Submitted by: Submitted by msj48
Views: 10
Words: 372
Pages: 2
Category: Societal Issues
Date Submitted: 12/12/2015 03:19 PM
Science, Technology, & Human Values Lynch, Kline / Engineering Practice and Ethics
Engineering Practice and
Engineering Ethics
William T. Lynch
Wayne State University
Ronald Kline
Cornell University
Diane Vaughan’s analysis of the causes of the Challenger accident suggests ways to
apply science and technology studies to the teaching of engineering ethics. By sensitizing
future engineers to the ongoing construction of risk during mundane engineering
practice, we can better prepare them to address issues of public health, safety, and
welfare before they require heroic intervention. Understanding the importance of
precedents, incremental change, and fallible engineering judgment in engineering
design may help them anticipate potential threats to public safety arising from routine
aspects of workplace culture. We suggest modifications of both detailed case studies on
engineering disasters and hypothetical, ethical dilemmas employed in engineering
ethics classes. Investigating the sociotechnical aspects of engineering practice can
improve the initial recognition of ethical problems in real-world settings and provide an
understanding of the role of workplace organization and culture in facilitating or
impeding remedial action.
By now it is part of engineering folklore: the night before the tragic shut-
tle Challenger launch resulting in its destruction and the death of seven
astronauts, engineers had identified the danger but had failed to persuade
NASA to call off the flight. After Morton Thiokol presented its engineering
conclusion during a second teleconference that the shuttle should not
launch below 53 degrees Fahrenheit, managers at Marshall Space Flight
Center and Kennedy Space Center challenged the analysis and argued that
the recommendation amounted to introducing new launch commit criteria
on the eve of the flight. George Hardy, Marshall’s deputy director of science
195
AUTHORS’ NOTE: We thank the friends and colleagues of Donald...