Time Schedule:
Nancy A.S. Jecker
B H 411
Seattle Campus
Case-based approach to major topics in bioethics, such as abortion, genetic testing, physician-assisted suicide, and euthanasia. Emphasizes utilizing ethical principles and methods of case analysis.
Class description
This course introduces students to bioethics as a field of scholarly inquiry. It accomplishes this primarily by working through specific ethical problems that arise in the clinical setting of medicine. By developing an appreciation of these problems, and of the methods of analysis used in their resolution, students learn about the methods and practice of bioethics. Throughout the course, students will be asked both to employ philosophical analysis and argument in practical contexts, and to assess critically the assumptions underlying such analysis. Using a case-based approach, we examine topics such as assisted reproductive technologies, prenatal genetic diagnosis, genetic enhancement, decisions to forego life-sustaining treatment, hospice care, and the ethical and legal aspects of active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
None
Class assignments and grading
Two take-home essay examinations.
Two take-home essay examinations.
