PHIL 1740: Issues in Life and Death
Spring, 2014
M/W 12:00 – 12:50 PM, Minor Hall 125
Prof. Rebecca Stangl
Office: 124 Cocke Hall
Office Phone: 434-924-6517
Office Hours: Monday 1-2 pm; Wednesday 4-5pm;or by appointment
Email:
Teaching Assistants: Adam Blincoe, Andrew Morgan, Craig Thompson
* Teaching Assistants will distribute contact information in section meetings.
Required Texts:
- All required readings will be posted on Collab
Course Requirements:
- Class Participation (10%):Participation means coming to class, reading the material carefully, and being prepared to discuss it.
- In addition, please note the attendance policy for discussion sections:If you are absent for more than two meetings of section, your final grade will be lowered by a third of a point. (E.g., an A will become an A-minus.) If you are absent for more than three meetings, your final grade will be lowered by two-thirds of a point. (E.g., an A will become a B-plus.) If you are absent for more than four meetings, your final grade will be lowered a full point. (E.g., an A will become a B.)
- Two Papers (45%):
- 1stPaper (15%): There will be one short paper, in which you will be asked to carefully summarize one of the arguments we are studying.
- 2ndPaper (30%): There will be one medium-length paper, in which you will critically analyze and respond to one or more of the arguments we are studying. Topic will be assigned by the instructor.
- NO LATE PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED. (Any exceptions will require written documentation (E.g. note from physician).)
- Exams (45%): There will be a midterm (15%) and a final (30%). The exams will consist of short answer and short essay questions, and study guides will be distributed by the instructor.
Tentative Schedule of Topics, Assigned Readings, and Deadlines:
January 13th: Introductory Remarks: Why Moral Philosophy?
Plato, Apology
January 15th: The Challenge of Moral Relativism
Rachels, “The Challenge of Cultural Relativism”
January 20th and 22nd: The Value of Life and the Meaning of Death
Lucretius, selections from De Rerum Natura
Epicurus, “Letter to Menoeceus”
Nagel, “Death”
Williams, “The Makropulos Case”
Barnes, “The Dream”
January 27th and 29th::Abortion: Fetal Status
Noonan, “An (Almost) Absolute Value in History”
Warren, “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion”
Sumner, “A Defense of the Moderate Position”
Marquis, “Why Abortion is Immoral”
First Paper Due: Monday, February 3rd, at the beginning of class
February 3rd and 5thAbortion: Conflicting Rights; Women’s Perspectives
Thompson, “A Defense of Abortion”
Wolf, “Our Bodies, Our Souls”
Little, “The Morality of Abortion”
February 10th and 12th: Cloning
President’s Council on Bioethics, “Cloning and Stem Cells”
Wilson, “Regulated Cloning for Biomedical Research”
February 17th and 19th: Genetic Selection and Disability
McBryde Johnson, “Unspeakable Conversations”
Parens and Asch, “The Disability Rights Critique…”
Glover, “Disability and Genetic Choice”
February 24thand 26th: Defining Death
President’s Commission, “Defining Death”
Brody, “How Much of the Brain must be Dead?”
March 3rd: Review; Catch-up Day (No Reading)
Midterm Exam: Wednesday, March 5th
March 10th and 12th: Spring Break (No Class)
March 17thand 19th: The Right to Refuse Treatment
Burton, “A Chronicle: Dax’s Case as it Happened”
White, “Commentary”
Engelhardt, “Commentary”
Mill, From “On Liberty”
Dworkin, “Paternalism”
March 24th an 26th:Choosing for Others
In the Matter of Claire C. Convoy
Arras, “The Severely Demented…”
Smith, “The Wendland Case”
Nelson, “The Wendland Case”
Cantor, “Testing the Limits of Precedent Autonomy…”
Dresser and Robertson, “Quality of Life and Non-Treatment”
Rhoden, “The Limits of Legal Objectivity”
March 31st and April 2nd:Suicide
Aquinas, “Whether it is lawful to kill oneself”
Hume, “On Suicide”
Rachels, “Active and Passive Euthanasia”
Sullivan, “Active and Passive Euthanasia: An Impertinent Distinction?”
Quill, Dresser, and Brock, “The Rule of Double Effect”
April 7th and 9th:Euthanasia/ Physician Assisted Suicide
Quill, “Death and Dignity: A Case of Individualized Decision Making”
Dworkin, “Assisted Suicide: The Philosopher’s Brief, Introduction”
Dworkin, et.al., “The Philosopher’s Brief”
Patient Request Form for Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act
Arras, “Physician-Assisted Suicide: A Tragic View”
Quill, “Palliative Options of Last Resort”
Velleman, “Against the Right to Die”
Second Paper Due: Monday, April 14th, at the beginning of class
April 14th and 16th:World Hunger: Utilitarian Approaches
Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”
Arthur, “Rights and the Duty to Bring Aid”
April 21st and 23rd:World Hunger: Neo-Kantian/Rights Approaches
O’Neill, “Ending World Hunger”
Shue, “Solidarity among Strangers and the Right to Food”
April 28th: Concluding Remarks(No Reading)
Final Exam: Monday, May 5th, 2-5pm