Week |
Date |
Day |
Topic/Assignments, etc.
Note: All assignment are due on the day on which they are listed. |
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Introductory Matters |
Week 1 |
Jan. 26 |
Thursday |
Introduction |
Week 2 |
Jan. 31 |
Tuesday |
Defining Moral Problems: Everyday Moral Reasoning; Overview of Moral Theories
 Journal assignment: write a short essay (1-2 pages) in which you describe a contemporary moral issue that you think is genuinely difficult to decide. Indicate the pro's and con's and explain why you think it is difficult to decide. What would help to resolve the issue?
 Required reading: CMI, Chap. 9, selections by Singer and Hardin.
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Overview of Moral Theory |
Week 2 |
Feb. 2 |
Thursday |
Ethical Theory: Overview, Utilitarianism
 Presentations
Required reading: Hinman, "The Ethics of Consequences," eReserve.
Journal assignment: write a two-page essay (typed, double-spaced) in which you apply utilitarian ethical theory to the problem of world hunger. Explain what kinds of factors the utilitarian would consider and how the utilitarian would reason about this issue. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Note: three students will be asked to present their paper in class. Be ready to volunteer! |
Week 3 |
Feb. 7 |
Tuesday |
Study day: no in-class meeting. (LMH off campus)
 In place of today's class meeting, please view: Michael Sandel, "The Case against Perfection," Chautauqua Institution (7-17-08). We will be discussion this video in Week 4, but right now simply note Sandel's arguments and try to categorize them as utilitarian, deontological, or character-based arguments.
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Week 3
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Feb. 9 |
Thursday |
Ethical Theory: Rule-based approaches to morality
Presentations
Required reading: Hinman, "The Ethics of Duty." eReserve.
Journal assignment: write a two-page essay in which you apply deontological moral theory to the problem of world hunger. Be sure to state what version of deontology you are using. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Note: three students will be asked to present their paper in class. Be ready to volunteer!
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Ethical Theory: Character-based approaches to morality
Presentations
- Character-based Approaches
Required reading: Hinman, "The Ethics of Character." (eReserve)
Journal assignment: write a two-page essay (typed, double-spaced) in which you apply character-based ethical approaches to the problem of world hunger. Explain what the virtue theorist finds morally interesting. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this approach. Note: three students will be asked to present their paper in class. Be ready to volunteer! |
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Cloning, Genetic Manupulation, Regenerative Medicine |
Week 4 |
Feb. 14 |
Tuesday |
Designing Humans: Shaping Our Children through Genetic Manipulation
Required Reading:
- Read CMI, Chapter One
- "Making Laws about Making Babies," New York Times, Sept. 13, 2011. (also on eReserve)
- Hinman, "Chapter 01. Reproductive Technology. An Introduction to the Moral Issues." (on eReserve) This replaces the introduction to the ethical issues in your textbook.
- "Sandel, "Enhancement--with commentary." (on eReserve); this provides you with a model of how to analyze a philosophical article.
The octuplets case
Case Studies: Liver Cancer, Down Syndrome
View "Embryo Screening", New York Times video
View Down Syndrome, New York Times video
Read: Amy Harmon, " Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus." New York Times, May 9, 2007.
- "Genetic Enhancement." Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, August 17, 2007. Bob Abernathy, host. includes interviews with Michael Sandel and Greg Stock.
Stock-Fukuyama debate
Presentation
Stock-Fukuyama Debate on-line in RealVideo and available in transcript from from the Cato Institute. This is an excellent resource.
Additional Resources
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Week 4 |
Feb. 16 |
Thursday |
Stem Cell Ethics & Regenerative Medicine
Videos
Presentations:
Recommended on eReserve:
- "Girl or Boy? As Fertility Technology Advances, So Does an Ethical Debate." Grady, D.
- "There is No Me Without You." Shapiro, D.
- "Wanting Babies Like Themselves, Some Parents Choose Genetic Defects." Sanghavi, D.M.
- Katrina Clark, "My Father Was an Anonymous Sperm Donor" Washington Post. December 17, 2006.
- Peggy Orenstein, "In Vitro We Trust" New York Times. July 20, 2008.
- "Can Science Resolve the Ethical Impasse in Stem Cell Research?" Snyder, E.Y., Hinman, L.M. and Kalichman, M.W. Nature Biotech
- Stem Cell Reviews: Volume 1, Number 4
- Michael J. Sandel, "Embryo Ethics: The Moral Logic of Stem-Cell Research," NEJM 351;3 (www.nejm.org , July 15, 2004) (eReserve)
- Shari Roan, "Infertility patients caught in the legal, moral and scientific embryo debate," Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2008.
