main argument ), stated W r i t i n g

required to pick any two (2) questions from the list of 8 below and write an essay on each of them. Each essay should be 750-1000 words long. This is a strict word limit; essays outside this range will lose marks. The essays should be based primarily on lecture content. You are permitted to refer to readings from the course, but you should do so sparingly; you are not expected to include material from assigned readings.

Try to refer to multiple lectures in each essay; the goal is to synthesize material that you’ve learned throughout the course. It is recommended that you address different topics in each of the essays rather than repeating topics. This will allow you to demonstrate knowledge of more course material.

Your essays must be written in complete sentences and paragraphs. Each essay should include a thesis (or main argument), stated as clearly as possible, toward the end of the introduction.

1)Consider the role of engineers in relation to government and the military. How has this role changed over time?

2)Which historical engineer covered in this course best exemplifies the qualities that an engineer should have? What are those qualities?

3)Consider the three main ethical theories that we’ve studied in this course: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. Which ethical theory is most useful to an engineer in the 21^st century, and why?

4)This course has included several examples of human suffering caused by technology, engineering, and/or urban planning in the past. What has been primarily responsible for these negative effects, and how can they be avoided?

5)How would you characterize the historical relationship between science and engineering? Has it changed over time?

6)Throughout history, have economic and business concerns generally helped or hindered the work of engineers? Explain how.

7)This course has featured several lectures related to NASA and the exploration of space. Based on these lectures, how much credit do engineers deserve for NASA’s successes, and how much blame do they deserve for its failures?

8)Consider the history of people’s attitudes toward the environment, and also consider present-day ideas related to conservation and environmentalism such as IPCAs and solar geoengineering. What are the key connections between the past and the present of environmentalism? How does the history of environmentalism help to explain its current state?