The good life has long been the pursuit of mankind. However, what that pursuit means and how one achieves a good life may be different for each individual. For centuries, scholars have debated the characteristics of a good life, and to some extent, they still do today. For an engineer, living a good life, at both a personal as well as a professional level, could mean any number of different things. An engineer in the pursuit of a good life must, however, find the appropriate balance between living life independently and interdependently. Engineers must reach a level of self-mastery, and move away from living dependent upon the work of others. On the other hand, they must also understand the careful interdependence of their respective social spheres and how they as engineers may impact different societies around the world.
An engineer must achieve a level of independence and self-mastery, both as a person and as a professional, in order to lead a successful and fulfilling life. Independence is not something one achieves overnight, but is a process one strives for in all aspects of life. This process begins at a personal level and requires some inward reflection, because an engineer must be able to manage his own person before he is able to manage a professional career. An independent lifestyle starts with a proactive mental attitude, both at home and at the office. This attitude results in an engineer not merely reacting to the events in his life, but taking an active role in shaping the events around him. A proactive mindset at home will translate to a proactive mindset at work, which will help to prepare an engineer for future unexpected difficulties in his professional career, because it teaches him to examine how his decisio...
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...design and construct our entire world, society has been engineered from the ground up to be an environment where individuals may grow, learn, and seek out their own unique path to the good life.
To live a good life, as a person and as a professional, engineers must find the perfect balance between living and working both independently and proactively, while maintaining interdependent personal and professional relationships. Furthermore, engineers should continuously seek opportunities for them to use their knowledge and expertise in ways that benefit mankind. This balance in an engineer's personal and professional lifestyle grants a level of self-actualization that will propel him to a happy and fulfilling life. Continuous self-improvement, empowering those around you and the giving of yourself to worthy causes are the keys that will help you achieve the good life.
Society, however, is a state towards which humans have naturally evolved, and our continued existence without society is inconceivable. Thus, although determinism is argued successfully from a causal point of view, it is clearly flawed in a practical context as it fails these fundamental aspects of human life.
There are many aspects of society that help shape who we become; such as, race, ethnicity, and status. Although, in the end, it is ultimately the choices we make that define us. As individuals we make certain choices, and as a society we label those individuals by their choices. One boy decided his achieved status would be of respect, while the other conceded to the fact that he could not do any better, with his life, than dealing. Someone once said “[We] are a product of our environment…” and to a certain extent this is completely agreeable. However, it can also be said that our environment is a product of society.
In the workplace, new engineers will most likely have a mentor and a wealth of knowledge placed at their fingertips. At times, new engineers might struggle to go out and seek knowledge, letting stubbornness and self-pride get in the way of going and seeking advice from tenured staffers. With the wide array of challenges encountered in engineering settings, many times, experience in the field outweighs technical knowledge that comes with a degree. This is a prime example of where confidence in one’s ability is absolutely necessary. It is not always what you know, but knowing where or who to go to in order to accomplish the task at hand.
...ses, the natural choices of humans impact the functionality of that society. Humanity is allows for humans to advance at a natural pace, decided by society as a whole. Humanity provides the basis for the existence of a society, which in turn progresses toward development that leads to the desire for an organized government. However, government and humanity should operate cohesively for the good of society. Human nature should be allowed to run its course freely and should not be forced. In doing so, it allows for humans to evolve into greater societies due to learned customs and values.
Although, some engineers look at the advancements as improvements to society and no harm can be done. “There are two main reasons why Engineers often stray from their code of ethics. The first reason is because they are overconfident in their work, which in turn causes them to neglect things that might be wrong with it. They may overlook small mistakes or remain stubborn about their beliefs because they think highly of their education level. However, in engineering, these small mistakes might be the very thing that causes a disaster (e.g. the Challenger and
Learning is a continuous process and the day that you stop learning is the day that you start decreasing your rewards and lower levels of satisfaction. My ardent desire to acquire knowledge has motivated me to pursue higher studies at graduate level, and to take up a career in research in industry. I have taken this decision after carefully considering my academic background, profound interest in research and strong aptitude for problem solving. Banking on an excellent academic record coupled with a keen interest in the ever-growing field of science and technology motivated me to take up engineering.
