Searching for Connections to the Raison d’Être of Engineering Geology in Codes of Ethics

Abstract

Engineering geology has no generally acknowledged and formally stated Raison d’Être. This lack could be because engineering geology practice has long been so closely integrated into civil engineering practice that its Raison d’Être appeared to be nothing more than to serve the needs of civil engineers. Today, our scope of services has expanded beyond direct and immediate application to engineered projects. A 21st century Raison d’Être for the profession should match our 21st century practice; it should be derived from a description of the benefits the profession provides to humankind. This study seeks insight into how engineering geology benefits humankind by examining a subset of thirteen of forty-nine codes of ethics under which engineering geologists might practice. All thirteen contain an ethical requirement that stands out as supportive of a Raison d’Être for the profession based on its societal value. This special clause imposes a mandatory duty on the professional to hold paramount the public health, safety, and welfare in all professional work. The connection between this ethical requirement and our 21st century Raison d’Être is revealed by asking the question, how does our practice meet the ethical requirement to protect the public health, safety, and welfare? The proposed answer (Raison d’Être) is that engineering geologists protect the public health, safety, and welfare by finding, defining, and communicating actionable information about, geologically-sourced risks and their associated hazards that can affect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, as they live in and use their natural and built environments.