Reading

Date of Discussion

Chapters 1&6 in HPR-- Engineering Ethics and Moral Theories

Discuss preventive ethics, moral imagination and how they might relate to choosing a thesis topic. Did moral reasoning of the sort outlined in Chapter 6 play any role in your decision process?

9/7/99

Sections 1-3 of Chapter 4 of Invention and Discovery: A Cognitive Quest
Discuss the role of moral imagination and moral reasoning in the decision to create an atomic bomb.

9/14/99

Section 4 of Chapter 4--"Towards a Sustainable Tomorrow."

Discuss what it means to create sustainable technologies, and whether this violates Friedman's maxim that corporations should try to make money, not aim for social responsibility.

9/16/98

DesignTex (A)--Developing an Environmentally Intelligent Fabric

Is this project a model for sustainable design? What do you think of the McDonough's framework--does it go too far? More questions.

9/30/99

Chapters 2 & 3 in HPR. --Professionalism, Code of Ethics, and Becoming a responsible engineer

Discuss codes of ethics and responsible behavior. Should we rely primarily on codes to motivate ethical designs like DesignTex, or should we try to train virtuous engineers? Do engineers really have to know anything about ethics?

10/5/99

Rohner Textil (A) --Continuation of DesignTex (A): Choosing a twisting mill

Rohner Textil (B) --Customer problems

Rohner Textil (C)-- Dye Auxiliary

10/12/99

Chapter 10 in HPR --Engineers and the Environment

Rohner Textil (D)-- Choosing a spinning mill

10/19/99

Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) case--Environmentally Safe Electrification of the Third World
Should an American firm take this kind of an active role in promoting new technologies in the developing world? Be prepared to say which of the three options at the end of the case Neville should select, and which you would select.

10/21/99