Wiley-Blackwell Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction

Featuring a wide range of international case studies, Ethics, Technology, and Engineering presents a unique and systematic approach for engineering students to deal with the ethical issues that are increasingly inherent in engineering practice. Utilizes a systematic approach to ethical case analysis -- the ethical cycle -- which features a wide range of real-life international case studies including the Challenger Space Shuttle, the Herald of Free Enterprise and biofuels. Covers a broad range of topics, including ethics in design, risks, responsibility, sustainability, and emerging technologies Can be used in conjunction with the online ethics tool Agora (http://www.ethicsandtechnology.com) Provides engineering students with a clear introduction to the main ethical theories Includes an extensive glossary with key terms Review "Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction is a genuine contribution to an already substantial literature on ethics in the techno-lifeworld. Arising from within a world where humans live more intensely integrated with and thoughtfully reliant on technology than anywhere else on the planet, this volume constitutes a new realization of historico-philosophical promise." —Carl Mitcham, Colorado School of Mines "Ethics, Technology, and Engineering takes undergraduate education in engineering ethics to a new level. It shows why engineers need to reflect seriously on ethics, and provides them with the tools they need to do so. This is exactly what we need to teach ethics to engineers." —Sven Ove Hansson,  Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden"Van de Poel and Royakkers have written a most comprehensive, up-to-date, and readable text. Their discussion of the different grounds for, and ways of framing, moral problems likely to be encountered in engineering covers all the bases; their illustrative cases, drawn in the main from contemporary practice, are treated circumspectly and will no doubt provoke the kind of open discussion of engineering decision-making they intend. It is the best treatment of this subject geared toward the undergraduate I have encountered." —Louis L. Bucciarelli, MIT From the Inside Flap There are many tough ethical questions at the crossroads of engineering and technology -- ones that are raised on a surprisingly regular basis. For instance, who is responsible for the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion? Do new information systems endanger our privacy? Should new energy technologies be sustainable? Engineers have to deal with such consequential issues not just as private citizens but as highly trained professionals as well. Ethics, Technology, and Engineering teaches engineering students the relevant moral skills for dealing with ethical issues inherent in engineering practice. Featuring a unique systematic approach to dealing with ethical problems known as the 'ethical cycle,' the book utilizes an abundance of real-life case studies from the U.S., Europe, and across the world to shed important light on the ethical issues that arise in the daily practice of engineers. Topics include ethical issues that arise in engineering design, hazards and risks of technology, organizational settings, sustainability, and others. Also considered are some of the more 'macro-ethical' issues such as atomic power and nanotechnology.Ethics, Technology, and Engineering provides a wealth of enlightening insights into the consideration of ethical issues related to the interplay of engineering with our increasingly technological global society. From the Back Cover There are many tough ethical questions at the crossroads of engineering and technology -- ones that are raised on a surprisingly regular basis. For instance, who is responsible for the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion? Do new information systems endanger our privacy? Should new energy technologies be sustainable? Engineers have to deal with such consequential issues not just as priva