Unlike Utilitarian ethics, a consequentialist moral theory, or Kantian ethics, a moral theory based on the alignment of one’s will and one’s duty, Aristotle’s Virtues Ethics does not discuss morality of single actions but rather “what sort of person should one be? What does it mean to live a good life?” This is important for engineers to ask a similar question in their professional career, “What does it mean to be a good engineer?” because they impact society’s ability to innovate and progress technologically, while maintaining or increasing society’s quality of life. The effects engineers have has been discussed in class, including examples like the development of the lightbulb, radio, and concrete. However, being technically innovative is not all that defines a good engineer. To be considered a good Civil Engineer, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has included virtue ethics within their Code of Ethics to help guide professional conduct. Specially, Canon 6 says, “Engineers shall …show more content…
These values are encouraged to be practiced by students through the Aggie Honor Code, a verbal and often written contract most students sign for classes as a promise to not lie, cheat or steal physical or intellectual property. This helps Aggies practice critical thinking and integrity in their work as they have to rely on only themselves and the approved resources to complete their course work. This university rule prepares students who may become a licensed professional engineer in Texas to be prepared to be self-reliant and honorable, as lying, cheating and stealing another’s work is prohibited act under the Texas Engineering Practice Act (TEPA) and subject to disciplinary actions by the Texas Board of Engineering