PHI 180 Course Outline

Caption: The heading row descibes the categories of information about the course, while the row in the table body holds the course information itself.
Course Prefix	Course Number	Course Title	Lecture/Lab Hours	Credit Hours
PHI	180	Biomedical Ethics	3 Lecture/Demonstration Hours	3 Credit Hours

Course description

This course is only offered in the fall term.

Considers the ethics of the professional-patient relationship (confidentiality, informed consent,
paternalism, truth-telling), the ethics of life and death (abortion, euthanasia, suicide), and the
ethics of medicine on a social scale (the right to health care, the distribution of medical
resources).

Topical outline

I. Introduction to Ethical Theory

A. The Distinction of Ethics in Human Action and Human Thought
B. The Distinction between Mores and Morals (the aspects of human action which social science studies vs. the aspects of human action which the moral philosopher studies)
C. Normative Ethical Theories

1. Deontological Theories
2. Teleological Theories

D. Rights

1. Moral
2. Legal

E. The Nature of Biomedical Ethics

II. The Professional-Patient Relationship

A. Characterization of the Relationship (expert/layperson?, social contract between equals?, etc. )
B. Confidentiality
C. Truth-Telling
D. Informed Consent
E. Paternalism

III. Ethical Problems Concerning Life and Death

A. The Morality of Killing

1. Doctrine of the Double Effect
2. Actions vs. Omissions
3. Slippery-Slope Arguments (empirical and logical)

B. Abortion and Infanticide
C. Euthanasia
D. Suicide

IV. Medical Ethics on a Social Scale

A. Theories of Distributive Justice
B. The Right to Health vs. the Right to Health Care
C. Distribution of Medical Resources

Method of presentation

Lecture
Class Discussion
Guest Speakers
Other:

1. Lecture/discussion format
2. Students encouraged to raise questions/participate

Student outcomes

demonstrate an understanding of health care provider/patient relationship including at least confidentiality, informed consent, paternalism, and truth telling, of patient rights v. public policy regarding personal decisions such as abortion, euthanasia, courses of treatment and access to health care, including whether or not there is a right to health care, rationing according to ability to pay, and the impact of rationing on marginalized populations.
apply at least three philosophical positions to choices of issues listed above and evaluate the results of these applications.
write a minimum of 3000 words of college-level writing in support of the above outcomes.

Method of evaluation

Typical classroom techniques

Class participation
Objective tests
Final exam
Essays/Term papers
Oral examination

Course content learning outcomes

Additional assessment information (optional)

Essay examination and/or short papers. Papers and examinations require students to exposit an argument and to evaluate it. Evaluation of an argument may take the form of its logical inadequacies, its moral presuppositions, certain medical facts, etc.
Exams (may be oral)
Written reading responses
Debates
Class activities including group discaussions

Textbooks

Optional

Arras, John D. and Bonnie Steinbock. Ethical Issues in Modern Medicine 8th Edition. McGraw-Hill, 2012

Supplementary materials

None

Software

None

Updated: Fall 2025