A post-normal environment-centered approach to engineering ethics education

Abstract

This chapter probes engineering responses to contemporary socio-ecological challenges – like climate change and loss of biodiversity – and advocates for a new, post-normal engineering (PNE) paradigm. The chapter promotes cultivating, via reflection and dialogue, a nuanced ethical understanding for grappling with urgent socio-ecological problems, underscoring the need for a diverse palette of ethical frameworks for current and future engineers. The proposed PNE paradigm rejects today's conventional engineering practices and extractive cradle-to-grave model, prioritizing global responsibility and advocating for reflexivity in constructing new approaches to complex present-day issues. Existing theories like virtue ethics and utilitarianism (covered elsewhere in this handbook) remain pertinent in PNE, but environmental ethics takes center stage in this chapter. Through PNE, engineers are challenged to rethink – individually and collectively – their scope, behaviors, and roles in addressing socio-ecological crises. The chapter recognizes the interconnectedness of environmental and social concerns and advocates for generating a new and holistic approach that transcends engineering solutions that are purely technical.

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