Additional resources:
- President's Council on Bioethics
- Genetics and Public Policy Center: Publications
- NBAC Executive Summary on stem cell research
- additional material
- President's Council on Bioethics
- Alternative Sources of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
- National Institutes of Health website on stem cell research
- National Academies Guidelines for Stem Cell Research (April 2005)
- Catholic perspectives
- Hinman and Kalichman, "Moral Questions about Stem Cell Research" San Diego Union-Tribune , January 6 2005, p. B9.
- Lawrence M. Hinman and Michael Kalichman, KPBS, "These Days" on stem cell ethics, June 8 2005
- Stem Cell Ethics--Canada
- Overview of embryonic development
- Michael Sandel, "Embryo Ethics," Boston Globe, April 8, 2007.
Videos
Journal Assignment: Genetic testing has made it increasingly possible to test for genetic traits extremely early in a pregnancy. In some cases the results of these tests may result in abortion, in non-implantation of embryos, or in modification of embryos. What general principles should be used in deciding (a) when such tests can be performed and (b) what actions may be taken as a result of such tests. (2 pages, double-spaced). |
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Gattaca |
Week 5 |
Feb. 21 |
Tuesday |
Envisioning the Future: Gattaca
 In the news:
Video: Gattaca
Journal Assignment: Essay discussing ethical issues in "Gattaca." |
Week 5 |
Feb. 23 |
Thursday |
Discussion: Gattaca
Presentation: Genetic Technologies
In the News:
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Week 6 |
Feb. 25 |
Tuesday |
Discussion of Gattaca |
Week 6
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March 1 |
Videos |
Mid-Term Exam- is RESCHEDULED FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 13TH.
Eugenics
Presentation on Eugenics
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Spring Break |
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March 6 |
Tuesday |
USD Spring Break--no class
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March 8 |
Thursday |
USD Spring Break--no class |
Week 7
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March 13 |
Tuesday |
Mid-Term Exam--please make sure you bring a black pen for the exam.
- Turn in three journal entries for the first part of the semester. These must be printed out and turned in at the beginning of the exam period.
Possible long essay questions (to be posted at 12:30 PM, Feb. 25, 2012):
- Imagine that you are the bioethics advisor to the President. She asks you to prepare a briefing paper, outlining the main ethical issues relating to new assisted reproductive techniques and to make recommendations about what her administration's policy should be on these issues. Fortunately, this is an issue you studied in college. Write a brilliant and incisive briefing paper, showing your command of both the philosophical/ethical issues and the empirical issues (i.e., the facts). Your promotion to a major cabinet post may depend on the quality of this briefing, so don't hesitate to impress her with your knowledge and insight!
- Imagine that you were one of Vincent's parents in the genetic counseling scene in Gattaca. The geneticist, played by Blair Underwood, has just finished his pitch, telling you that this is, after all, "still you, just the best of you." Instead of simply looking confused, you instead say, "Ah, we've thought about this a lot--we even know how this movie turns out." Write an essay in which you explore the issues surrounding this choice and bring into the conversation class materials, readings, discussions, etc. to show the geneticist that you know a lot about these issues, including about the rest of the movie. Present your own position in the process, which may be either for or against such genetic screening and manipulation.
Material for short answer questions
- Readings
- CMI, Chapter One and Introduction (Overview of Ethical Theories)
- Hinman, "Chapter 01. Reproductive Technology. An Introduction to the Moral Issues." (on eReserve)
- Sandel, "Enhancement--with commentary." (on eReserve);
- Presentations
- Overview of Ethical Theories
- Utilitarianism
- Rule-based Approaches
- Character-based Approaches
- Videos
- Embryo Screening (NYT)
- Gattaca
- Classes
- Class lectures and discussions
Previous exam (updated) |
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Abortion |
Week 7
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March 15 |
Thursday |
Abortion
Required Reading: CMI, Chapter 2
 Surveys
- {Please take the following surveys:
- Also, pleas look at the following:
In the news:
PowerPoint on Abortion
Journal Assignment: Write an essay discussing your views on the moral status of the embryo. Is it a person? Why, why not? When? How does your view relate to the authors we are considering?
Presentation: The Concept of Personhood
Return of mid-term exams; guidelines for grade appeals |
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End-of-Life Decisions |
Week 8 |
March 20 |
Tuesday |
Euthanasia & End-of-Life
Moyers, "A Death of One's Own"
Presentation on End-of-Life Issues
: Required Reading: CMI, Chapter Three
Recommended: reading
- Joan Didion, "The Case of Theresa Schiavo"
New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 10 - June 9, 2005; (eReserve)
- John Cornwell, "The Undead." The Times of London. December 9, 2007. (eReserve)
- Lawrence M. Hinman and Michael Kalichman, "The Schiavo Case: What Can We Learn?" Voice of San Diego, April 25, 2005.
