"Medical Ethics": Philosophy 164 (Gen Ed AT) Fall 2022
Students will live together in Cance Hall in the Southwest residential area.
Read what Fall 2022 instructor Emilia Miller has to say about the course:
Outside of class you will be asked to engage carefully with readings. During class, be prepared to participate in lively discussions where we will engage with these pressing issues as viewed through a philosophical lens. Health and healthcare are topics that are integral parts of our lives. Often healthcare issues are straightforward. Yearly physicals, sports medicine, and age-related concerns are all commonplace and ethically unambiguous. However, there are equally commonplace medical topics that do raise ethical concerns. These may include, but are not limited to:
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End of life care and decisions
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The relationship between ability, disability, and the health care system
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The perception and treatment of mental health conditions in medicine
Medical ethics addresses these and other issues from philosophical perspectives that engage with medical research and lived experience. This course will consist of four major units. In the first unit we will examine issues relating to death and medical practice. Next, we will investigate the concepts of health, disease, and disability. Then we will critically examine psychiatric medicine and the concept of mental health. In the final unit we will engage with issues relating to public health. Students will explore these issues through class discussion, reflection on real life cases, short essays, and a final presentation.