"Engineering Ethics and Poltical Imagination"

Maria Kozdroy

10-6-14

Blog #13

“Engineering Ethics and Political Imagination” by Langdon Winner, a Summary

            I will like to learn and study the skills to become a successful civil engineer while attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  In order to successfully become a civil engineer, according to Langdon Winner, is to make sure to understand why one’s role as a civil engineer is important to society.  Engineers must understand how their work will make a difference in society and why it does make a difference.  A plan must be developed and fulfilled.  The point of engineering is to make a change and be able to recognize the fact why that change is significant.  A good understanding of how the type of engineering a student is studying is a great benefit and long-lasting advantage that the student should have.  Engineering has its birth hundreds of years ago and to be able to recall why it was created and to apply that knowledge in a technological changing world is vital today.

            Two other crucial skills in becoming a successful engineer in the technical and moral sense are “political savvy and the capacity for political imagination.”  Civil engineering was designed to help civilians by providing structures for an easier life.  There is a direct correlation between civil engineering and politics.  If one realizes the behaviors of the public and observes a problem in society, such as an overload of traffic, one must be able to step in with some sort of imagination to create a plan to resolve this problem.  Understanding the forces acting on a road and the mathematics behind building a bridge, is only one part of engineering.  Engineers need to think analytically and imaginatively in order to successfully build a structure that will physically work and help the people. 

            In addition, “courses on engineering ethics tend to focus on issues of right and wrong in personal conduct—extremely important matters indeed.”  Engineers are citizens and participants of society, too, and need to understand that they too are impacted by their structures and projects.  Engineering greatly deals with all in society, no matter what financial background one has.  The question an engineer should ask when developing a plan is, “how will this affect society and me, and why is this change beneficial for me and society?”

            I hope during my studies here at Rensselaer, I will develop a good understanding of engineering ethics and political imagination as explained by Langdon Winner.  Engineering, itself, is a crucial impetus in having a society function, especially with new innovation.