ABSTRACT
This chapter examines in a rather general way a number of commonly discussed questions of engineering ethics pertaining to the special ethical obligations and responsibilities of engineers as engineers. Many professions have adopted codes of ethics in imitation of the original code of ethics of the Royal Society of Physicians. Indeed, it is often assumed that in order to become a full-fledged profession an occupation must adopt a code of ethics. The profession of engineering differs from other professions such as medicine and law in two respects that are basic for understanding the particular problems of engineering ethics. Another quite different ethical aspect of the relationship of engineers to formal organizations of which they are members, whether they be public or private, relates to the issue of loyalty. A great deal of confusion in discussions of ethical problems results from the assimilation of ethics to law, institutions, organizational regulations, and other mechanisms of social control.
