PHIL 6310: Biomedical Ethics
Course Description: Biomedical ethics has Ancient roots, dating at least to Hippocrates in the 5th century BCE. Its moral foundations are typically held to rest on four separate—yet sometimes competing—values: autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. In the first few units of this course, we consider these values and their application to a range of healthcare practitioners. In the next set of units, we consider these values in specific contexts, including clinical medical ethics, informed consent, research ethics, and preventative care and testing. We then turn to more abstract philosophical discussion of abortion and end-of-life care before more broadly considering the structure and distribution of both healthcare and other scare medical resources. The last few units cover topics that have emerged more recently in biomedical ethics, including diversity and pluralism, race, and globalization.
Course Syllabus (Fall 2020)