PL 206 - Biomedical Ethics

Description
This course emphasizes on both helping the students to understand the ethical theories and using the moral framework acquired in this course to determine the social and moral obligations in the wake of recent scientific, technological, and social developments. The students will have the opportunity to discuss ethical dilemmas today’s society is facing in general, and the fundamental moral issues related to science, technology, and medicine in particular. Also, the students will learn to articulate their own moral positions by writing about the basic moral and social issues confronting all of us in society today.

Credit Hours: 3
Contact Hours: 3
Prerequisites/Other Requirements: None
English Prerequisite(s): None
Math Prerequisite(s): None
Course Corequisite(s): None
Academic Program Prerequisite: None
Consent to Enroll in Course: No Department Consent Required
Dual Enrollment Allowed?: Yes
Number of Times Course can be taken for credit: 1
Programs Where This Course is a Requirement:
None

General Education Requirement:
Humanities
General Education Learner Outcomes (GELO):
1. Civic Engagement: Apply knowledge of social, political, or environmental conditions to demonstrate understanding of community responsibility, 3. Critical Thinking: Gather and synthesize relevant information, evaluate alternative perspectives, or understand inquiry as a means of creating knowledge, 4. Cultural Competence: Understand diverse interpersonal and cultural perspectives through analysis of scholarly or creative works, 7. Problem-Solving: Apply theory, calculation, or experimentation to demonstrate effective problem-solving
Course Learning Outcomes:

Understand the commonalities and differences among different cultures, populations, and ethnic groups about ethical issues in the biomedical field. (GELO 1)
Evaluate biomedical moral theories/positions/views before accepting or rejecting them. (GELO 7)
Distinguish religious thinking or reasoning from philosophical thinking or reasoning.
Defend one’s own moral positions against some possible objections from others.
Identify fallacies in arguments and reasoning. (GELO 3)
Understand the major ethical theories/approaches related to biomedical issues.
Demonstrate the ability to apply consequence based and duty based approaches in ethics to biomedical moral problems.
Collect and analyze information and data related to biomedical ethics from sources such as laws, news media, health care institutions, and internet. (GELO 7)
Recognize and evaluate current moral controversies in biomedical areas, and how they shape and reflect cultural values. (GELO 1, 4)
Understand how biomedical ethics plays a role in preserving culture. (GELO 4)
Consider the context, costs, benefits and consequences of potential solutions to problems or issues. (GELO 7)
Articulate views through persuasive argument. (GELO 3)
Identify ethical dilemmas associated with environmental, social, or cultural issues.

Course Outline:
I. Ethical Theories, Moral Principles, and Medical Decisions

A. Basic ethical theories: Utilitarianism, Kant’s Ethics, Ross’s Ethics, Rawls’s Ethics, Natural Law Ethics and Moral Theology

B. Major moral principles: The Principle of Nonmaleficence, The Principle of Utility, Principles of Distributive Justice, The Principle of Autonomy

C. Beyond principlism: The capabilities Approach, Virtue Ethics, Care Ethics, Feminist Ethics and Critical Theories of Identity

II. Physicians, Patients, and Others: Roles and Responsibilities

A. Cases and contexts