ABSTRACT
Engineering is among the riskiest of professions, and engineers are usually the professionals best qualified to foresee and assess its risks. Those most affected by engineering clients, consumers, the general public are often the least qualified to estimate the risks so as to be able to make informed decisions in light of their own values. The practice of a profession is marked in its ethical dimensions by adherence to a ruling ideal, which ought to be pursued with wisdom, accountability, and autonomy. The ruling ideal, according to Lisa Newton, is an expression of the profession's ethical commitment. Whereas Newton sees a ruling ideal as prominent in medicine but lacking in engineering, see great similarities. If informed consent is to be secured, it must be possible to consult with the morally appropriate individuals who have the right to give it. In medicine there would seem to be no problem.
