Philosophy 226, Winter 2010
Ethics and the Life Sciences
Professor: Paul Thagard
Office hours (HH368): TTh 1-2; and by appointment.
Email: pthagard@uwaterloo.ca. Phone: 519-888-4567, extension 33594.
Web page: http://cogsci.uwaterloo.ca/courses/phil226.html.
Time: TTH, 2:30-3:50, HH 1101.
Textbook: E. Kluge, Readings in Biomedical Ethics, 3rd edn., 2005
Assignments: Marks will be based on:
Description: A discussion of critical ethical issues in medical practice and research.
Readings:
| Week | Dates | Topic | Textbook chapter |
| 1 | Jan 5-7 | Ethical theory | 1 |
| 2 | Jan. 12-14 | Health care | 2-3 |
| 3 | Jan. 19-21 | Resource allocation | 4 |
| 4 | Jan. 26-28 | Patients, EXAM 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Feb. 2-4 | Informed consent | 6-7 |
| 6 | Feb. 9-11 | Treatment | 8-9 |
| 7 | Feb. 23-25 | Medical research | 10-11 |
| 8 | Mar. 2-4 | Personhood, EXAM 2 |
12 |
| 9 | Mar. 9-11 | Abortion and euthanasia | 13-14 |
| 10 | Mar. 16-18 | Children and reproduction, ESSAY |
15-16 |
| 11 | Mar. 23-25 | Reproductive technologies | 17 |
| 12 | Mar. 30-Apr. 1 | Global allocation, EXAM 3 | Paul Farmer |
From the Faculty of Arts:
All students registered in the courses of the Faculty of Arts are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for their actions. When the commission of an offence is established, disciplinary penalties will be imposed in accord with Policy #71 (Student Academic Discipline). For information on categories of offences and types of penalties, students are directed to consult the summary of Policy #71 which is supplied in the Undergraduate Calendar (section 1; on the Web at www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infousec/Policies/policy71.htm). If you need help in learning what constitutes an academic offence; how to avoid offences such as plagiarism, cheating, and double submission; how to follow appropriate rules with respect to “group work” and collaboration; or if you need clarification of aspects of the discipline policy, ask your TA and/or your course instructor for guidance. Other resources regarding the discipline policy are your academic advisor and the Undergraduate Associate Dean. Students who believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the right to grieve; refer to Policy #70, Student Grievance, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm.”
Faculty of Arts information on plagiarism and other offences.
The Hastings Center for Bioethics
USA President's Council on Bioethics
Note: Lecture notes for each week will be available on the Web by Tuesday morning. .Updated notes will be marked 2010. If you want to print out notes with smaller or bigger letters, you can Edit the Preferences in your Web browser to change the font size. The notes include review questions to guide your exam preparation.
Week 3: Allocation of resources. 2010
Week 4: Professional-Patient Relationships. 2010.
Week 5: Informed Consent. 2010
Week 6: Medical Treatment. 2010.
Week 7: Research with Human Subjects. 2010.
Week 8: Personhood and Brains. 2010.
Week 9: Abortion and Euthanasia. 2010.
Week 10: Having Children. 2010
Week 11: Reproductive Technologies. 2010
Week 12: Reproductive Technologies; Global Health. 2010
Computational Epistemology Laboratory.
This page updated March 22, 2010.