Certificate in Engineering, Ethics & Society
Whether one looks to regenerative medicine, which seeks to defy death by enabling damaged tissues to be re-grown, or to NASA missions that aim not only to explore our own solar system but even to probe beyond our galaxy, or to the mysteries and promise of research at the nano-level, the benefits and excitement of modern technology are unmistakable. Unfortunately, however, examples of its potential for harm are also haunting and are no longer limited to the risk of nuclear annihilation.
Two thousand years before the birth of modern science, Socrates argued that the person who was best equipped to cure a disease was also most capable of spreading one, and so began a conversation still under way: How can the increasingly vast powers of science be guided toward the solution of human problems and kept from aggravating them?
Certificate Description
The Certificate in Engineering, Ethics and Society (EES) leads students to courses that will engage them with contemporary issues regarding the promotion, use and possible risks of engineering and applied science. For example, what are the likely benefits and risks of genetic engineering? How can engineering help offset worldwide environmental degradation? What role should engineers play in formulating policies that will govern the relationship between science and contemporary American society?
The EES certificate includes a cornerstone course that explores these philosophical questions (and others related to them). The certificate also steers students toward other courses that address these difficult questions and will help them find a path toward workable answers. The list of possible courses includes:
- courses that view engineering in social, economic and legal contexts;
- courses that study science and technology in the past, thereby illuminating their influence in the present; and
- courses that explore the environmental consequences of STEM innovation.