THE HONG KONG INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION
Course Outline
Part I
Course Title:
Brain Science, and the Ethics of Life and Death
腦科學與生死倫理
Course Code:
GED2020
Department:
IELL
Credit Point:
3
Contact Hours:
39
Pre-requisite(s):
Nil
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Part II
Synopsis
Contemporary understanding of the science of the brain has enabled philosophers, medical
practitioners, and ethicists to arrive at a more precise and consistent position regarding the
debates of abortion, euthanasia and animal ethics, etc. It is clear to all sides of the debates
that the nature of persons consists in their being able to engage in rational thinking,
self-awareness and autonomous decisions, etc. Persons will not be able to exercise these
abilities if they do not have a well-developed upper brain, or cerebral cortex. Thus, if some
beings (such as early fetuses or some PVS patients) do not have a well-developed upper brain,
they cannot claim to have an important moral status; at the same time, some beings, like the
chimpanzees, we can understand why they should deserve a higher moral status than they
have now.
This course is not merely about the biology of the brains, but more important ethics and the
reasons of why certain living organisms matter. Personal identity, brain science and bioethics
are interrelated subjects. Students who take this course will learn about the functions and
basic constitution of the human brains, and will apply these thoughts and distinctions to
patients of euthanasia, assessing the moral importance of embryos, and fetuses of various
stages, etc. At the end of the course, students will apprehend the biological grounds of the
special moral statues of persons, and why the survival of certain organisms may mean less
than that of others.
1. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)
By the end of the course, students will be able to
CILO1 Evaluate and relate medical, philosophical, and moral aspects of bioethical questions.
CILO2 Analyze complex, incomplete or apparently contradictory areas of ethical positions.
CILO3 Formulate meaningful positions on matters of bioethics and enter into respectful
dialogues with those who possess another point of view.
CILO4 Identify and understand key issues, ethical principles, and contemporary schools of
bioethics.
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2. CILOs, Content and Teaching & Learning Activities
Course Content
CILOs
Suggested Teaching
& Learning Activities
Lectures and group
discussions
a. Introduction
- What is Bio-ethics? How does it differ from other
branches of ethics?
- The basic idea of morality and normative ethics:
Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics.
b. Abortion I
- When does a human organism begin to exist?
- The Soul, the Brain, and the Mind: What are the best
explanations of personal identity?
- The Characteristics of the Fetus’s Brain Development
c. Abortion II
- Judith Thomson’s Defense of Abortion
- The Idea of Self-Ownership and its problems
- The Potentiality Principles
- Psychological Connectedness and Continuity
d. Euthanasia I
- When do we die, or cease to exist?
- Brain Death
- Persistent Vegetative States, Deep Coma and Organ
Transplantation
CILO4
e. Euthanasia II
- Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, the Sanctity of Life
- Killing and Letting Die: Active and Passive
Euthanasia
- The Metaphysics of Progressive Dementia
CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
Film Appreciation:
The Sea Inside
f. Animal Issues I
- Singer’s Sentience Criterion and Regan’s Claim of
Animal Rights
- Animals’ Brains and Animal Rights
- Well-Being across Species
g. Animal Issues II
- Animals and Severely Cognitively Impaired Human
Beings
- Membership in the Human Species
CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
Documentary Film
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CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
Documentary Film
CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
CILO1,2,3,4 Lectures and group
discussions
3. Assessment
Assessment Tasks
CILO
a. Group Presentation
Students will form in groups with 3-4 members. They will
select a question from a choice of three to address. The
duration of the presentation is 15 minutes and the Q&A session
lasts for 15 minutes. Note that each group of students will also
be responsible for commenting on the presentation of the other
two groups who present on the same day.
The presentation is assessed with regard to the groups’
participation in the Q&A session and their performance in their
own presentation. The assessment of performance is based on a
number of factors, including the quality of preparation, the
robustness of the argument, the clarity of the speech, etc.
b. Group Blogs
Over the course of approximately two months, each group of
students will construct a Blog in a chosen area. They will show
the progress of their preparation for the Presentation. Students
will discuss their views, collect ideas and analyze positions and
other writings on the blog. Each group is responsible for
updating their blogs once a week during the above period.
c. Individual Paper (2500 words)
Each student is responsible for writing an individual paper to
formally answer the questions I propose to them. Students can
choose to write on the topic that their group presents or on a
topic that the other groups present.
d. Participation: Online (10%) and Class Participation (10%):
Apart from preparing for the Blog, each students should
comment on the work of each of the other groups at least
twice during the above period (unless the group blog is not
informative enough for comment). The comments are supposed
to carry substantial meaning (e.g. not saying “hello”, “good
work”, etc.). Those who have given the comments to all other
groups will get all the 10% grade here. Those who do not write
anything will not get any mark in this part. Another 10% of the
total grade will be given to those students who participate
actively in class discussion, especially during the presentation
sessions.
CILO1,2,3,4
Weighting
(%)
30%
CILO1,2,3,4
20%
CILO1,2,3,4
30%
CILO1,2,3,4
20%
4.
Required Text(s)
Nil
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5.
Recommended Readings
Carter, Aldridge, Page and Parker. (2009) The Human Brain Book. DK Adult.
Dworkin, Ronald. (1993). Life’s Dominion. NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Glannon, Walter. (2009). Bioethics and the Brain. NY: Oxford University Press.
Kuhse and Singer. (ed.) (1998). A Companion to Bioethics. Blackwell.
Kaczor, Christopher. (2011). The Ethics of Abortion. NY: Routledge.
McMahan, Jeff. (2002). The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life. NY: Oxford
University Press.
Mathews, Bok and Rabins (eds.) (2009). Personal Identity and Fractured Selves: Perspectives
from Philosophy, Ethics, and Neuroscience. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Pollard, Irina. (2009) Bioscience Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Singer, Peter. (1993). Practical Ethics. Cambridge University Press.
Sweeney, Michael S. (2009) Brain: The Complete Mind: How It Develops, How It Works, and
How to Keep It Sharp. National Geographic.
6.
Related Web Resources
Abortion:
(1) Ethics Update: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Applied/Abortion/
(2) Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion%2C_legal_and_moral_issues
Euthanasia:
(3) Ethics Updates: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Applied/Euthanasia/
(4) Singer: http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1993----.htm
Animal Issues:
(5) Ethics Updates: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Applied/Animals/
(6) Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_rights
(7) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/a/anim-eth.htm
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