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Comparison of China-US Engineering Ethics Educations in Sino-Western Philosophies of Technology

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Abstract

Ethics education has become essential in modern engineering. Ethics education in engineering has been increasingly implemented worldwide. It can improve ethical behaviors in technology and engineering design under the guidance of the philosophy of technology. Hence, this study aims to compare China-US engineering ethics education in Sino-Western philosophies of technology by using literature studies, online surveys, observational researches, textual analyses, and comparative methods. In my original theoretical framework and model of input and output for education, six primary variables emerge in the pedagogy: disciplinary statuses, educational goals, instructional contents, didactic models, teaching methods, and edificatory effects. I focus on the similarities and differences of engineering ethics educations between China and the US in Chinese and Western philosophies of technology. In the field of engineering, the US tends toward applied ethics training, whereas China inclines toward practical moral education. The US is the leader, particularly in the amount of money invested and engineering results. China has quickened its pace, focusing specifically on engineering labor input and output. Engineering ethics is a multiplayer game effected at various levels among (a) lower level technicians and engineers, engineering associations, and stockholders; (b) middle ranking engineering ethics education, the ministry of education, the academy of engineering, and the philosophy of technology; and (c) top national and international technological policies. I propose that professional engineering ethics education can play many important roles in reforming engineering social responsibility by international cooperation in societies that are becoming increasingly reliant on engineered devices and systems. Significantly, my proposals contribute to improving engineering ethics education and better-solving engineering ethics issues, thereby maximizing engineering sustainability.

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Acknowledgments

The project has been funded by the China Scholarship Council (CSC) and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH). I sincerely thank Assistant Professor Behnam Taebi and Professor Jeroen van den Hoven for helps. I appreciate Professor Carl Mitcham, Professor Sven Ove Hansson and Assistant Professor Karin Edvardsson Björnberg for significant guidances and feedbacks. I am grateful to Jenney Resch and Maribeth Keitz from the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for their assistances in data collection. I thank Professor Shouwen Yu and Dr. Jun Li for favorable discussions. My special thanks also go to two anonymous reviewers, editor Ray Spier, and journal editorial office assistant Suganya Manikandan for constructive comments and valuable suggestions.

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No any conflicts of interests are declared.

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  1. Department of Philosophy and the History of Technology, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Brinellvägen 32, 100 44, Stockholm, Sweden

    Gui Hong Cao

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Cao, G.H. Comparison of China-US Engineering Ethics Educations in Sino-Western Philosophies of Technology. Sci Eng Ethics 21, 1609–1635 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-014-9611-3

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