Questions for Class Discussion - Chapter One in HPR

1.  What is a "profession"?  What distinguishes a profession from a line of work or a job?    Is engineering a profession in the same way that medicine or law is a profession?  Why or why not?  HPR say there are no necessary and sufficient conditions that define a profession.  Do you agree?  How would you fill in the blank:  A job or role is a profession if and only if  _______________.

2.  HPR make distinctions between professional, social role, and personal ethics.  They also talk about something called "common morality". Do you see the distinctions they make as hard and fast?  As useful or problematic?   Why?  Do you have an intuition about how you might see these types of ethics relating in your own life?  Do you have an intuition about how to resolve conflicts between them?

3.  What are the purposes of professional codes of ethics according to HPR?  Can you think of any other purposes?  So far, what do you see as the strengths and limitations of a professional code of ethics?

4.  To whom does an engineer as an engineer owe obligations?   Or, to whom is an engineer responsible?  What do the codes say?  What do you think?

5.  HPR see engineering ethics as a type of preventative ethics.   What does this mean?

6.  The case study method is often used to study professional ethics.  What do HPR see as the purposes and strengths of the case study method of studying engineering ethics?  They don't point out weaknesses.  What might be some weaknesses of using the case study method?

7.  Read Case 7 - Building Foundations (pp. 304-305).    Summarize the key facts of the case.  What is at issue?  How do the facts and issues relate to the topics covered in Chapter One.

8.  Read 67:  "Why Won't They Read" (pp. 350-351).    Summarize the key facts of the case.  What is at issue?  How do the facts and issues relate to the topics covered in Chapter One.

9.  Why do HPR begin with the stories of Boisjoly, Palchinsky, and Cuny?  Was this an effective way to begin the chapter and indeed the entire book?   Why or why not?