Autonomy
Autonomy is a notable essay written by IIT student Noe' Brambila in October, 1996 to fulfill an assignment for a Moral Issues in Engineering course. The assignment asked "How is it possible (if it is ) to be self-directed and governed by a code of ethics?".
A profession's code of ethics is by definition a set of minimal rules
of conduct to which the members of that profession should adhere.
These rules, as we have seen in class, stem from and seem very similar
to the moral standards that the general population follows. Just as
we see in everyday life, these standards of conduct are by no means
followed to the letter without exception. People in both cases under
their own power choose to follow these rules or not. With the exception
of crimes like murder and theft, in both cases those people choosing
not to behave morally and/or ethically run little chance of being
caught.
People who are part of a profession choose to follow the code of ethics
of that profession of their own free will. In addition to the members
of a profession choosing to follow the code of ethics, these codes
are, as I mentioned, a minmum standard and by no means do the codes
dictate behavior. These codes suggest a set of ideas and goal that
one in a profession should work towards, and there fore they are not
coercive. For instance the NSPE's code of ethics states that engineers
shall "hold parrmount the safety, health, and welfare of the public
in the eprformance of their professional duties." In this canon there
is no suggestion of a specific action that should be either taken
or avoided.
It then becomes possible to be “self-directed and governed by
a code of ethics” at the same time. The self-direction comes
from one's own moral beliefs and the obligation to the other people
within the same profession. The direction that the individual professionals
take is within their own judgment as long as they remain at least
within the bounds of the codes of ethics set forth by the profession.
The governing then becomes a self-imposed regulation thereby alleviating
the need for enforcement on the part of outside agencies.
The code of ethics is then able to govern professional conduct without
stipulating penalties for failure to comply with the code because
the members of the profession enter the profession willingly and therefore
accept the code of ethics, likewise, willingly. The story of the Fifty-Nine
Story Crisis serves as an example of professionals who willingly accept
the codes of ethics established by professions. William Measure was
under no obligation to either the city, his employers or anyone else,
yet he took on the task of reevaluating the design of the building
to assess any weakensses that might have been overlooked. Measure's
actions were not mandated by law and his code of ethics did not outline
a specific response to the situation in which he found himself.
It is then easy to see that beign governed by a code of ethics is
not equivalent to beign subject to the dictates to others. Professionals
are always free to choose how they will act in the performance of
their professional duties. These professionals are only subject to
their own decision making and therefore responsible for their own
actions. This means that the choices they make are indeed based on
reasons of their own and not on the specific orders outlined by others.
