your choice: A or B ?

 Ethics
Variation #2
You are now on a bridge above the main tracks. There
is a person with you on the bridge. You can push the
person off of the bridge and onto the tracks below. The
person will die and the train will derail when it hits the
body. This will save the lives of the five people working
on the main tracks.

You have only two choices:

A. Do nothing – the group of five people will all die,
B. Push the person off the bridge and save the five.
What is your choice: A or B ?
 Ethics
Variation #3
You have to decide whether to pull the switch. You do
not know any of the group of five people on the main
track. The person on the railway siding is a close
relative (husband, wife, parent, brother, sister, etc.).

You have only two choices:

A. Do nothing – the group of five people will all die
but save your relative,
B. Pull the switch – the group of five people live, but
your relative dies.
What is your choice: A or B ?
 Philosophical Questions

 When we decline to do something (inaction), the

overall outcome can be “worse” than by taking
some action.

 Negative responsibility: If we are responsible for

the outcomes of our actions, are we also
responsible for the “outcomes” of our inaction?
 Philosophical Approaches
Two (of many) basic philosophical paradigms:

 Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill): promotion of the

greatest good for the greatest number of people.
 Respect for Persons: the requirement to treat each
and every person with equal respect and rights.
 Are these two philosophical approaches in conflict,
(i.e., save five people by killing one, or treat the one
individual on the rail siding with equal respect and
rights compared to each of the other five individuals
on the main track)?
 Ethical Dilemma

 Variation of the Trolley Dilemma (Problem)

(Phillipa Foot, 1967)

 Thought experiment used to test Ethical

Paradigms.

 Ethics is a branch of Philosophy.

 Legal Codes

 Laws of society, jurisdiction, …

 Laws can be set by UN, countries, provinces,

municipalities, …
 Legal Codes
Legal
illegal under
Legal
National
Code

illegal illegal
under under
Provincial Municipal
Code Code
Legal
 Legal Codes

Do you always follow the law?

A. Yes
B. No
 Moral Codes

Moral codes (Stanford Encyclopedia of

Philosophy):

 are an informal public system governing behavior

that affects others,
 have the lessening of evil or harm as their goal,
 apply to all rational persons,
 often, but not always, grounded in religious beliefs.
 Ethical Codes

Ethical Codes:

 code of behavior adopted by an organisation to

regulate the actions of its members.

 often set by professions, governments, public

institutions, ...

 Professional Engineers must adhere to a

professional code of ethics.
 Moral Codes
Moral
Immoral
Moral
under Moral
Code #1

Immoral Immoral
under under
Moral Moral
Code #2 Code #3
Moral
 Moral Codes

Do you follow a personal moral code?

A. Yes
B. No
 Ethical Codes
Ethical
Unethical
Ethical
under Ethical
Code #1

Unethical Unethical
under under
Ethical Ethical
Code #2 Code #3
Ethical
 Ethical Codes

Do you follow a formal ethical code?

A. Yes
B. No
 Ethical, Moral, Legal

Legal
illegal
Ethical

immoral unethical

Moral
 ENGG 400

End of Lecture #1, January 12, 2017

 Further reading:

• Trolley Dilemma (http://www.trolleydilemma.com)

• 30-Second Philosophies: The 50 Most Thought-

provoking Philosophies, Law & Baggini, 2010