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Engineering ethos in environmental public policy deliberation | IEEE Conference Publication | IEEE Xplore

Engineering ethos in environmental public policy deliberation


Abstract:

Public policy deliberations are often informed by expert testimony. We explore the role of engineering judgment in the 2013 Congressional hearing on regulating the dispos...Show More

Abstract:

Public policy deliberations are often informed by expert testimony. We explore the role of engineering judgment in the 2013 Congressional hearing on regulating the disposal of coal ash waste. We conclude that engineering testimony in a public policy debate suffers from a reductive, dichotomous distinction between technical judgment and policy ideas-a distinction based on the false assumption that engineers deliver professional verdicts that transcend economic and political interests. We propose that the most credible technical expert in a public policy deliberation is the engineer capable of acknowledging that technical expertise is not disinterested-that complicated interests and incommensurable goals are unavoidable. Consequently, educators preparing student engineers for professional practice are obliged to teach the rhetorical tools enabling students to recognize the interaction of engineering judgment and public policy and the myth of technical objectivity.
Date of Conference: 13-15 October 2014
Date Added to IEEE Xplore: 26 January 2015
Electronic ISBN:978-1-4799-3749-3

ISSN Information:

Conference Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA

References

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