- Michael Kalichman and Lawrence M. Hinman, "The Schiavo Case: Ethics and the End of Life" North County Times, March 26 2005.
- William Saletan, "The Doctors Who Are Redefining Life and Death." Washington Post, October 5, 2008.
Journal Assignment: Write an essay in which you discuss the issues raised by the Moyers' video "A Death of One's Own."
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Week 8 |
March 22 |
Thursday |
Return of exams |
Week 9 |
March 27 |
Tuesday |
Euthanasia & End-of-Life
Moyers, "A Death of One's Own"
Presentation on End-of-Life Issues
: Required Reading: CMI, Chapter Three
Recommended: reading
- Joan Didion, "The Case of Theresa Schiavo"
New York Review of Books, Volume 52, Number 10 - June 9, 2005; (eReserve)
- John Cornwell, "The Undead." The Times of London. December 9, 2007. (eReserve)
- Lawrence M. Hinman and Michael Kalichman, "The Schiavo Case: What Can We Learn?" Voice of San Diego, April 25, 2005.
- Michael Kalichman and Lawrence M. Hinman, "The Schiavo Case: Ethics and the End of Life" North County Times, March 26 2005.
- William Saletan, "The Doctors Who Are Redefining Life and Death." Washington Post, October 5, 2008.
Journal Assignment: Write an essay in which you discuss the issues raised by the Moyers' video "A Death of One's Own." |
Week 9 |
March 29 |
Thursday |
Euthanasia & End-of-Life (Moyers, conclusion)
Presentation on the Principle of Double Effect
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Week 10 |
April 3 |
Tuesday |
Special Assignment
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Easter Break |
Week 10 |
April 5 |
Thursday |
USD Easter Break--no class |
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Punishment & the Death Penalty |
Week 11 |
April 10 |
Tuesday |
Punishment
Read:
- CMI, Chapter on Punishment
- Atul Gawande, "Hellhole," New Yorker, March 30, 2009.
- Peter Catapano, "They Messed with Texas." NYT, Sept 9, 2011. (also on eReserve, but without video clip)
- Adam Liptak, "Does Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate," New York Times, November 18, 2007.
Video:
 Some useful staistics:
Presentation on Capital Punishment
Watch first half of "Dead Man Walking"
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Week 11 |
April 12 |
Thursday |
Capital Punishment
Video: Dead Man Walking
California Death Penalty
In the news:
Journal entry on issues in punishment or capital punishment. |
Week 12
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April 17 |
Tuesday |
Just War
Visit to Hoehn Family Gallery: "Goya's Disasters of War; A Legacy in Print"
Just War Theory; Humanitarian Intervention; Torture
Presentation
Required Reading:
- CMI, Chapter on war
- Hinman, eReserve overview on just war theory
Jus post Bellum: Justice and Reconciliation
Bill Moyers Video with Mark Danner and Bruce Fein (not: this link takes you to the first of the five segments for this on-line video. Links to the remaining four parts are given on the page for part one. |
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Week 12 |
April 19 |
Thursday |
Dalai Lama visit to USD--no class |
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Torture |
Week 13 |
April 24 |
Tuesday |
New Links:
Humanitarian Intervention; Torture
Presentations
Additional Resources:
- ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen "High Value Detainees" in CIA Custody
- Mark Danner, The Red Cross Torture Report: What It Means, New York Review of Books, 56, 7 (April 30, 2009)
- Mark Danner, "US Torture: Voices from th Black Sites," New York Review of Books, 56, 6 (April 9, 2009).
- New York Times guide to the Torture Memos
- Office of Legal Counsel Legal Memoranda (April 19, 2009)
- "In Adopting Harsh Tactics, No Look at the Past," NYT, April 22, 2009.
- US Senate Final Report on Detainees in U.S. Custody Released April 21, 2009.
- Timeline. Senate Intelligence committee. Released April 22, 2009. Washington Post summary. April 23, 2009; Post article.
- Thomas Friedman, "A Tortorous Compromise"
- The Geneva Conventions
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Week 13 |
April 26 |
Thursday |
Torture
Video on the ethics of torture
- "Torture and the War on Terror." Case Western Reserve University. Note: the papers from this conference are available on eReserve for our course in the folder "Torture."
