• All products of Technology

present some potential

Dangers and Engineering
therefore is a risky activity
• In order to underscore this
fact and help in exploring
its ethical implications,
Engineering should be viewed
as an experimental process
• It is not an experiment

conducted at Lab scale under

controlled condition but an

experiment on a social scale

involving human subjects

• Each Engineering Project may

be viewed as an E x p e r i m e n
WHAT EMERGES IS
• All Engg & Technological
Developments are Experiments on a
large scale
• They always remain a source of
Potential danger and are
inherently risky
• As Engineering is mostly an
experiment process, we need to
explore its Ethical implications
LOUIS MARIE HENRI
NAVIER SAYS
• To undertake a great work
especially a work of a Novel Type
means carrying out an
Experiment

• It means taking up a struggle

with the forces of nature
without the assurance as a V I C
WHY EXPERIMENTATION
IS RISKY ?

• First, any project is carried

out in partial Ignorance

• Second, engineers can’t

afford to wait for all

relevant facts to emerge

• Third, effective engineering
relies upon knowledge gained
about products both before & after
they leave the factory
• Fourth, monitoring is an essential
part of this experimentation
in order to check for both
successful performance &
unintended side effects
SIMILARITIES WITH STD EXPTS
1 Any Project is carried out in partial
Ignorance
( Engineers success lies in
accomplishing the task with only a
partial knowledge )
2 Final outcome are greatly uncertain
( Ex : Reservoir may do harm to the
social Fabric or ecosystem ( dams
)
• Nuclear Reactor Leakage
3 Results in gaining new
knowledge and Insight
Gaining new knowledge
means it would result in a
lot of learning from the past
incidents & projects
• Unfortunately not so in many

c a s e
 NOT LEARNING from THE
1 Accidents PAST
at unmanned level
crossings
2 Bridge Collapse in Wales ( 1966 )
during construction and occurrence
of the same again in Australia by
the same builder
3 1979 Nuclear Reactor Accident in
Three mile Island and thereafter in
Japan
4 2003 & 04 : Tunnel collapse in
CONTRASTS WITH STD EXPTS
Undoubtedly, it differs from std
experimentation on few aspects
1) There is no control group to
compare with the exptl results
Compare cinema with drama
Cinema allows for correction whereas
Drama does not
That is, experiments are directly taken
to the field, tested & results analysed
2) Engineering is an experiment
on a social scale that focuses
on Human Beings and not on
inanimate objects

( Similar to Medical Testing )

Hence all Human related aspects

come into fore ( Ethics,
Fundamental Rights, Harmful
3) All relevant information shall
be disseminated voluntarily
( Risks and Benefits )
whether needed by public
or not

No information can be withheld

( Drastically different
 THIS BEING
THE REALITY
• A Conscientious Engineer

should understand

certain facts and also the

need for Special

RESPONSIBILITIES
• An awareness that he does not have
any control over the experiment
once the product / project is given to
the user Group / Consumer
• Should strive & obtain an Informed
consent by providing all pertinent
information to make a reasonable
decision ( No vital into with held )