PHIL 711 The Beginning and End of Human Life: Ethical and Metaphysical Controversies
An exploration of contemporary ethical and metaphysical controversies regarding the beginning and end of human life. The course begins with an overview of basic ethical concepts and principles, then goes on to examine contemporary philosophical debates on issues such as euthanasia, brain death, abortion and assisted reproductive technologies. Specific topics to be covered can be tailored to the interests of students. Examination of these issues will also involve an evaluation of competing accounts of personal identity: the psychological view, the animalist view, and the Aristotelian-Thomistic hylomorphic view. Readings will be taken mostly from the works of contemporary philosophers and bioethicists, such as Patrick Lee, Robert George, Jeff McMahan, Robert Veatch, Judith Jarvis Thomson, Mary Ann Warren, Julian Savulescu, John Keown and Francis Beckwith.