ABSTRACT
The main purposes of this chapter are to present how the relationship between law and ethics has been depicted in the literature of engineering ethics education, assess this relationship, and encourage the inclusion of law – understood not as mere legal rules but as a system of norms – in engineering ethics education (EEE). The review shows multiple fruitful connections between ethics and law but, at the same time, a lack of an in-depth discussion related to these connections. The authors argue that law should be seen as a fundamentally interpretative endeavor, and this interpretation should inform EEE where it includes law. The authors assert that established literature leaves unclear how law and ethics are combined in courses and classrooms. In response, they describe four possible relationships between ethics and law: disconnected domains, law as what one needs to go beyond with ethics, law and ethics as parallel perspectives, and the integration of law and ethics. Their hope is that this chapter will stimulate and re-ignite a discussion about the role of law within EEE.
