What happens when laws fall short of a full articulation of the public’s consensus desires for certain outcomes? Assume for a moment that such a consensus exists. We can later relax that, but for the sake of simplicity assume agreement. Does it logically follow that anything not expressly forbidden is therefore permissible? If the law … More Framing the Legal Frameworks

In his 1971 book, The Revolt of the Engineers, Ed Layton discusses the crass calculus employed by some engineers in the founder societies to develop codes of ethics. Specifically, he describes the machinations of engineering luminaries’ public writings exhorting their respective professional societies to adopt codes of ethics in order to improve the public standing of the engineering profession and … More The Ethics of Using Codes of Ethics to Improve Professional Standing