A Phenomenological Approach to Ethics Education

As a subject of education, Ethics in Engineering is very different from other topics in engineering curricula. Students find it difficult to see how an ethics course could improve their engineering skills. Therefore, it is important to keep the ethics courses closely connected with their engineering education. One practical approach that might stimulate the interest of students is to start with practical questions. Why should we be interested in professional ethics? Who benefits and how from there being a high ethical level in the engineering profession? These ‘phenomenological’ questions immediately lead to important practical aspects of professional ethics that should not be ignored by any practising engineer. The students can realise that professional ethics is not just academic interest in eternal religious or metaphysical concepts but part of the hard core of the profession. Following this idea, an introductory course on professional ethics can be started with the observation that, for a respectable profession, ethical and moral legitimacy is as important as the scientific basis of knowledge and skills. This is why, in the 19th century, the first codes of conduct were written. In the turmoil of today’s global business world, a high level of professional morality is more important than ever. Recently, business ethics has become an important strategic element for multinational enterprises. Bad environmental practices or the violation of moral principles may be observed by the media and can seriously damage the business. Furthermore, companies are less likely to keep their best and most skilful employees if the moral code and values of the management are not acceptable. For a business, ethical codes have only the instrumental value of making the enterprise more attractive to clients, investors, and employees. The interest of engineering associations is deeper, because they not only want to enhance the status of their members in society but also bring the expertise of their members to the attention of decision-makers in society and act as a channel for the moral intentions and ideas of their individual members concerning all aspects of the modern technological society. At Helsinki University of Technology, these practical principles have been followed for a decade in elective ethics courses.