printer friendly pageMS&E 197: Ethics, Technology, and Public Policy
Ethical issues in science- and technology-related public policy conflicts. Focus is on complex, value-laden policy disputes. Topics: the nature of ethics and morality; rationales for liberty, justice, and human rights; and the use and abuse of these concepts in policy disputes. Case studies from biomedicine, environmental affairs, technical professions, communications, and international relations.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
McGinn, R. (PI)
OSPBEIJ 11: Computers, Ethics, and Public Policy
Ethical and social issues related to the development and use of computer technology. Ethical theory, and social, political, and legal considerations. Scenarios in problem areas: intellectual property, security, privacy, reliability and risks of complex systems, and responsibility of professionals for applications and consequences of their work. Prerequisite: 106A
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Cooper, S. (PI)
OSPCPTWN 71: Power and Performance in Community Practice
Critical consideration of core concepts in community engagement. Community engagement as a practice, varying subject positions that are given or performed upon and by the community members and those engaging with the community. Dominant models of community engagement: how each model positions students and how the model positions the community members. Seminar topics include issues of biopower, performance of identity (particularly racial identities) and practices of knowledge/power. Critical and reflexive application of these concepts related to community-engaged practice. Guidance in application of critical reflexive thought in practice. Particular attention to the ethics of North-South community engagements.
Terms: Sum
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-EDP, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Meehan, T. (PI)
OSPFLOR 46: Images of Evil in Criminal Law: Icons and the Visual Representation on Wrongdoing
Iconographic component of criminal law; reasons and functions of the visual representation of criminal wrongdoing. Historical roots of "evil typecasting;" consideration of its variations with respect to common law and civil law systems. Fundamental features of the two legal systems. Sources, actors, enforcement mechanisms of the criminal law compared; study of cases in the area of murder, sex offences, organized crime and terrorism. Different techniques of image typecasting highlighted and discussed. International criminal law, which takes the burden to describe, typecast and punish forms of "enormous, disproportionate evil," such as genocide and other mass atrocities.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Papa, M. (PI)
OSPFLOR 85: Bioethics: the Biotechnological Revolution, Human Rights and Politics in the Global Era
Birth and development of the philosophical field of bioethics based on advances in several fundamental fields of science and technology, including molecular and cell biology, information technology, neurosciences and converging technologies. Challenges for society and ethical and political issues created by new advances and opportunities for individuals and populations. Philosophical approaches developed in the Italian as well as in the European debate; special attention to controversy about the freedom of scientific research, new conditions of procreation, birth, cures, and death. Complexity of the challenges posed by the `biotechnological revolution'.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Toraldo di Francia, M. (PI)
OSPMADRD 72: Issues in Bioethics Across Cultures
Ethical dilemmas concerning the autonomy and dignity of human beings and other living creatures; principles of justice that rule different realms of private and public life. Interdisciplinary approach to assessing these challenges, combining scientific facts, health care issues, and moral philosophy. Sources include landmark bioethics papers.
Terms: Win
| Units: 4
| UG Reqs: WAY-ER
PHIL 2: Introduction to Moral Philosophy (ETHICSOC 20)
A survey of moral philosophy in the Western tradition. What makes right actions right and wrong actions wrong? What is it to have a virtuous rather than a vicious character? What is the basis of these distinctions? Why should we care about morality at all? Our aim is to understand how some of the most influential philosophers (including Aristotle, Kant, and Mill) have addressed these questions, and by so doing, to better formulate our own views. No prior familiarity with philosophy required.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-EthicReas, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Levitov, A. (PI)
;
Schapiro, T. (PI)
;
Darmalingum, M. (TA)
...
more instructors for PHIL 2 »
Instructors:
Levitov, A. (PI)
;
Schapiro, T. (PI)
;
Darmalingum, M. (TA)
;
Levitov, A. (TA)
;
Smith, P. (TA)
;
Williams, J. (TA)
PHIL 5N: The Art of Living
Whether we realize it or not, all of us are forced to make a fundamental choice: by deciding what is most valuable to us, we decide how we are going to live our life. We may opt for a life of reason and knowledge; one of faith and discipline; one of nature and freedom; one of community and altruism; or one of originality and style.We may even choose to live our lives as though they were works of art. In every case, hard work is required: our lives are not just given to us, but need to be made. To live well is, in fact, to practice an art of living. Where, however, do such ideals come from? How do we adopt and defend them? What is required to put them into practice? What do we do when they come into conflict with one another? And what role do great works of art play in all this? "The Art of Living" will explore the various ways in which it is possible to live well and beautifully, what it takes to implement them, and what happens when they come under pressure from inside and out.
Last offered: Winter 2014
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 8N: Free Will and Responsibility
In what sense are we, or might we be free agents? Is our freedom compatible with our being fully a part of the same natural, causal order that includes other physical and biological systems? What assumptions about freedom do we make when we hold people accountable morally and/or legally? When we hold people accountable, and so responsible, can we also see them as part of the natural, causal order? Or is there a deep incompatibility between these two ways of understanding ourselves? What assumptions about our freedom do we make when we deliberate about what to do? Are these assumptions in conflict with seeing ourselves as part of the natural, causal order?nWe will explore these and related questions primarily by way of careful study of recent and contemporary philosophical research on these matters.
Last offered: Winter 2011
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-A-II, WAY-ER
PHIL 14N: Belief and the Will
Preference to freshmen. Is there anything wrong with believing something without evidence? Is it possible? The nature and ethics of belief, and belief's relation to evidence and truth. How much control do believers have over their belief?
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, WAY-ER
Instructors:
Lawlor, K. (PI)
Filter Results: