Bioethics PHL283H5S Summer 2014 M, W 2-5pm in NE 160 INSTRUCTOR: Daniel Hooley daniel.hooley@utoronto.ca Office location: North Building 268 Office Hours: M, W 12-1pm or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION In this course we will look at a variety of ethical issues that arise from the fact that we are embodied beings who are conceived, born, develop into adulthood, grow old, and die. A host of interesting and difficult ethical questions arise in all of these stages of life. Some of the questions concern how we, as individuals, ought to live. Is abortion morally permissible? Does death always harm us? Or can we sometimes benefit from death? And if so, is suicide morally permissible? Do we ever have a duty to die? Other questions that we will look at concern a different level of analysis. Here our focus is on what the law or public policy ought to say on these issues, and the ethics of medical practice and scientific research. In this part of the course we will consider what the laws of the state should be with respect to issues like abortion, voluntary and non- voluntary body alterations, physician assisted death, the use of humans and nonhuman animals in biomedical research, and human enhancement. REQUIRED TEXTS All of the readings for the course will be posted online via Blackboard. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Upon successful completion of this course, you can expect to gain a solid understanding of several core bioethical issues. Along with this, another central learning objective for this course is improving your critical thinking skills, primarily as these skills relate to evaluating moral arguments. Below are some of the skills we will practice and strengthen during the course. The ability to read, formulate, understand, and summarize complex philosophical arguments. These skills are perhaps best seen in the ability to clearly and plainly explain moral arguments to a friend or family member. Recognize ambiguous or unclear claims and restate premises and conclusions in a clearer and more precise fashion Identify unstated assumptions central to an argument 1
Write a clear, well- organized, and well- supported philosophical essay COURSE REQUIREMENTS Your grade for the course will be based on the following components: Participation (15%) Précis (10%) Critical Summary of a Reading (15%) 3-4pg Essay (30%) Final Exam (30%) Your participation grade will be based on a variety of components, including: your participation in discussion in class, reading responses, short quizzes, and some low- stakes writing assignments (worth a percentage or two of your total grade). Details on the assignments will be given throughout the course. IMPORTANT DATES Précis July 21st Critical Summary August 6th Essay August 18th Final Exam August 22nd (5-7pm, IB 120) COURSE SCHEDULE* *The schedule and selection of readings are tentative and may be changed or modified during the course. JULY 7th: Introduction to Bioethics No required readings. Optional: James Rachels A Short Introduction to Moral Philosophy Section 1. Ethics at the Beginning and End of Life JULY 9th: Abortion Pope John Paul II The Unspeakable Crime of Abortion Don Marquis Why Abortion is Immoral Judith Jarvis Thomson A Defense of Abortion 2
Optional: DeGrazia, Mappes, and Brand- Ballard Introduction to Abortion... JULY 14th: Death Jeff McMahan An Alternative to Brain Death Lucretius excerpts from The Hellenistic Philosophers Thomas Nagel Death JULY 16th: Suicide and a Duty to Die Michael Cholbi The Kantian Argument R.B. Brandt The Morality and Rationality of Suicide John Hardwig Is there a Duty to Die? Section 2. Professional Ethics, Legal Issues, and Public Policy JULY 21st: Autonomy and Informed Consent Gerald Dworkin Autonomy and Informed Consent Rebecca Kukla Conscientious Autonomy: Displacing Decisions in Health Care JULY 23rd: Body Alterations Michael Benatar and David Benatar Between Prophylaxis and Child Abuse: The Ethics of Neonatal Male Circumcision Sally Sheldon and Stephen Wilkinson Female Genital Mutilation and Cosmetic Surgery: Regulating Non- therapeutic Body Modification JULY 28th: Abortion Policy Bernard Prusak Politics, Religion, and the Public Good: An Interview with John Rawls Supreme Court of Canada Morgentaler, Smoling and Scott v. The Queen (1988) JULY 30th: Human Research and Experimentation Gregory Pence The Tuskegee Study Don Marquis How to Resolve an Ethical Dilemma Concerning Randomized Clinical Trials AUGUST 4th *No Class - Civic Day Holiday* AUGUST 6th: The Use of Non- human Animals in Biomedical Research Carl Cohen The Case for the Use of Animals in Biomedical Research Nathan Nobis The Harmful, Nontherapeutic Use of Animals in Research is Morally Wrong 3
AUGUST 11th: Advanced Directives and Proxy Decision Makers Advanced Directives Seminar Group, Centre for Bioethics, U of T Advanced Directives: Are they an Advance? Rebecca Dresser Dworkin on Dementia AUGUST 13th: Assisted Death Wayne Sumner Selections from Assisted Death (p.87-91, 166-190) Optional: BBC Article Belgium s Parliament Votes Through Child Euthanasia Globe and Mail Article Quebec First Province to Adopt Right to Die Legislation AUGUST 18th: Human Enhancement Michael Sandel The Case Against Perfection Sarah Chan & John Harris In Support of Human Enhancement Optional: Julian Savulescu A Doping Manifesto COURSE POLICIES LATE PAPERS AND EXAMS: Late papers will not be accepted unless prior arrangements have been made before the assignment is due (at least 2 days prior to the due date), or you have a documented medical or family emergency. No late exams will be given, except in the case of medical or family emergencies. NOTE ON PLAGIARISM: I expect that the essays you submit for this class are the product of your own work, and are not plagiarized from other sources. Prior to the first writing assignment we will review how to avoid accidental plagiarism. If you don t know what counts as plagiarism, I encourage you to bring your questions to me. You may also consult U of T s instructions (link below). Plagiarism in your essay and assignment may result in a failing grade for the course. http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using- sources/how- not- to- plagiarize. TURNITIN.COM: You are required to submit your essay to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing this, you will allow your essay to be included as a source document in the Turnitin.com reference database, where it will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the 4
University s use of the Turnitin.com service can be found on Turnitin.com. ACCESSIBILITY NEEDS: Students with different needs and learning styles are welcome in this course, and any student with a disability will be accommodated. If you have a disability, or need accommodation for specific learning needs, please see me or contact the Accessibility Resource Centre. EMAIL POLICY: I will do my best to respond to student emails within 48 hours (if it is not the weekend, I will usually respond much sooner than this). I only ask that you make sure the information you are seeking is not available on the course webpage or the syllabus. If your question cannot be easily answered via an email, I will suggest you meet me during one of my office hours, or before or after class to discuss the matter. STUDENT RESOURCES ON CAMPUS Accessibility Resource Centre: 905.569.4699, www.utm.utoronto.ca/access Health & Counselling Centre: 905.828.5255, www.utm.utoronto.ca/health Robert Gillepsie Academic Skills Centre: 905.828.3858, www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc COMMUNITY RESOURCES Good2Talk: Ontario s postsecondary student helpline, 1.866.925.5454, www.good2talk.ca ConnexOntario: Mental Health Helpline, 1.866.531.2600, www.ementalhealth.ca 5