Marco, Micro, Structure, Agency: Analysing Approaches to Engineering Ethics

There is an increasing diversity in approaches to teaching engineering ethics due to increasing dissatisfaction with the dominant approach which uses case studies focused on moral dilemmas confronting individual engineers. There has been a demand for a greater consideration of the organisational and social context in which engineers work and for a shift in focus from micro ethics issues concerning individuals to macro issues of concern to the engineering profession. Further, there has been a demand that engineers focus on societal decision making about technology and their role in policy development. Drawing on the work of the American sociologist George Ritzer, which focuses on micro/macro integration and the subjective and objective dimensions of sociological analysis, this paper provides a framework for understanding different approaches to engineering ethics. In moving towards an integrated approach, it is argued that a key issue confronting engineers is how to change the economic and social context in which they work so that it enables rather than constrains the development of sustainable engineering solutions.