PHIL 165.001 – Bioethics

Instructor: Molly Gardner. This course meets TR 5:00 – 6:15 p.m. in CW 103.

Many advancements in science, medicine, and health care raise difficult moral questions. If we can extend a suffering person’s life, should we always do so? If we can select for or against certain genetic traits in the next generation, should we ever do so? The goal of this course is to equip you with the philosophical methodology and the information you will need in order to think productively about these and other questions. We will begin by examining some of the major moral theories including utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. We will then critically examine the literature on a series of issues including abortion, genetics and procreation, euthanasia, patient autonomy, human research, and the allocation of health care resources.