PHIL 626Bioethics and Technology

Students will grapple with a sample of ethical issues related to advanced and emerging medical technologies and/or biotechnologies. The primary goals of doing so are: (1) To gain familiarity with key ethical concepts and values, which may include patient autonomy, beneficence, justice, care, anti-ableism, inclusion, and others; and (2) to enhance core critical thinking skills needed for ethics, which will help improve each student’s self-understanding (of not only what they think is right and wrong, but, more importantly, why) and their capacity to engage with different perspectives on the “whats” and “whys” of ethics in a spirit of open-mindedness, mutual respect, and constructive cooperation. Frequent in-class discussion is typically an important element of student learning in this course.