A virtue is a trait believed to be morally good, and a vice is a trait believed to be morally wrong. Eventually, a person will make a decision and take action based on their virtues and vices. Therefore, it is virtues that help engineers reach their purpose and evaluate ethical behavior. This paper will attempt to generate a list of virtues that an engineer must possess in order to be regarded as virtuous. Before doing this, Aristotle’s virtue ethics, virtues of thought, and virtues of character will be explained.
The word engineer comes from the latin word ingeniare. ingeniare means construct or craftsmanship. Ever since the beginning of time we have had engineers. Engineering is the combination of math and science , solving world problems to help better the world around us. Being an engineer takes a lot of knowledge, creativity, and hard work. A typical engineer can clearly see a problem and is capable of fining a solution. A senior engineer or engineering manager usually doesnt do as much technical work, but usally lot of managing. Some of the first official engineers were military engineers. They were employed by the goverment to build such things as roads, bridges, and weapons. US mililary Academy at Westpoint was the first school to offer an education in enginnering. Engineering is a very broad field. Engineers are always at a high demand, we could never have enough brilliant minds making the world better. Engineers are needed everywhere. Engineering managers have to have a bachelor's degree or higher, they usually direct and seek solutions to problems and are sometimes called executi...
Looking at it from a societal perspective, society shapes humans from within an individual; it affects their role in a family; plays a part in a person’s class; extends out to influence one’s culture; and even shapes a generation. At the individual level one must concede that we need society – we are interdependent creatures. Adam Smith mentioned, “In civilized society [a person] stands… in need of cooperation and assistance of great multitudes” – in today’s context, we ar...
For many years, in the masses of people there has been made a stereotype of the working engineer. This is a person who spends ten hours straight in front of his computer, making some strange graphs and calculations. He is afraid of sunlight and spends his free time inventing the time machine. When people try to start a conversation he says that he has a lot of work to do and tries to run away as fast as possible. This picture may be a little exaggerated, but it is how media and television draw it. But today, engineers need communication and writing skills even more than actual engineering.
In contrast to this individualist stance, E.R.Braithwaite describes early in his book To Sir, With Love (hereafter ‘the book’) how his race had mitigated against his acquiring an engineering position for several years, despite excellent qualifications. He reacts to these difficulties by presenting his students with many examples of the interdependency of humanity: the brotherhood of Man.
“The bottom line in engineering ethics is the idea that engineering ought to be aimed at the good of humanity, and that individual engineers ought to be using their skills to improve the lot of humanity.”
Engineering ethics focuses on the behavior of the individual - the engineer, and the development of ethical standards governing their professional activities. Engineering ethics has always existed as a set of rules or a system that governs the behavior of an engineer. Among its main provisions, we can attribute such as the need to faithfully perform engineering work that would bring welfare and do not cause harm to people; be accountable for engineering professional activities; a good relationship ( customs and rules governing relations ) with other engineer, etc.
An ambition to learn and grow and having passion for engineering have prompted me to go in for graduate studies. Chasing my Dreams! While growing up at a young age I was always intrigued by objects that produced mechanical work and energy be it prime movers such as automobiles, construction and mining equipment, turbo machinery such as jet engines, space shuttles or complex mechanisms of mechanical watches, I used to spend a lot of time trying to learn and figure out their basis and propositions, it was necessary for me to explore my inner conscience to understand my fascination towards machines and their ingenuity, Mechanical engineering seemed a direct consequence of my convictions. I have always admired my father as a civil engineer and his hard work and struggles throughout his life; He has always been a role model for me. He motivated me to pursue my dreams so I decided to pursue my undergraduate study in Mechanical Engineering
Obstacles had never been obstructing my effort to succeed in life. As an engineer to be, it is important to me to be prepared for the hurdles in the real world. The world nowadays needs a person who could compete and has great abilities to stand on the same level as others. Multiple skills and critical opinion of an issue are essential for an engineer to jump into this challenging career. For me, a strategic planning and full preparation need to achieve the aim of being an expert engineer.