What shall I do? Ethics for Engineers

Supplementary Course (German), 2 SWH, summer semester

Lecturer (assistant)
Language of instructionGerman
DatesSee TUMonline

Content

1. Topics of ethics and their justification:

  • freedom
  • view from a historical perspective, description of the conceptual development and application to today's standards
  • the dignity of the human being
  • love
  • virtue
  • obligation
  • freewill
  • discourse
  • human machine resonance
  • ethical and aesthetic noise evaluation
  • pragmatism and the metaphysical foundation of ethics
  • communicative action and theory of action
  • good and evil
  • justice
  • custom and morality
  • education
  • to be and to be
  • the pursuit of happiness
  • the good life
  • the fulfilment of desires
  • mindfulness

Human consciousness as a controlling instance of needs.

  • the individual in social responsibility
  • the person
  • the age
  • psychical and physical aspects of everyday actions
  • work-Life-Balance
  • professionalism and private life
  • philosophical ethics of the Maya and Aztecs
  • philosophical ethics of Confucianism and Taoism

2. Introduction to the philosophical dialog

Course Objectives

A successful attendance to the module enables the students to...

  • ... understand, which philosophical prerequisites have led to today's understanding of practical philosophy and ethics (basic knowledge)
  • ... independently analyse metaphysical approaches (platonism/constructivism/nominalism, in-depth competence)
  • ... independently develop a philosophical basis for their point of view (reflexive knowledge)
  • ... evaluate problems on the basis of questions of technology (interpretation competence) and to develop proposals for solutions to concrete problems (solution competence)
  • ... relate social-ethical and scientific-technical areas of tension to their professional context (practical vocational competence)

Organizational Matters

Order of the meetings:

  • weekly regular class, 2 SWH duration
  • welcome
  • discussion of organizational issues
  • repetition of previous session
  • introduction to the thematic focus
  • summary and outlook

Examination:

  • 15 - 20 minutes per person in oral group exam

Recommended Previous Knowledge

None.

Consultation Hours

On demand.

Further Information