Fall Semester, 2009
Detail

Jan. 27	Tuesday	Introduction
Sept. 3	Thursday	Defining Moral Problems: Everyday Moral Reasoning journal guidelines
8	Tuesday	Ethical Theory: Overview, Utilitarianism
10	Thursday	Ethical Theory: Rule-based approaches to morality Calvin, Hobbes, and Kant Obama Remarks on Golden Rule Video First Journal Assignment: Write an essay discussing the various major approaches in ethical theory and your own position in this regard.
		Cloning, Genetic Manupulation, Regenerative Medicine
15	Tuesday	Ethical Theory: Character-based approaches to morality Shaping Our Children through Genetic Manipulation Read CMI, Chapter One.
17	Thursday	The octuplets case Tom Murray, "Are Eight Babies Enough?" CNN Octuplets videos Octuplet Outrage Food stamps Obsessed? Today Show: The Doctor Worksheet Shaping Our Children through Genetic Manipulation Read CMI, Chapter One Case Study: Down Syndrome View "Embryo Screening", New York Times video Notes on "Embryo Screening" Text of article View Down Syndrome, New York Times video Amy Harmon, " Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus." New York Times, May 9, 2007. Stock-Fukuyama debate PowerPoint: The Stock-Fukuyama Debate Stock-Fukuyama Debate on-line in RealVideo and available in transcript from from the Cato Institute. This is an excellent resource. Additional Resources Ethics Updates - Bioethics, Cloning,& Reproductive Technologies The Clone Zone (University of Utah) BBC Cloning Timeline BBC on Cloning, Ethics & Religion Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) (UK) Hinman, Cloning Pets New York Times on The DNA Age Baruch et al., Genetic Testing of Embryos Genetics and Public Policy Center: Publications More on animal cloning Stem Cell Ethics & Regenerative Medicine Video Michael Sandel, "The Case against Perfection" Art Caplan, "Using Biomedicine to Enhance Ourselves" Fukuyama and Stock on biotechnology, The Charlie Rose Show. 6/3/02. Craig Venter: "A voyage of DNA, genes and the sea." TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. "A Discussion about Personal Genetics." Charlie Rose Show with David Agus, Co-Founder, Navigenics, Dean Ornish, President, Preventive Medicine Research Institute and George Church of Harvard Medical School. 7/29/2008. "A Discussion with Craig Venter" about having his own genome mapped and published." Charlie Rose Show. 1/9/07 "A Discussion with Craig Venter" The Charlie Rose Show. 12/25/07 PowerPoint presentations: The Ethics of Genetic Manipulation: McGee's "Parenting in an Age of Genetics." Recommended on eReserve (password "phil321" without the quotation marks): "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. Additional resources: President's Council on Bioethics Genetics and Public Policy Center: Publications Second 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. (1-2 pages, double-spaced).
22	Tuesday	Genetic Enhancement and Designer Babies Genetic Counseling Scene
24	Thursday	No class Genetic Enhancement and Cloning (continued)
29	Tuesday	Ethics in the news: British euthanasia rules: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/09/23/uk.assisted.suicide.law /index.html Dropouts and juveneile crime costs: http://latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dropouts24-2009sep24,0,1426878.story Video: Gattaca Notes on Gattaca Gattaca script Gattaca highlighted script
Oct. 1	Thursday	Video: Gattaca Third Journal Assignment: Essay discussing ethical issues in "Gattaca."
6	Tuesday	Comments on Gattaca; Abortion PowerPoint Fourth 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?
8	Thursday	Abortion (continued)
13	Tuesday	Mid-Term Exam turn in the journal entries material for short answer questions Possible long essay questions: (I will choose one of these for the mid-term exam.) Possibility #1: The movie "Gattaca" depicts an imaginary future society in which genetic screening has come to play a major role. Write an essay in which you analyze the ethical issues raised by the movie, showing a critical awareness of the course readings and resources. Be sure to include in your discussion the difference between consequentialist and deontological ethical theories and the applicability of that distinction to our understanding of the ethical issues raised by the movie. Possibility #2:Consequentialist and deontological approaches to moral questions sometimes yield quite different answers. Write an essay, showing a critical awareness of the class readings and lectures and discussions, in which you discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of both deontological and consequentialist approaches to the question of genetic manipulation. State and defend your own position on this issue. Previous exam Journals:.
15	Thursday	Class cancelled due to illness
20	Tuesday	Euthanasia & End-of-Life Moyers, "A Death of One's Own" Notes on Moyers video PowerPoint on Euthanasia Read 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. Fifth Journal Assignment: Write an essay in which you discuss the issues raised by the Moyers' video "A Death of One's Own."
22	Thursday	Euthanasia & End-of-Life PowerPoint on Euthanasia Oregon Death-with-Dignity Reports
27	Tuesday	Euthanasia and End-of-Life
29	Thursday	Stem Cell Research PowerPoint Videos Rat with severed spinal cord Video: Charlie Rose show on stem cells with Paul Nurse, president of The Rockefeller University, Doug Melton, Co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, George Daley of Children's Hospital Boston and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Larry Goldstein, director of the UC San Diego Stem Cell program, and Story Landis of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Stamagen cloning Stem Cell Ethics Conference - 04/06/07 Ronald Cole-Turner defends a view of the “relative value” of human embryos—more than cells, less than persons, at •http://www.counterbalance.net/stemcol/rct-frame.html Cole-Turner’s Burke Lecture on the genetic revolution and designer babies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRrNwFFta5w Web Resources 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 Recommended on eReserve: "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. Sixth Journal Entry: Ethics of stem cell researcy
Nov. 3	Tuesday	Stem Cells (continued)
5	Thursday	Punishment PowerPoint on Punishment Read: CMI, Chapter on Punishment Atul Gawande, "Hellhole," New Yorker, March 30, 2009.
10	Tuesday	Capital Punishment PowerPoint Journal entry on issues in punishment or capital punishment.
12	Thursday	??
17	Tuesday	War Just War Theory; Humanitarian Intervention; Torture PowerPoint on Just War Theory Read: CMI, Chapter on war 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.
19	Thursday	Humanitarian Intervention; Torture PowerPoints Humanitarian Intervention Torture 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"
24	Tuesday	World Hunger & Moral Obligation PowerPoint Expanding the Circle Resources: Aging World Population World Population Fertility rates World Fertility Rates Population pyramids More on popoulation pyramids; Germany; South Korea; more
26	Thursday	Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!
Dec. 1	Tuesday	World Hunger & Moral Obligation Journal: World hunger Sen, "More than 100 Million Women Are Missing" Frontline, "India: The Missing Girls" Latest data
3	Thursday	Exam #2 (note this is a change!) --details to follow The exam format will be the same as the mid-term: ten short answer questions, one long essay. The exact materials for the short answer questions will be posted here, the two possible long essays will be available soon. The following articles will be possible material for short answer questions: Videos Moyers, "A Death of One's Own" PowerPoints The two possible long essay questions will be posted here soon.
8	Tuesday	Dead Man Walking
10	Thursday	Dead Man Walking (cont.) Sr. Helen Prejean
22	Tuesday	Final Exam: Section 1: 8:00-10-:00 AM Journals due: Final Exam. The final exam will cover the following topics: [to be added]