Engineering ethics in France: a historical perspective

Until recently, there have been no engineering ethics courses, no research programs on the topic, nor a specific code of ethics for engineers in Franc e. For cultural and historical reasons, the question of whether or not engi neering is a profession has not been an issue. Therefore, professional ethi cs in engineering have not developed as they have in English-speaking count ries. If a code of ethics is considered to be one way of studying engineeri ng ethics, where should such an investigation begin? A historical investiga tion shows that the French engineering profession did not successfully orga nize itself into any kind of association, and the subsequent scattering of professionals led to an absence of discourse among engineers. Even if such a professional association had produced a code of ethics, in France more th an in other countries, engineers' perceptions of ethical issues within thei r profession needs further study. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.