PHIL 148Medical Ethics

Catalog

This introductory course to medical ethics surveys issues at the intersection of normative ethics and medicine. After laying the theoretical foundation for the course by discussing both deontological and utilitarian theories and applying them to different issues related to healthcare, we spend a significant time addressing issues such as abortion, genetic enhancement and selection. We then turn to questions of public health, such as the just allocation of scarce healthcare resources in normal settings and in times of crisis (Covid-19). In the last part of the course we survey key topics in global health, such as the problems of access to medicines and medical brain drain. This course deals primarily with the normative issues at stake. It does not aim to provide practical advice for healthcare practitioners.