Engineering ethics education as a bridge from technology to society: the US experience

The last quarter of the twentieth century witnessed many notable changes in engineering education in the USA including a growing recognition of the importance of ethics and social responsibility. Although nearly 80% of US engineering graduates are not required to take ethics-related courses (Stephan, 1999), engineering ethics has begun to make its mark in engineering curricula: required courses in engineering ethics at a few prominent institutions; across-the-curriculum ethics initiatives; and numerous elective courses in engineering ethics, some of which are options under broader general education requirements. Many engineers and ethicists are critical of the traditional preoccupation of engineering ethics with specific moral dilemmas confronting individuals and call for greater attention to macroethical issues related to the societal implications of technology as a complement to the traditional microethical approach that focuses on individual cases.