Free Essay About Engineering Ethics Paper: Luegenbiehl And Ladd's Argument Discussion

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Luegenbiehl argues that despite the existence of a code of ethics in the engineering profession, it is mostly ignored thereby making it useless. However, Luegenbiehl does not out rightly blame engineers for disregarding the code. According to him, engineers choose to pay no attention to the code because these set of ethical rules in their present form are not applicable in contemporary engineering practice as well as non-justifiable. How come Luegenbiehl arrived into such a hypothesis? What could be his basis in claiming that the current code of ethics in engineering is not justifiable? In order to prove his point of view, Luegenbiehl first looked back into the origin of the code of ethics; at least in the American professional setting. In his research, he observed that the codes have been applied in order to show that professionals have a sense of social responsibility; that what they do professionally is not just for the sake of economic benefits but is somehow balanced with the good of society. However, the engineer is not all the time only answerable to himself and society. Most often, the engineer finds himself employed or commissioned to a certain task that requires his expertise. In this regards, Luegenbiehl points out that the code of ethics as it applies to the engineering profession is highly relative that conflict of interests are often encountered. In the observance of his duties, for example, an engineer may encounter orders that may be directly come in conflict with his personal ethics and yet professional ethics suggests another. Or perhaps he is presented with a dilemma of whether to obey his employer at the expense of society or to resign his post and compromise his job. It seems then that the code is useless in a sense that it does not guarantee a decision without conflict of interest.
Luegenbiehl’s belief that ethics is highly relative and full of conflict is also reflected in Ladd’s observation. According to Ladd, ethics is “an open-ended, reflective and critical intellectual activity,” which is often problematic and controversial as far as principle and application are concerned. Ladd’s reasoning is quite simple and straightforward. Accordingly, since ethics is highly debatable and relative, just like Luegenbiehl, Ladd believe that ethics cannot be and should not be codified and imposed on others for compliance. Most often, having a code of ethics may imply that a particular profession has its own set of ethical principles that it adheres to. For Ladd, this is the common misconception of professionals adopting a code of ethics. And while adopting a code of ethics has its advantages such as serving as inspiration, as a standard for morality, as a penal code, as advice and as a set of standard that client and employers would normally expect from particular profession, a code of ethics does not exempt a certain profession from the “common obligations, duties and responsibilities that are binding on ordinary people”. At times, as Ladd observed, the adoption of a code of ethics can sometimes mislead a professional into becoming complacent. This happens when a professional only adheres to the minimum standards set by his or her code of ethics while disregarding other important moral considerations that are not included in their code of ethics.
Evidently, both authors imply that it is not advisable for ethics to be codified, which gives an impression that the common practice of professionals adhering to some set of ethical standards are misleading. However, both authors recognize that ethics is important in a profession especially in engineering in particular. For Ladd, in order for professionals to be ethical, the solution is not to impose a code of ethics but to make them aware of the micro and macro ethical issues that affect their profession. Micro-ethics, according to Ladd, are those related to the interpersonal relationship of an individual to other individuals while macro-ethics pertains to the relationship of professionals as a group to society. On the other hand, Luegenbiehl suggests that the code of ethics must be replaced with a guide, which would focus on certain scenarios that are unique to a particular profession obviously for the purpose of guiding a professional on what he should do whenever a particular scenario arise. In conclusion, Ladd and Luegenbiehl both agree that ethical awareness is more important than a rigid code of ethics.

Works Cited

Ladd, J. (n.d.). THE QUEST FOR A CODE OF PROFESSIONAL ETHICS: AN INTELLECTUAL AND MORAL CONFUSION. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 154 - 159.
Luegenbiehl, H. (1983). Code of Ethics and the Moral Education of Engineers. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 137 - 154.