Syllabus for Philosophy 164, Medical Ethics Online

Instructor Information

Marcy P. Lascano
Department of Philosophy
379 Bartlett Hall
University of Massachusetts
130 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003
413.545.2330 Office
lascano@philos.umass.edu
http://www-unix.oit.umass.edu/~lascano/

Required Texts
None. All of the course readings will be made available online.

Course Description
After a general introduction to ethics, we'll study some ethical problems that arise in the practice of medicine, such as Abortion, Euthanasia, Allocation of Medical Resources, Animal Experimentation, Cloning, and Genetic Engineering. The course assumes no prior knowledge of philosophical ethics or medical science.

Course Objectives
To become familiar with the issues listed above; to develop the ability to extract arguments from philosophical texts; to develop the ability to evaluate these arguments; to come to our own reasoned conclusions about the issues.

Course Requirements
Exams (75%): There will be three "take home" exams given during the semester. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade. Exams are open-note, open-book, and open-website. I'll post them on the course website usually 5 to 6 days before they'll be due.

Class Participation (25%): Class participation comes in two forms: "Threaded Discussions" (which are "asynchronous," or non-real-time) and "Chats" (which are "synchronous," or real-time).

Threaded Discussions: You're expected to contribute to Threaded Discussions throughout the week. I'll be grading you for both the quantity and quality of your participation. I'll offer several Threaded Discussion topics each week. At the end of each grading period (there'll be three in all), you'll receive a grade for your Threaded-Discussion participation during that two-week period. Making no contributions will get you an 'F'. Making minimal contributions that lack substance and don't indicate that you are grappling with the material will get you a 'C' or a 'D'. Engaging in many fruitful discussions and generally making a strong effort to submit thoughtful, substantive contributions will earn you an 'A'.

Chats: Each week, there will be one chat session. This session will utilize the chat function on the course site. These sessions play the role of discussion sections in ordinary courses. However, I won't prepare any material to present to you in these chat sessions. The main purpose of these sessions is for you to ask questions (about the reading, the lecture notes, etc.). Chat sessions are not required, but you are strongly encouraged to attend. It is the only "real-time" interaction you and I can have.

General Policies
Communications: If you need to reach me, send me an email (lascano@philos.umass.edu). I'll be online a lot, and can usually respond within 24 hours. My home telephone number is (413) 585-9806. I don't anticipate any reason for you to have to ring me rather than communicate by e-mail, but you're welcome to call.

Technical Support: If you're having difficulties with any of the functions of the eCollege site, contact the eCollege help desk: Tech Support Email: helpdesk@umamherstonline.org Tech Support Phone: 303-873-000

Cheating: Subject to university guidelines, any instance of cheating will result in a grade of 'F' for the course. The most prevalent form of cheating is plagiarism. Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of another individual's work as one's own. In short, plagiarism is a form of dishonesty. Don’t be dishonest.

Disappearing: An unfortunate but common phenomenon in online courses is the "disappearance" of certain students: some students simply stop checking the website, stop participating in discussions, and stop submitting work. Students who disappear in this course will not receive an 'incomplete' for the course; they will instead receive an 'F'. Please check the website often. Don't let yourself fall behind. If it does happen, please contact me immediately. I'm not heartless. : ).