| Date | Topic | Reading | In-class Journal |
| 1. Philosophical Ethics and Health Care | |||
| 1/27 | Introductions. Meaning of “ethics,” philosophical and professional | ||
| 1/29 | Syllabus. Normative/empirical distinction. Evaluating normative arguments. | Metcalf, Thomas. 2018. “Philosophy and Its Contrast with Science.” 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology.
**Read the “Syllabus” section on Openlab (review all 5 pages under the Syllabus menu) |
|
| 2/3 | Moral non-realism | Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Subjectivism” and “Relativism” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 141-151). | Pers. |
| 2/5 | Consequentialism and Utilitarianism | Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Consequentialism” and “Mill’s Argument for Utilitarianism.” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 80-90). | |
| 2/10 | Deontology and Kantian Ethics | Suikkanen, Jussi. 2014. “Kantian Ethics” and “Counterexamples and Convergence.” In This Is Ethics: An Introduction. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. (Read pp. 90-106).
**Read/review the Openlab page “Philosophical Reflection Entries” |
Phil. |
| 2/19 | Kantian Ethics, continued | No new reading. | |
| 2/24 | Exam Preparation | No new reading. | |
| 2/26 | UNIT EXAM | No new reading. | |
| 2. Patient Autonomy and Decision Making Capacity | |||
| 3/3 | The meaning and value of autonomy in health care | Kilbride, Madison K, and Steven Joffe. 2018. “The New Age of Patient Autonomy: Implications for the Patient-Physician Relationship.” JAMA 320 (19): 1973-1974.
**Read/review the Openlab page “Analytical Outline Entries” |
Ana. |
| 3/5 | Decision making capacity and competence | Appelbaum, P. S. (2007). Assessment of patients’ competence to consent to treatment. The New England Journal of Medicine 357(18), 1834–1840. | |
| 3/10 | Refusing care and the “appreciation” criterion | Aylsworth, Tim, and Jake Greenblum. 2025. “Decision-Making Capacity and Authenticity.” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 22 (1): 85–93. Read pp. 85-9. | Ana. |
| 3/12 | Analyzing and resolving ethics cases | No new reading. | |
| 3/17 | Refusing care on the basis of misinformation | Callies, Daniel Edward. 2024. Balancing a Patient’s Autonomy Against Misinformation. Hastings Center Bioethics Forum. | Phil. |
| 3/19 | Exam Preparation | Read/review the Openlab page “Unit Exams.” | |
| 3/24 | UNIT EXAM | No new reading. | |
| 3. Disability | |||
| 3/26 | Is discrimination on the basis of ability like discrimination on the basis of sex? | Wendell, S. (1989). Toward a feminist theory of disability. Hypatia, 4(2), 104–124. | Ana. |
| 3/31 | Sex and disability, continued | No new reading. | |
| 4/14 | What is it like to be disabled? | Johnson, Harriet McBryde. 2003. “Unspeakable Conversations.” The New York Times Magazine, 2003/02/16, 50. *May need to create a free account | Pers. |
| 4/16 | Is disability mere difference or bad difference? | Barnes, Elizabeth. 2014. “Valuing disability, causing disability.” Ethics 125 (1): 88-113. Read the introduction and sections II, III, and IV (88-9, 93-106). | |
| 4/21 | Mere difference, continued | Bognar, Greg. 2016. “Is disability mere difference?” Journal of Medical Ethics 42 (1): 46–49. | Phil. |
| 4/23 | Mere difference, continued | Phil. | |
| 4/28 | Exam Preparation | No new reading. | |
| 4/30 | UNIT EXAM | No new reading. | |
| 4. Killing, letting die, and euthanasia | |||
| 5/5 | Is consensual killing of patients wrong? | Brock, D W. 1992. “Voluntary Active Euthanasia.” The Hastings Center Report 22 (2): 10–22. (You can skip the short independent blurbs on pages 12, 15, and 18). | Ana. |
| 5/7 | Is withdrawing treatment “killing”? | No new reading. | |
| 5/12 | Is withdrawing treatment “killing”? | No new reading. | |
| 5/14 | Medicalization of euthanasia | Schuklenk, Udo, and Suzanne van de Vathorst. 2015. “Treatment-resistant major depressive disorder and assisted dying.” Journal of Medical Ethics 41 (8): 577–583. | Ana. |
| 5/19 | Medicalization of euthanasia, cont. | No new reading. | Phil. |
| 5/21 | Exam Preparation | No new reading. | |
| 5/26 | UNIT EXAM |
Key:
Personal Contemplation=Pers.
Philosophical Reflection=Phil.
Analytical Outline=Ana.