uwloo

PHIL 319JEthics of End-of-Life Care

Units
0.50
Faculty
Arts
Subject
Philosophy

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

What options does a person reaching the end of life have and how can they best be cared for? How can we balance patient autonomy with the expertise of the health-care provider and the demands of the health-care system? This course will help students think philosophically and critically about issues like these in their cultural, historical, and legal context. Specific topics may include consent, human dignity, euthanasia, refusal or withdrawal of treatment, palliative care and holistic patient care, pluralism and diverse understandings of dying, and treatment of the elderly.

Prerequisites

None listed.

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Fall 2026 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 001801726 / 75M 18:30–21:20

Reviewed on UW Flow

75% liked it58% easy67% useful

From 4 ratings and 3 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • I felt like I could never do well in this course. No matter how much I studied, my answers never seemed correct, especially on the opinion-based quizzes. I thought I did well explaining myself and backing myself up, but I did horribly on almost everything in this course. We were not given any rubrics to base our grade off of, just a few written points on the sides that didn't help me understand. So, I never knew how to do better on the next quiz or test. I was also expecting a lot of case studies, but we barely did any. The class was extremely boring. I do NOT recommend this class if you can't seem to think ethically like me. This was supposed to be a bird course, and it absolutely tanked…

    May 2026 · didn’t like itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • This class's content was very interesting and the lecture videos that accompanied it were helpful. The downside is that this class is a flipped class, meaning you watch the lectures on your own time and write assignments in class. I found this format to be stressful as you were expected to hand-write formal argumentative pieces in a matter of an hour without sources.

    Dec 2023 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

  • I needed it for my minor, so I considered it useful. SO SO SO interesting and amazing!! Would recommend to everyone. This was my first 3 hour lecture ever and I was super nervous about that, but it honestly does not feel like 3 hours at all. He sort of gauges the class before determining how much discussion vs teaching he's going to do, which is really nice. When I took the course, there were 2 papers, iClickers (15% participation!!) and a final (which was your choice of a test or another essay). You also get a ton of feedback on the essays so there's a lot of opportunity for improvement as the term progresses.

    Dec 2018 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

9 posts and comments in 7 threads mention PHIL 319J, October 2017 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2023

PHIL 319J 1 point, 2 comments

u/WorriedCurrent1789: “Hey, Has anyone taken PHIL 319J before? If yes, what was the difficulty level of the course.”

u/Ok-Ad-3004: “… PHIL 319J seems to be the harder course, there’s a lot of deadlines as well as heavier assignments (debate, report, paper, as well as weekly assignments). I ended up sticking with PHIL 226 as I found it more interesting (biomedical ethics) and it had fewer deadlines. …”

u/WorriedCurrent1789: “Thank you! I need to take PHIL 319J since I need a third year course.”

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Winter 2022

What are the coolest/most interesting electives to take? 23 points, 30 comments

“What are some interesting electives to take. In high school my most memorable courses were drama and hospitality. What are some cool electives to take here. …”

u/MyLifeIsAFacade: “… Also taught by Stumpf was Ethics in End of Life Care (PHIL 319J). An interesting subject overall (i.e., medically assisted death), but approached it entirely from an ethical standpoint. …”

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Fall 2021

Spring 2021

Winter 2020

PHIL 226 or PHIL 319J? 2 points, 8 comments

u/basilsucks: “Biomedical Ethics vs Ethics of End-of-life care? Ive heard it's unachievable to get above a 60 in the essays in 226 but the prof/content is really interesting? Any advice on either would be a great help :)”

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Spring 2018

PHIL 319J? 0 points, 1 comment

u/itsbabychoerrie: “Has anyone taken PHIL 319J - Ethics of End of Life Care at STJ? How was the course? What is there to expect? Please let me know! Taking this ethics course instead of PHIL 266 for my minor and having no idea what to expect other than the course outline :( Thanks!”

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Fall 2017

Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments

“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”

u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”

u/Jackhofmann: “… PHIL 221 PHIL 226 PHIL 240 PHIL 247W PHIL 251 PHIL 256 PHIL 258 PHIL 265 PHIL 283 PHIL 284 PHIL 319J PHIL 320 PHIL 327 PHIL 329 PHIL 340 PHIL 356 PHIL 371 PHIL 420 PHIL 459 PHIL 482 PHIL 498 PHIL 670 PHIL 673 PHIL 675 PHIL 680A PHIL 696 PHIL 698 PHIL 699 PHS 601 PHS 602 PHS 604 …”

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Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar