Hartwick college

Ø The Bioethics Reader: Editors' Choice, Blackwell Publishing

Ø Jeff McMahan, The Ethics of Killing, Oxford University Press

Course Aim:

Our aim in this course will be to investigate some of the philosophical and ethical questions surrounding life and death. In particular, we will exam the ethics of killing in two highly contested areas: abortion and euthanasia. Following this, we will turn our attention to other concrete issues in the medical arena. Additional areas to be considered include: health care, body sculpting, genetic information and modification, and organ donation.

Course Requirements:

Your course grade will consist of several take-home assignments (15%), 3 in-class presentations (45%), a midterm exam (20%), and a final exam (20%).

Note: Failure to complete all of your presentations on time will result in failure in the course.

Tentative Reading Schedule

Week One

1/7: Introduction to the course

1/8: Killing

• The Ethics of Killing, 189-266

110: Abortion

• The Ethics of Killing, 267-329
• Movie: If These Walls Could Talk…

1/11: Abortion

• Judith Jarvis Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion"
• • Presentation #1
• Don Marquis, "Why Abortion is Immoral"
• • Presentation #2
• Susanne Gibson, "The Problem of Abortion"
• • Presentation #3: 447-459

Week Two

1/14: Abortion and Infanticide

• The Ethics of Killing, 329-422
• • Presentation #1: 329-362
  • Presentation #2: 362-398
  • Presentation #3: 398-422

1/15: Euthanasia

1/17: Euthanasia

• The Ethics of Killing, 423-505
• • Presentation #1: 423-455
  • Presentation #2: 455-493
  • Presentation #3: 493-505

1/18: Movie: Sicko

• REVIEW FOR MIDTERM

Week Three

1/21: Mid-term Exam

1/22: Movie: And the Band Played On…

1/24: Health Care

• John Harris, "Justice and Equal Opportunities in Health Care"
• • Presentation #1: 162-174
• Dan W. Brock, "Some Questions about the Moral Responsibilities of Drug Companies in Developing Countries"
• Norman Daniels, "Social Responsibility and Global Pharmaceutical Companies"
• • Presentation #2: 301-311

1/25: Psychiatry and Body-Sculpting

• Jennifer Radden, "Psychiatric Ethics"
• • Presentation #1: 104-118
• Sally Sheldon and Stephen Wilkinson, "Female Genital Mutilation and Cosmetic Surgery"
• • Presentation #2: 119-142
• "Amputees by Choice"
• • Presentation #3

Week Four

1/28: Autonomy and Organs

• Jim Stone, "Advance Directives, Autonomy, and Unintended Death"
• • Presentation #1: 551-576
• John Harris, "The Survival Lottery"
• • Presentation #2
• J. Jeremy Wisnewski, "When the Dead Do Not Consent"
• • Presentation #3

1/29: Genetic Ethics

• Stuart Rachels, "Is it Good to Make Happy People?"
• • Presentation #1: 389-407
• Walter Glannon, "Genes, Embryos, and Future People"
• • Presentation #2: 408-433
• Nicholas Agar, "Designing Babies"
• • Presentation #3: 342-357

1/31: Watch The Island

• REVIEW FOR FINAL

2/1: Final Exam