1. A Brief History of Ethical Thought
Ethical Theories
Adapted by
Professor JC González M.Ed.
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2. Introduction
• Brief history of ethical thought
• Ethical theories
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3. 3

4. A brief History of Ethical Thought
• The moral and ethical theories that engineers
apply are derived from a Western cultural
tradition.
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5. A brief History of Ethical Thought
• They come from the ancient Greeks and ancient
religious thinking and writing.
• Judaism and its foundations start the religious
thinking and writing.
• The written sources of the Jewish moral tradition
ate the Torah and the Old Testament of the Bible.
• Moral Laws and Ten Commandments are there.
• The Greek philosophers with the greatest
influence are Socrates and Aristotle.
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6. A brief History of Ethical Thought
• Greek ethical philosophic ideas were melted
together with early Christians and Jewish thought
and were spread throughout Europe and the
Middle East during the height of the Roman
Empire.
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7. A brief History of Ethical Thought
• The known history of pure ethics or ethics (moral)
theories begin with ancient Greek philosophers
(Sophists, Socrates, Socratic schools, Plato,
Aristotle, Epicurus, Stoics)
• And, after recovered by early English positivists has
been the main topic of discussions in the Medieval
times in Europe.
• As the scholastic doctrines are by-passed (therefore
Christian Ethics is not a scientific term anymore), we
come to the illuminated times after the Medieval, and
continue with Hobbes, the Father of Modern Ethics.
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8. Ethical Theories
Offer a framework for decision making.
Solving a problem is not cut and dried as problem solving.
There are relatively large number of theories to be considered
called Moral Theories.
Some of them are: Utilitarianism; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Duty
Ethics and Rights Ethics; Virtue Ethics; and Non Western
ethical Thinking.
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9. MORAL THEORY
• Moral Theory: Defines terms in uniform
ways and links ideas and problems
together in consistent ways.
• Moral concept are organized like
scientific theories: organize ideas, define
terms, and facilitate problem solving.
• Moral concept is an important aspect in
the following theories...
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10. MORAL THEORIES
• Utilitarianism: Seeks to produce the most utility.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis.
• Duty Ethics: There are some duties that should
be performed.
• Rights Ethics: We all have moral rights that
should be protected.
• Virtue Ethics: Actions as right that manifest
good character traits and regards actions as
bad that display bad character traits.
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11. UTILITARIANISM
• I. What is it?
Good actions are those actions
that serve to maximize human
well-being.
• II. Benefits:
Maximizes positive affects for
many people.
• III. Downfalls:
Ignores the individual.
Difficult to predict consequences
of actions.
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12. UTILITARIANISM
The emphasis in
utilitarianism is not o
maximizing the well-
being of the individual,
but rather on
maximizing the well-
being of society as a
whole, and as such it
is somewhat of a
collectivity approach. 12

13. UTILITARIANISM
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14. UTILITARIANISM
• Problem Solving Approach:
• Determine Benefits to Society.
• Determine Costs to Parties
involved.
• Compare Benefits to Costs.
• If Benefits to Society outweigh
Costs, then it is ethical to
pursue project.
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15. Utilitarianism - Example Problems
Building Dams - Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
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16. Building Dams:
Benefits:
a) Stable flow of
drinking water.
b) Flood control.
c) Recreational
opportunities
Cost:
a) Relocation of flood-
zone residents (Like El
Peñol, Antioquia,
Colombia).
Result: Since the benefits of building the dam outweigh the
costs, it is profitable/ethical to build the dam.
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17. Waste Isolation Pilot
Plant (WIPP):
Benefits:
• Safe storage of
dangerous waste.
• Nuclear Power =
electricity.
• Radioisotopes =
medicine.
Cost:
Potential danger to
residents near
transportation routes.
Result: Since the benefits of building WIPP facilities
outweighs the cost to society, then it is ethical to go ahead
with project.
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18. Utilitarianism – Two tenets
Act Utilitarianism – Focus
on action, not rules.
• John Stuart Mill (1806 –
1873)
• Believe that rules of
morality were derived from
trial and error throughout
the course of time.
• Believe that rules should be
broken in order to maximize
benefits to society.
Rule Utilitarianism – Focus
on moral laws, not on action.
• Believe that moral laws
take precedence over
action.
• Adhere that although
following rules might
not always maximize
benefits to society, it will
ultimately lead to the
best overall. 18

19. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
• What is it?
An Application of Utilitarianism
Goal is to maximize Benefit-to-Cost Ratio.
• Benefits:
Quantifiable method for analyzing ethical dilemmas.
• Downfall:
Similar to utilitarianism in that benefits are often difficult
to predict.
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20. COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
• In cost-benefit analysis, the cost of a project are
assessed, as are the benefits.
• Only those projects with the highest ratio of
benefits to costs will be implemented.
• This principle is similar to the utilitarian goal of
maximizing the overall good.
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21. DUTY AND RIGHT ETHICS
• What are they?
Good actions are those that respect the rights of the
individual.
• Benefits:
Maximize positive effects for the individual.
• Downfalls:
Basic rights of one person may conflict with basic rights
of another person.
Doesn’t account for overall betterment of society.
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22. DUTY AND RIGHT ETHICS
• Duty
Immanuel Kant (1724-
1804)
Ethical actions are those
that can be written as a list
of duties (e.g. “Be Honest,
Be Fair, etc.)
Rights Ethics
• Right Ethics
John Locke (1632-1704)
People have fundamental
rights that people have a
duty to respect.
“Both are already just two different sides of the same
coin” (Fleddermann, Ch. 2014, 42)
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23. Virtue Ethics
• What is a virtue?
A moral distinction and goodness.
In virtue ethics, actions are considered right if they support good
character traits (virtues) and wrong if they support bad character
traits (vices).
• Virtue Ethics determine what kind of people we should
be.
• A virtuous person exhibits good and beneficial qualities.
• Personal morality cannot be separated from business
morality. If a person is virtuous in his personal life, then
he is also in his business life as well.
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24. Virtue Ethics
• In using Virtue Ethics, it is important to ensure that
the traits you identify as virtues are indeed virtuous
and will not lead to negative consequences.
• Example:
• Honor: (dignity, integrity, pride).
• This may seem good because of integrity but it might give
you negative consequences because of pride (wars to
preserve honor of nation).
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25. Personal vs. Corporate Morality
• Is there a distinction between the ethics practiced by
an individual and those practiced by a corporation?
• How can a company display human traits like
honesty and loyalty?
• While dealing with individuals, corporations should
be considered pseudo-moral agents and should be
held accountable in the same way that individuals
are.
• A corporation must respect the rights of individuals
and should exhibit the same virtues that we expect
of individuals. 25

26. Which One Theory to Use
• How do we decide which theory to use?
• In order to obtain a complete understanding of a
problem, it is best to analyze the situation using
multiple ethical theories.
• Example: A chemical plant discharges a hazardous
waste into the groundwater the city will be
compromised with health problems.
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27. Which Theory to Use
• Rights Ethics indicate that this is unethical.
• Utilitarian Analysis indicates the same.
Economic benefits would be outweighed by
negative effect of pollution and costs to ensure
a safe municipal water supply.
• Virtue Ethics indicate this is irresponsible and
harmful.
• They all show the same conclusion.
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28. Which Theory to Use
• What if they produce different conclusions?
• The answers should be weighed.
• Generally, rights and duty ethics should take
precedence over utilitarian consideration
because the rights of individuals should receive
stronger weight than the needs of society as a
whole.
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29. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
• Ethics are not geographical or cultural
• Ethics standards are similar worldwide
• “When in Rome, do as the Romans” Not applicable
to personal morality
• In Arab countries: Foundations of ethical principles
grounded in traditions of Islam and Islam is very
similar to Christianity
• Ethical principles of Buddhists, Hindus, and all
major religions of world are similar.
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30. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
• Chinese ethical philosophy originates with the
writing of Kongzi, more commonly known as
Confucius (551-479 BCE)
• Emphasizes the importance of balancing individual
rights with the needs of the larger community:
Mutual respect.
• The individual depends on the groups and so must
take group concerns into account
• But also the group must recognize its dependence
on individuals and must respect individual rights.
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31. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
• Indian philosophical tradition are the oldest
surviving written philosophical systems in human
civilization.
• Indian philosophical and ethical thinking have their
origins in the ancient texts known as the Vedas,
further developed through the Upanishads, Jainism,
Buddhism, and also expressed in the Bhagavad-
Gita.
• Continued by Tagore, Gandhi, Nehru into the
modern world.
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32. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
“Indian ethics, instead of analyzing the
nature of good, lays down practical
means of attaining a life of perfection…”
(Sharma and Daugert, 1965).
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33. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
• Muslin Ethics is derived from principles set forth in the
Qur’an.
• Specific virtues mentioned are humility, honesty, giving
to the poor, kindness, and trustworthiness.
• Qur’an also mentions vices such as boasting,
blasphemy, and slander.
• While blasphemy is only applicable in a religious
context, the other two vices do speak to engineering
professional practice.
• For example, Codes of Ethics prohibit engineers from
making false claims about other engineers
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34. Non-Western Ethical Thinking
• Buddhist has its origins between the 6th and 4th
centuries BCE.
• Is based on the teaching of Siddhartha Gautama also
known as Buddha.
• Buddhist speaks of five major vices: destruction of life;
taking what is not given; licentiousness, lying, and
taking intoxicants.
• Also speaks of virtues such as friendship, spiritual
development, learning, mastery of skills, filial piety,
generosity, diligence, patience, and sense of proportion
or limits.
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35. References
• Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc. 2003.
www.search.eb.com
• Fledderman, Ch. (2014). Engineering Ethics.
International Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall.
• Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science.
(2004). http://onlineethics.org
• McGuire, S. (2018). 20 timeline template
examples and desing tips.
https://venngage.com/blog/timeline-template/
• WILLIAMS INTERNATIONAL. (2014). The power
of vision. Company: Timeline. http://www.williams-
int.com/timeline 35

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