The Humanistic Education for the Future Engineer

Ethical reflections applied to engineering are a lot more recent than those concerning other professional activities; nevertheless, there is a subject called “engineering ethics” nobody seems to be surprised when philosophers and ethicists question certain aspects of technological development, of sustainability and resources exploitation; however, at the moment, there are no innovative strategies in engineering education that may permit students to experience and to improve their capabilities in ethical evaluations. This knowledge, which should be included in the so-called humanities, seems to be indispensable for regaining the centrality of the human being in technological issues, and even for a more profound reflection about his capacity to modify the environment. It seems to be necessary to integrate the Engineering curriculum with the study of humanities, in order to rebuild the unity of knowledge and moral experience, presently broken into fragments in the kaleidoscope of procedures and competencies.