Not offered 2007-2008
PHIL 213 Biomedical Ethics (W)
This course explores key concepts in bioethical theory, as well as their application to pressing moral concerns in health care and biotechnology. Through cases, readings, and discussions, we will analyze such core notions as death, illness and disability, and develop a framework of central principles for conceptualizing and resolving practical ethical problems that arise in the medical context. Much of the term will focus on questions surrounding (1) the care of the terminally ill (including, for example, the use of advance directives, withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, and physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia), (2) the management of medical information (e.g., privacy in health care, mandatory reporting, and genetic testing), (3) the use of human subjects in research, and (4) human gene transfer for purposes of therapy or enhancement. Students need not have a background in life sciences or in philosophy, but the course is analytic and rigorous.
Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: active participation in class discussions, two case analyses (7-10 pp. each), and periodic short writing assignments (2-3 pages each).
No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 19 (expected: 19). Preference given to first-years and sophomores.

J. PEDRONI