Online Ethics Center: Statements About the Engineering Profession

Herbert Hoover, The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: Years of Adventure, 1874-1920 (MacMillan, New York, 1951): 132-3. Quoted in: P. Aarne Vesilind and Alastair S. Gunn, Engineering, Ethics, and the Environment (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998): 27.

It is a great profession. There is the fascination of watching a figment of the imagination emerge through the aid of science to a plan on paper. Then it moves to realization in stone or metal or energy. Then it brings jobs and homes to men. Then it elevates the standards of living and adds to the comforts of life. That is the engineer's high privilege. The great liability of the engineer compared to men of other professions is that his works are out in the open where all can see them. His acts, step by step, are in hard substance. He cannot bury his mistakes in the grave like the doctors. He cannot argue them into thin air or blame the judge like the lawyers. He cannot, like the architects, cover his failure with trees and vines. He cannot, like the politician, screen his shortcomings by blaming his opponents and hope that the people will forget. The engineer simply cannot deny that he did it. If his works do not work, he is damned forever. This section provides curriculum ideas and teaching advice for incorporating ethics into the engineering classroom at the University level.

Institution of Engineers, Australia Code of Ethics

Engineering is a creative process of synthesizing and implementing the knowledge and experience of humanity to enhance the welfare, health and safety of all members of the community, with due regard for the environment in which they live and the sustainability of the resources employed.

C. Nelson and S. R. Peterson, If You're an Engineer, You are Probably a Utilitarian, Issues in Engineering, ASCE, vol. 108, no. EI1 (1982). Quoted in: P. Aarne Vesilind and Alastair S. Gunn, Engineering, Ethics, and the Environment (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998): 27.

A profession is a calling in which special knowledge and skill are used in a distinctly intellectual plane in the service of mankind, and in which the successful expression of creative ability and application of professional knowledge are the primary rewards. There is implied the application of the highest standards of excellence in the education fields prerequisite to the calling, in the performance of services, and in the ethical conduct of its members.