Professor: Sam Rickless
Office:  Dodd 287
Telephone: 644-0218
Office Hours: TBA
E-mail: srickles@mailer.fsu.edu
 

Course Description

    The purpose of this course is to consider and evaluate prominent philosophical positions and arguments in the area of biomedical ethics.  The main topics to be covered are: Euthanasia, Abortion, Medical Paternalism, and Justice in Health Care.

1.  To engage in euthanasia is to act (or to refuse to act) in such a way as to bring about the death of a person for his or her own good.  Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally permissible for someone (e.g., a doctor or nurse) to engage in euthanasia?  Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally permissible for the state to legalize euthanasia?

2. Abortion is the removal of a fetus from a mother’s womb.  Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally permissible for someone (e.g., a doctor) to abort a  woman’s pregnancy?  Does a human fetus (at any or all stages of its development) have the right to not be killed and/or the right to use its mother’s body?  If so, does it follow that abortion is never morally permissible?  If abortion is morally permissible, does it follow that infanticide is morally permissible?  Are there any circumstances under which it would be morally permissible for the state to criminalize abortions?

3. To engage in paternalism is to intervene in another person’s life for his/her own good when this intervention is either known to be, or not known not to be, contrary to the affected person’s preferences.  For example, a doctor who refuses to tell her depressed patient that he has cancer (without knowing whether he wants to be fully informed of his medical condition) for fear that he will commit suicide acts paternalistically.  Are there any circumstances under which health professionals are morally permitted to engage in  paternalism?  How are the boundaries of morally permissible paternalistic intervention to  be determined?

4. It is a common belief that persons have a right to a “decent minimum” of health care throughout their lives.  If there is such a right, what is its moral justification and what is its content?  To what are persons who possess this right entitled?  Would a society that did not recognize a right to health care be unjust?
 

Course Objectives

· To understand and evaluate some of the answers that have been given to the questions raised in the Course Description,
· To hone one’s skills in identifying and criticizing philosophical positions and arguments,
· To improve one’s ability to think and write clearly and critically.
 

Course Units

 CR:  Course Reader  [available at the Union Copy Center]
 KLD:   Bonnie Steinbock & Alastair Norcross, Killing and Letting Die, 2nd edition
 PA:   Susan Dwyer & Joel Feinberg, The Problem of Abortion, 3rd edition
 

UNIT 1: Euthanasia
Readings:   * Philippa Foot, “Euthanasia”, in CR
                   * James Rachels, “Active and Passive Euthanasia”, in KLD
                   * Philippa Foot, “Killing and Letting Die”, in KLD

UNIT 2: Abortion
Readings:   * Philippa Foot, “The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of Double Effect”, in KLD
                   * Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion”, in PA
                   * Michael Tooley, “Abortion and Infanticide”, in PA
                   * Don Marquis, “Why Abortion is Immoral”, in PA

UNIT 3: Medical Paternalism
Readings:   * John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, Chapters I, IV and V
                   * Gerald Dworkin, “Paternalism”, in CR
                   * Joel Feinberg, “Legal Paternalism”, in CR
                   * Donald Vandeveer, “Autonomy Respecting Paternalism”, in CR

UNIT 4: Justice in Health Care
Readings:   * John Rawls, A Theory of Justice (3-22, 54-56, 58-59, 60-67, 69-75, 78, 79-80, 83-95, 100-104, 118-124, 126-158, 161-169, 175-179)
                   * Robert Nozick, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (ix-xiv, 28-51, 149-164, 167-182, 230-231, 232-238)
                   * Norman Daniels, “Health Care Needs and Distributive Justice”, in CR
                   * Allen Buchanan, “The Right to a Decent Minimum of Health Care”, in CR
                   * Norman Daniels, “Reply to Buchanan”, in CR
 

Course Requirements

· 2 mid-term examinations  [20% each]
· 1 paper (6-8 pages)   [20%]
· 1 final examination [40%]

Note: In the event that your course grade as calculated using the percentages above is a borderline one (e.g., between an A- and a B+), the final course grade will be determined on the basis of participation and whether the grades on individual assignments improved or declined.
 

Notes

 * If accommodations are needed for a disability, please notify me as soon as possible.
 * The Academic Honor Code must be observed in this course.
 * The policies stated above are subject to change.