Dhaka University of Engineering & Technology, Gazipur

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Overview of Ethical Concept

Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to:
1. Learn about the basic terms- Ethics, Moral, Values, Ethical dilemma.
2. Learn about the concept of engineering ethics and its necessity.
3. Know the codes of ethics.

▪ Ethics
Ethics is the science of conduct. It considers the actions of human beings with reference to their rightness or
wrongness. The word "ethics" is derived from the Greek word ethos, which means "character".
Mackenzie defines ethics as ― the study of what is right or good in human conduct or ― the science of the ideal
involved in conduct. It is a branch of philosophy, specially the moral philosophy that studies the evolution of
concepts; such as right or wrong behavior. So, it is clear that ethics is the study which determines rightness or
wrongness of actions.
Ethics then, we may say, discusses men’s habits or customs, or in other words their characters, the principles on
which the habitually act and considers what it is that constitutes the rightness or wrongness of these principles, the
good or evil of these habits.
Ethics is the word that refers to morals, values, and beliefs of the individuals, family or the society. The word has
several meanings.
First, it is an activity and process of inquiry.
Second, it is different from non-moral problems, when dealing with issues and controversies.
Third, ethics refers to a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits of individuals or family or groups concerned
with morals.
Fourth, it is used to mean “morally correct”.

▪ Morals
Morals are the welfare principles enunciated by the wise people, based on their experience and wisdom. They were
edited, changed or modified or evolved to suit the geography of the region, rulers (dynasty), and in accordance with
development of knowledge in science and technology and with time.
Morality is concerned with principles and practices of morals such as: (a) What ought or ought not to be done in a
given situation?
(b) What is right or wrong about the handling of a situation? And

Prepared by: Md. Mamun Sikder, Asstt. Prof, Dept. of EEE, DUET, Gazipur
(c) What is good or bad about the people, policies, and ideals involved?

▪ Values
Humans have the unique ability to define their identity, choose their values and establish their beliefs. All three of
these directly influence a person‘s behavior. People have gone to great lengths to demonstrate the validity of their
beliefs, including war and sacrificing their own life! Conversely, people are not motivated to support or validate the
beliefs of another, when those beliefs are contrary to their own. People will act congruent with their personal values
or what they deem to be important.
A value is defined as a principle that promotes well-being or prevents harm. Another definition is: ―Values are our
guidelines for our success—our paradigm about what is acceptable.”
Personal values are defined as: ―Emotional beliefs in principles regarded as particularly favorable or important for
the individual.” Our values associate emotions to our experiences and guide our choices, decisions and actions.
Types of Values:
The five core human values are: (1) Right conduct, (2) Peace, (3) Truth, (4) Love, and (5) Non-violence.

▪ Engineering Ethics
The word ethics has several meanings, and hence so does engineering ethics. In one sense, ethics is
synonymous with morality. It refers to moral values that are sound or reasonable, actions or policies that
are morally required (right), morally permissible (all right), or otherwise morally desirable (good).
Accordingly, engineering ethics consists of the responsibilities and rights that ought to be endorsed by those
engaged in engineering, and also of desirable ideals and personal commitments in engineering.
In a second sense, ethics is the activity (and field) of studying morality; it is an inquiry into ethics in the
first sense. It studies which actions, goals, principles, policies, and laws are morally justified. Using this
sense, engineering ethics is the study of the decisions, policies, and values that are morally desirable in
engineering practice and research.
▪ Why Engineering Ethics?
The objectives of this course are: (a) to understand the moral values that ought to guide the Engineering
profession, (b) resolve the moral issues in the profession, and (c) justify the moral judgment concerning the
profession. It is intended to develop a set of beliefs, attitudes, and habits that engineers should display
concerning morality.
▪ Three Types of Ethics or Morality
If ethical commitment is central to professionalism, we must turn more directly to ethics and especially to
professional ethics. How does professional ethics differ from other types of ethics—philosophical ethics,
business ethics, personal ethics, and so on? In answering this question, it is helpful to distinguish between
three types of ethics or morality.
Common Morality
Common morality is the set of moral beliefs shared by almost everyone. It is the basis, or at least the
reference point, for the other two types of morality that we shall discuss. When we think of ethics or
morality, we usually think of such precepts as that it is wrong to murder, lie, cheat or steal, break promises,
harm others physically, and so forth. It would be very difficult for us to question seriously any of these
precepts.

Prepared by: Md. Mamun Sikder, Asstt. Prof, Dept. of EEE, DUET, Gazipur
Personal Morality
Personal ethics or personal morality is the set of moral beliefs that a person holds. For most of us, our
personal moral beliefs closely parallel the precepts of common morality. We believe that murder, lying,
cheating, and stealing are wrong. However, our personal moral beliefs may differ from common morality
in some areas, especially where common morality seems to be unclear or in a state of change. Thus, we
may oppose stem cell research, even though common morality may not be clear on the issue. (Common
morality may be unclear at least partially because the issue did not arise until scientific advancement made
stem cell research possible and ordinary people have yet to identify decisive arguments.)
Professional Ethics
Professional ethics is the set of standards adopted by professionals insofar as they view themselves acting
as professionals. Every profession has its professional ethics: medicine, law, architecture, pharmacy, and
so forth. Engineering ethics is that set of ethical standards that applies to the profession of engineering.
There are several important characteristics of professional ethics.
▪ Ethical Dilemma:
The purpose of the Ethical Dilemmas is to encourage students to develop their awareness of ethical issues
in the workplace and the managerial challenges they present. The dilemmas are set up to present situations
in which there is no clear ethical choice.
Ethical dilemmas are situations where a decision suggested/ take as a solution to an ethical problem becomes
controversial. Many such problems are still being debated hotly around the worlds.
E.g. Death penalty to a situational convict, Euthanasia (mercy killing) is killing of terminally ill persons
suffering acutely with no hope of survival.
There are three types of complexities (Dilemmas):
Vagueness: This complexity arises due to the fact that it is not clear to individuals as to which moral
considerations or principles apply to their situation.
Conflicting reasons: Even when it is perfectly clear as to which moral principle is applicable to one‘s
situation, there could develop a situation where in two or more clearly applicable moral principles come
into conflict.
Disagreement: Individuals and groups may disagree how to interpret, apply and balance moral reasons in
particular situations.
▪ Codes of Ethics
Codes of ethics state the moral responsibilities of engineers as seen by the profession and as represented by
a professional society. Because they express the profession’s collective commitment to ethics, codes are
enormously important, not only in stressing engineers’ responsibilities but also in supporting the freedom
needed to meet them.

Prepared by: Md. Mamun Sikder, Asstt. Prof, Dept. of EEE, DUET, Gazipur
Codes of ethics play at least eight essential roles: serving and protecting the public, providing guidance,
offering inspiration, establishing shared standards, supporting responsible professionals, contributing to
education, deterring wrongdoing, and strengthening a profession’s image.

Reference:
Different websites.

Prepared by: Md. Mamun Sikder, Asstt. Prof, Dept. of EEE, DUET, Gazipur