PAAE8007 Bioethics
| Offered By | School of Philosophy |
|---|---|
| Academic Career | Graduate Coursework |
| Course Subject | Professional and Applied Ethics |
| Offered in | First Semester, 2011 and First Semester, 2012 |
| Unit Value | 6 units |
| Course Description | This course provides broad coverage of the discipline of bioethics. Following historical introduction to bioethics and an introduction to the primary philosophical/ethical approaches to bioethical questions, the course is divided into three main parts. Part I examines traditional topics of bioethics: the relationship between health professionals and patients, clinical research ethics, and the ethics of ending lives (i.e. abortion and euthanasia). Part II explores current controversies surrounding rapidly advancing biological and medical science and technology: cloning and stem cell research, human enhancement, and the dual-use dilemma. Part III examines public health ethics- which is a new and rapidly growing sub-discipline of bioethics. We here consider a relevant recent major debate about international research ethics, ethical issues associated with emerging infectious diseases, and controversy surrounding the patenting of pharmaceuticals. |
| Learning Outcomes |
When successfully completed, students will have developed a good theoretical understanding both of central and current issues in bioethics and of some key philosophical issues of importance to applied ethics more generally. |
| Indicative Assessment |
2,000 word essay (35%), 3,000 word essay (55%) and class/online participation (10%). |
| Workload |
All students are required to read the Lecture Notes and the Required Reading for each week's topic- as indicated in the Course Outline. Almost all Required Readings will be available on Electronic Reserve at the University library. In other (highly unusual) cases, the readings will made electronically available by the course convener in some other way (usually via the Resources link on Alliance) and details will be announced. Electronic reserve readings can be found here. Additional Recommended Readings have been suggested for most topics- these are optional. Such readings may or may not be placed on electronic reserve- but, especially in the case of journal articles, you will often still be able to find them online via the library (i.e., in cases where the library subscribes to the journal). You can search for journals electronically available from the ANU library here (where it says "Full text e-journals"). (Further information on getting journal articles online is provided below.) Lecture Notes for each week's topic will generally be made available on Alliance at least one week before the topic is scheduled. In addition to reading, students will participate in (online and/or face-to-face) class discussion and write two papers (totalling 5000 words in length).
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| Course Classification(s) | AdvancedAdvanced courses are designed for students having reached 'first degree' level of assumed knowledge, which provide a deep understanding of contemporary issues; or 'second degree' and higher levels of knowledge; or for transition to research training programs. |
| Areas of Interest | Philosophy |
| Requisite Statement |
Enrolment in the MA(PAE) or with the permission of the coordinator. |
| Programs | Master of Arts (Professional and Applied Ethics), Master of Arts (Professional and Applied Ethics), Master of Culture, Health and Medicine, and Master of Culture, Health and Medicine |
| Academic Contact | Chris Gyngell |
The information published on the Study at ANU 2011 website applies to the 2011 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2010 website.
