They relieve some of the extraordinary psychological burden and moral aggravation that professionals otherwise would face. And, to an important degree, these standards distinguish the professional's obligations that are role specific from those of ordinary persons. Even more troubling is law professor Tom Shaffer's concern that ethical codes and rules can be used as a tool for avoiding morality. And in some cases, codes of ethics are designed merely to avoid outside regulation of a profession. True ethical discourse involves freedom to question and autonomy to act on the complexities of the moral choice at hand.
Codes can stifle true ethical discourse by providing ready-made solutions to complex moral choices.
In their ideal sense, codes of ethics should help define the relationship and responsibility of the professional to society. But blind devotion to ethical codes will not address the ethical concerns of the engineering profession. The final burden is upon the individual's conscience and values. In the end, codes of ethics can never be an engineer's voice, except as he or she chooses to recite the rules or struggles with the ideas that shaped them. Of course, there are engineers who do not fall victim to indifference.