BIOG 1180

Ethics in Life Sciences

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2024-2025.

Ethical issues invariably arise when conducting research in, and generally thinking about, the life sciences. How should human and animal cells be used and when? What harms, risks and benefits might be associated with advances being made in synthetic biology or in the genetic modification of organisms? How does our understanding of microbiome alter our notions of an individual or of a disease? Does the environment have value only insofar as it contributes to humans ends, or does it have value in itself? How much empirical evidence is sufficient before drawing a conclusion? Does what we learn in science change the nature of our ethical frameworks? This course considers these issues and others. In doing so, we'll examine some ethical theory and some recent scientific research in order to survey the scope of topics at the intersection of ethics and the life sciences.

When Offered Fall, Spring.

Distribution Category (BIO-AG, OPHLS-AG)

• Students will be able to identify, explain, and evaluate key issues and arguments in the ethics of life sciences.
• Students will be able to formulate, explain and defend ethical positions that can be held in the life sciences.
• Students will be able to apply ethical theories to issues in the life sciences as they arise.
• Students will be able to identify areas in the life sciences that may have important impacts in various modes of ethical inquiry.

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