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: GEH2020
Department: IELL
Credit Point: 3
Contact Hours: 39
Pre-requisite(s): GEE1001
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Part II
1.
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. Agents will not be able to exercise these abilities if they do not have a well-developed upper brain, or cerebral cortex. Thus, along this line we can derive a range of ethical judgments with regard to the moral importance of an early fetus (whose has hardly developed synaptic connection in its brain), of a PVS patient (usually the patient in a persistent vegetative states does not have an intact cerebral cortex), and of certain highly intelligent mammals like chimpanzees (whose cerebral cortex has a large amount of folds like those of human brains), etc. In short, since some of the beings 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.
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2.
Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)
Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
CILO
1
: Evaluate and relate medical, philosophical, and moral aspects of bioethical questions.
CILO
2
: Analyze complex or apparently contradictory areas of ethical positions with reference to the relevant understanding in brain science.
CILO
3
: Formulate meaningful positions on matters of bioethics and enter into respectful dialogues with those who possess another point of view.
CILO
4
: Identify and understand key issues, ethical principles, and contemporary schools of bioethics.
3.
Content, CILOs and Teaching & Learning Activities
Course Content 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.
CILOs Suggested Teaching &
Learning Activities
CILO
4
Lectures and group discussions
CILO
1,2,3,4
Lectures and group discussions
Documentary Film 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
․ Does the mother’s ownership of her body enable her to have the final say on the continuance of her pregnancy?
․ Does the fetus’s potential to become a full person enable us to object to the action of abortion? d.
Euthanasia I
․ When do we die, or cease to exist?
․ Brain Death
․ Persistent Vegetative States, Deep Coma and Organ Transplantation
CILO
CILO
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
Lectures and group discussions
Lectures and group discussions e.
․
Euthanasia II
Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide, the
Sanctity of Life
․ Killing and Letting Die: Active and Passive
Euthanasia
․ The Metaphysics of Progressive Dementia f.
Animal Issues I
․ Singer’s Sentience Criterion and Regan’s
Claim of Animal Rights
․ Animals’ Brains and Animal Rights
․ Well-Being across Species
CILO
1,2,3,4
Lectures and group discussions
Film Appreciation: The
Sea Inside
CILO
1,2,3,4
Lectures and group discussions
Documentary Film
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g.
Animal Issues II
․ Animals and Severely Cognitively Impaired
Human Beings
․ Membership in the Human Species
4.
Assessment
Assessment Tasks a.
Group Presentation
Students will form in groups with 3-4 members. They will select a question from a choice of three to address. These questions will cover the areas of abortion, euthanasia and animal ethics. 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.
Individual Paper (2000 words)
Each student is responsible for writing an individual paper to formally answer the questions I propose to them. These questions will cover three distinct areas of the course; they are abortion, euthanasia and animal ethics. Students can choose to write on the topic that their group presents or on a topic that the other groups present. c.
Participation: Presentation Comments (10%) and Class Participation (10%):
All students will be given ample opportunity to comment on other students’ presentation.
Students are expected to participate actively.
Those who perform well and ask good questions will be given the whole 10%.
Another 10% will be assigned for participation in ordinary class discussion. Students who take part actively and ask good questions will get a high percentage from this part of assessment.
5.
Required Text(s)
Nil
CILO
1,2,3,4
Lectures and group discussions
Weighting (%)
40
40
20
CILO
CILO
1,2,3,4
CILO
CILO
1,2,3,4
1,2,3,4
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6.
Recommended Readings
1.) Carter, Aldridge, Page and Parker. (2009) The Human Brain Book . DK Adult.
2.) Dworkin, Ronald. (1993). Life’s Dominion . NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
3.) Glannon, Walter. (2009). Bioethics and the Brain . NY: Oxford University Press.
4.) Kuhse and Singer. (ed.) (1998). A Companion to Bioethics . Blackwell.
5.) Kaczor, Christopher. (2011). The Ethics of Abortion . NY: Routledge.
6.) McMahan, Jeff. (2002). The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life . NY:
Oxford University Press.
7.) Mathews, Bok and Rabins (eds.) (2009). Personal Identity and Fractured Selves:
Perspectives from Philosophy, Ethics, and Neuroscience . The Johns Hopkins
University Press.
8.) Pollard, Irina. (2009) Bioscience Ethics . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
9.) Singer, Peter. (1993). Practical Ethics . Cambridge University Press.
10.) Sweeney, Michael S. (2009) Brain: The Complete Mind: How It Develops, How It
Works, and How to Keep It Sharp . National Geographic.
7.
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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