HPSC 1000/1900

Bioethics
Week 1 (I)
The Usual First Day Stuf

We will talk about

-

1. age-old conceptual
underpinnings of (bio)ethics
such as personhood, autonomy,
bodily integrity and human rights
- 2. practical issues that are
controversial today:
abortion, the genetic selection and
modification of children, euthanasia,
human cloning, stem cell research
and organ markets.
- 3. big picture issues relating to
the development and progress of
biomedicine:

Learning Outcomes
(1)

recognise and describe key ethical

issues that arise in the biological sciences
and in medicine;
(2) pose critical questions about episodes
in science where ethical issues are at stake;
(3) pose well-defended arguments (both
written and verbal) in favour of
particular positions in current ethical
debates
(4) evaluate the relative merits of
competing ethical arguments and
appreciate the complexity of ethical
situations
(5) critically reflect on how values influence
the biological sciences and medicine, and
your responsibilities as a future scientist,
clinician, citizen, patient, or consumer of
science

Contact Details
Dominic

Murphy
dominic.murphy@sydney.edu.au
(02) 9351 3762
Office: Carslaw 432
Office Hours: Tue 1-4, or by
appointment

LECTURES
Monday

10-11 Wallace Theatre

Tuesday 10-11 Eastern Avenue
Auditorium
Wednesday 10-11: Wallace
Theatre

Your tutors
Megan

Baumhammer:
megna.baumhammer@sydney.edu.au
Claire Kennedy:
claire.kennedy@sydney.edu.au
Sara Langston:
sara.langston@sydney.edu.au
Tim Shaw: timothy.shaw@sydney.edu.au

LECTURES
Based

around the readings, but with

extra stuf
Schedule may change; changes will be
posted here. There will be no changes
until week 9 at the earliest
Powerpoints will be posted online;
lectures will be recorded
Get involved ! Argue! Ask questions!

Tutorials

Tutorials: 1 per week

prepare 3 questions
attend at least 80%
prepare for at least 1 hour
use to discuss essays

Advanced

Tutorial: extra
readings, presentations, 1000
word essay.

If you are in 1900

Please

email me your name and

student number if you cant
access the website

MATERIALS
Course

Reader
Choosing Children by Jonathan
Glover
Some recommendations in the
syllabus. Others will be posted online.
Nb.

Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy is your best friend
Other Websites Are NOT Your Friends

Assessment:
Submissions: via WebCT
Grading: done by tutors
Feedback: via WebCT
Three essays. You must pass
two to pass the course.
YOU MUST ATTEND 80% of the
tutes.

Details
Due

Dates:
Paper 1 due: 5 pm April 2nd
Paper 2 due: 5 pm May 8th
Paper 3 due: 5 pm June 8th
1200 words each

Please be aware
Plagiarism:

will result in a zero,

and a fail.
Essay Questions: will be
circulated soon. Start thinking
about your paper early!

Deadlines are
firm!!
This

(a)

is good for you:

deadlines assigned on the syllabus,

arranged evenly throughout the
semester
(b) deadlines chosen by individual
students during the first week of class
(c) no deadlines but all the work due by
the end of the semester.
In course performance: a>b>c

Late work
Late

essays will be penalized at 2.5%

per day: i.e a paper that is ten days
late will lose 25%. (note this is
percentage of your grade, not points) It
would dropyou, for example, from a 68
to a 51).
The penalty will apply in the absence
of a special consideration.
Anything more than ten days late will
be marked pass/fail only unless the
revised grade is below 50%
Unsubmitted work will get a zero

SOME GROUND RULES

Respectful

discussion, not
agreement.
The University Code of Conduct
prohibits any harassment, bullying
or other treatment by another
student, inside or outside class,
that makes it harder for you to
study or interferes with your
education.

Preview

Week 1 & 2: Introduction; key moral

ideas

Week 3: Abortion

Week 4: Euthanasia/Infanticide

Week 5 & 6: Normality, Disease &

Disability

Week 7: Prenatal Genetic Selection

Week 8: Gene Therapy

Week 9: Bodily Autonomy and

Ownership

Week 10: Organ Transplants

Week 11: Clones

Week 12: Stem Cells