University of Leeds

School of Philosophy, Religion & History of Science/InterDisciplinary Ethics Applied Centre

 

PhD studentship opportunity on The Global Responsibility of Engineers and the Engineering Profession

 

The majority of greenhouse gas emissions come from industries that are enabled by engineers. On the other hand, engineers also have the potential to develop and implement cleaner solutions, and to respond to many other global challenges. This project, supporting Engineers Without Borders’ objective to embed global responsibility into engineering, will aim to answer the following questions:

 

(1) What are the global responsibilities of engineers, and of the engineering profession?

(2) What changes in the profession are required if the global responsibilities of engineers are to be taken seriously and how can the necessary changes be achieved?

 

PhD Project description

This PhD would consider the global responsibilities of engineers and of the engineering profession, particularly considering climate change, social justice and global poverty, and other cases where the ethical responsibilities of the engineer often conflict with the financial considerations and/or the wishes of the employer or client.

 

At the most general level, the research questions are:

 

What are the global responsibilities of engineers and of the engineering profession?

 

What changes in the profession are required if the global responsibilities of engineers are to be taken seriously and how can the necessary changes be achieved?

 

In addressing these questions, however, the research would address a range of further philosophical and ethical questions. To give just one example: How does the distinction between doing harm and allowing harm impact on the responsibilities of engineers? (To what extent, and in what circumstances, is it the responsibility of engineers to alleviate global poverty.)

 

While the project is primarily normative rather than empirical, we will expect the PGR to engage with empirical research (such as the report on global responsibilities that EWB will be publishing this month), particularly when considering the question of how change can be achieved. And, while the research is primarily normative and desk-based, we would not rule out the possibility of some small-scale empirical research (such as interviews).

 

This would be an ideal opportunity for philosophers interested in ethical issues (such as, for example, the demandingness of moral duties, the distinction between doing and allowing, role-specific duties, individual and collective responsibilities, the weighing of conflicting duties and prerogatives) who are keen to explore philosophical issues in the context of real world challenges and dilemmas.

 

The following paper gives an indication of the sort of work that the project builds on: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11948-017-9884-4

 

About Engineers Without Borders UK

EWB UK is part of a global movement of over 60 Engineers Without Borders organisations, and tens of thousands of committed engineers, putting global responsibility at the heart of engineering. EWB’s organisational objective is to ensure the engineering community serves all people and the planet better than ever before. Embedding global responsibility into engineering is key to achieving that, so identifying opportunities and barriers to further this mission supports their organisation at the most strategic level to drive systems change.

 

Full information is here: https://phd.leeds.ac.uk/funding/101-the-global-responsibility-of-engineers-and-the-engineering-profession

How to apply

Before applying for any WRoCAH Studentship, please first ensure that you have read the WRoCAH webpages about Collaborative Doctoral Awards, the WRoCAH training programme and requirements and residence criteria http://wrocah.ac.uk/new-student/2020-cda/

Please note that the selection of Collaborative Doctoral Award applicants is a two stage process

For further information contact Dr Rob Lawlor, [log in to unmask]