This terrific essay is for all of us, not just engineering academics. Through addressing shortcomings in engineering education programs, and recommending specific solutions, it illustrates how to structure a dimension of life within a holistic vision of caring for the general good, and the urgency of doing so.
After outlining the destructive effects of lionizing innovation in engineering education programs, the authors suggest an alternative set of values that are grounded in an ethics of care, illustrate how those values could be reflected in engineering programs’ structure and goals, and close with a compelling argument for the exigency of making those changes.
The import of the essay for engineering academics is obvious, and this non-engineer / non-academic won’t linger there, but will instead highlight the (likely unintended) bonus — the essay is for all of us.
The import for the general reader rests on three points:
The essay: 1) renders an ethics of care in accessible language in an accessible context, 2) is effectively a case study in how that theory can manifest on the ground; and 3) communicates the pressing need for a holistic vision of caring for the common good to shape how all of us structure and conduct our day-to-day lives.