Instructor: James Skidmore
Office:  LA 251
Office phone: 282-4661
Home phone: 478-7147
E-mail: skidjame@isu.edu
Web page:  www.isu.edu/~skidjame (course materials available there)

Office hours:    --Monday/Wednesday:  1-2
                          --Tuesday/Thursday:  2-3
                          --Gladly by appointment

You are more than welcome to see me during office hours for any reason. If you have a question,
concern, complaint, or even if you just want to chat, feel free to drop in.
.
Texts:

--Steinbock, Arras, London (eds.).  Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine, 7th ed. (or 6th)
--Rachels.  The Elements of Moral Philosophy, 6th ed.

Course Description and Objectives:

This course will introduce you to one area of philosophy, ethics, and its application to a number of issues in health care and medical practice.  Moral questions are inescapable in the practice of medicine.  There are not only the familiar controversies surrounding such practices as abortion and euthanasia, but also countless others.  In this course we will focus on questions arising in a few broad areas:  1) patient autonomy (How far does a patient's right to refuse treatment extend?  Could lying to or deceiving a patient ever be justified?  Who should make decisions for the patient if she is unable?); 2) death and dying (Is it ever permissible to help a patient die?  Is there any moral distinction between killing a patient and removing life-sustaining treatment?); 3) professional conflicts (To what extent should conscientious refusal among health care workers be permitted?  Is it unethical for health care workers to participate in executions?); 4) abortion (Is abortion ever morally justified? Is it ever unjustified?);  5) resource allocation (How should scarce medical resources like donor organs be distributed?  To what extent do citizens have a right to basic health care?).

Since this is a philosophy course, we will be primarily concerned with the contribution that philosophy can make in seeking solutions to problems in these areas.  This will involve not only a careful examination of specific arguments philosophers have made on these matters, but also consideration of some of the general moral theories and principles that philosophers have developed and how they might be applied (thoughtfully) to these issues.  The goal of the course is not to provide you with stock solutions to any of these problems.  On the contrary, we will see just how difficult and complex these problems can be.  The goals, instead, are to familiarize you with the details of a number of controversies in medical ethics, to get you to see the extent to which these controversies are philosophical (as opposed to, say, medical, legal, or empirical) in nature, and to help you develop the critical skills that will allow you to think clearly and carefully about these and other moral questions.

Grading

For better or worse, one of my duties in this class is to give you a grade. Your grade will be determined by your performance on the following assignments:

            Assignments:                                               % of Final Grade

                --1st Short Essay                                                     20
                --Midterm Exam                                                      25
                --2nd Short Essay                                                    25
                --Final Exam                                                            30

Note on Grading:  I am aware that grading standards vary widely across the university.  I will do my best to follow the university's guidelines.  Grades in the 'A'-range represent genuinely outstanding or excellent work.  Grades in the 'B'-range represent good work.  Grades in the 'C'-range represent adequate work.  If at any point in the class you become concerned about your grade, please see me immediately.  I will do everything I can to help you earn the grade you seek.

Late work:

In fairness to other students, essays and exams that are handed in less than a week late will be penalized one letter grade. Essays and exams handed in more than one week late will not normally be accepted.

Rewrite policy: Any essay (turned in on time) that receives less than a 'C' may be rewritten for a grade of no higher than 'C'.

Tentative Schedule of Weekly Readings and Assignments

Introduction:  Theoretical and Applied Ethics

Jan. 12th  --No reading
Jan. 14th  --Rachels, Chpts. 1 and 2

Jan. 19th  --Rachels, Chpts 4 and 5
Jan. 21st  --Rachels, Chpts. 7 and 8 (on utilitarianism)

Jan. 26th  --Rachels, Chpts. 9 and 10 (on Kant's moral theory)
Jan. 28th  --Rachels, Chpts. 6 and 12 (social contract and virtue theory)

Patient Autonomy

Feb. 2nd --"The Hippocratic Oath" (61, 55 in 6th ed.)
               --Goldman, "The Refutation of Medical Paternalism" (62-70, 56-64 in 6th)
               --"Beneficence Today..." and "Commentary" (70-73, 64-7 in 6th)
Feb. 4th  --"Antihypertensives..." and Katz, "Informed Consent..." (87-96, 91-100 in 6th)
                 --Brody, "Transparency..." (online or 100-104 in 6th)             

Death and Dying

April 6th  --Steinbock, "Why Most Abortions Are Not Wrong" (555-566, 471-482 in 6th)
April 8th  --Thomsen, "A Defense of Abortion" (567-576, 483-92 in 6th)

Resource Allocation

April 13th  --President's Commission, "An Ethical Framework..." (191-99, 155-64 in 6th)
                  --Daniels, "Equal Opportunity and Health Care" (200-202, 164-7 in 6th

Class attendance

You will notice that attendance is not included in the calculation of your grade. However, I do expect you to attend class, and I encourage you to participate actively. Doing so will not only allow you to get the most out of the class, but may tip the scales in borderline grade situations. Please note that if you must miss class, you are responsible for handing in ahead of time any assignments due. Otherwise the late work policy will take effect.

Plagiarism

The university (and I) view plagiarism and cheating as academic dishonesty, extremely serious offenses that can quickly bring an end to your college career. In writing papers for this class, please make sure that you document appropriately all quoted and paraphrased passages from other authors. I am not picky about how you do it, and I am not going to crucify you for an innocent mistake; but if you decide to turn in a paper that tries to hide a number of quotes from other texts (or the internet), you are playing a very dangerous game.  Similarly for cheating on an exam:  Penalty for intentionally plagiarized work, or cheating on an exam, is an 'F' in the course and referral to the Dean (of Student Affairs) for further action.