7 Responsible engineering

7.1 The engineer and society

Section 2 outlined some of the needs for engineering. Society relies on engineers to create solutions to the problems involved in meeting those needs.

This is a good time to pause and point out that inevitably, in return for all this fun and power, engineers have a responsibility to society. The people who employ our services, directly or indirectly, have to have an assurance that we are working within certain social, safety and ethical boundaries. Particularly given the increasing trend in the Western world towards litigation, it is in our own best interest to uphold this responsibility.

In considering the responsibilities of engineers, this section also provides an opportunity for putting the whole course in context.