- Moderator: Professor Robert Lawry, Case School of Law; Director, Center for Professional Ethics, Case
- "Defining Torture" – Professor David Sussman, University of Illinois
- "Exceptionalism: Torture American Style"– Professor Henry Shue, Oxford University
- "Torture: Morality and Convention" – Professor Jeff McMahan, Rutgers University
- Notes on Sussman, Shue an McMahan
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Ethics in CyberSpace |
Week 14 |
May 2 |
Tuesday |
Torture
Video on the ethics of torture
- "Torture and the War on Terror." Case Western Reserve University. Note: the papers from this conference are available on eReserve for our course in the folder "Torture."
- Moderator: Professor Robert Lawry, Case School of Law; Director, Center for Professional Ethics, Case
- "Defining Torture" – Professor David Sussman, University of Illinois
- "Exceptionalism: Torture American Style"– Professor Henry Shue, Oxford University
- "Torture: Morality and Convention" – Professor Jeff McMahan, Rutgers University
- Notes on Sussman, Shue an McMahan
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Week 14 |
May 3 |
Thursday |
Privacy and Surveillance
Read:
- Judith deCew, "Privacy," Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Hinman, "CyberEthics: An Introduction to the Moral Issues" (eReserve; from Contemporary Moral Issues, 4th ed.)
- "Esse est indicato in Google: Ethical and Political Issues in Search Engines," IRIE, International Review of Information Ethics, Vol. 3 (6/2005), 19-25 (eReserve)
- Hinman, "Searching Ethics." Web Searching: Interdisciplinary Perspectives.
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Ethics in CyberSpace |
Week 15 |
May 8 |
Tuesday |
Privacy and Surveillance
Journal entry on any of the issues discussed in class relating to ethics in the virtual world. |
Week 15
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May 10 |
Thursday |
Last day of class -- concluding comments, individual conferences
Possible material for short-answer questions:
Hinman articles on eReserve:
- “Abortion: An Introduction to the Moral Issues.” From: Hinman, Contemporary Moral Issues, 4th edition. 2013.
- “End-of-Life Decisions: An Introduction to the Moral Issues.” From: Hinman, Contemporary Moral Issues, 4th edition. 2013.
- “Punishment and the Death Penalty: An Introduction to the Moral Issues.” From: Hinman, Contemporary Moral Issues, 4th edition. 2013.
- “Just War: An Introduction to the Moral Issues.” From: Hinman, Contemporary Moral Issues, 4th edition. 2013.
- “Applying Ethical Theories: Abortion, Capital Punishment, and Euthanasia.” From: Hinman, Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach, 5th edition, 2012.
Contemporary Moral Issues:
- CMI, Chapter 2: Abortion
- Jane English, “Abortion and the Concept of a Person”
- CMI, Chapter 3: Euthanasia
- Rachels, “Active and Passive Euthanasia”
- CMI, Chapter 4: Punishment and the Death Penalty
- Sr. Prejean, “Crime Victims on the Anvil of Pain”
- Gelernter, “What do murders deserve?”
- Reiman, “Against the Death Penalty”
- CMI, Chapter 5: War
- Dershowicz, “Is There a Torturous Road to Justice?”
PowerPoints:
- Abortion
- Ethics and Personhood
- Euthanasia
- Principle of Double Effect
- Punishment
- Capital Punishment
- Just War Theory
- Torture
Videos
- Moyers, “A Death of One’s Own”
- “Dead Man Walking”
Other:
- Oregon Death-with-Dignity Reports
- Liptak, “Does Death Penalty Save Lives?”
- deCew, “Privacy”
Possible Long-Essay Questions:
- In the 21st century, we have seen a number of significant changes that affect end-of-life decisions. Write an essay in which you (a) explain how the medical, social, political, religious and economic landscape of end-of-life decisions has changed, and (b) develop and defend your position on the ways in which the United States should deal with end-of-life decisions in the coming decades. Make sure that your essay is informed by an awareness of major ethical theories and that you bring into discussion relevant course materials.
- In the United States, we have more people in prisons and jails than any other country in the world. Write an essay in which you (a) sketch out the empirical conditions in regard to punishment in the United States today and (b) develop and defend your own position on the ways in which morality requires that we change American practices of punishment in the future. Make sure that your essay is informed by an awareness of major ethical theories and that you bring into discussion relevant course materials.
- Note: Each of these questions gives you a wide scope of iissues. Feel free to narrow in on those that are most important to you. You don't have to cover everything.
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Final Exam |
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May 22 |
Thursday |
Final Exam - please bring a BLACK PEN!
- Section #3: 8:00-10:00 AM
- Section #4: 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Note: Students in Sect. 3 or 4 can take the exam at either time but must tell me in advance if they are not taking the exam with their scheduled section
Journals: Please turn in three journals on any of the topics/readings in the second half of the semester, including the Dalai Lama's visit. |
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