Moral Theory, Ethics and Economics: Decision-Making Tools

Engaging students in engineering ethics remains an important and challenging subject. While there are many opportunities for integrating ethics into classroom instruction the students do need an introduction to some ‘common vocabulary' that includes moral theory, engineering codes' of ethics, and the understanding that there is a connection, both explicitly and implicitly, that such concepts are often a basis for decision making. In this presentation we provide the background vocabulary necessary for the students, and then will outline approaches that have engaged students' interest in ethics, and conclude with some suggestions for integrating moral and ethical issues into chemical engineering curricula.