PHL 337: Ethics

The Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Death collects 21 newly commissioned essays that cover current philosophical thinking of death-related topics across the entire range of the discipline. These include metaphysical topics - such as the nature of death, the possibility of an afterlife, the nature of persons, and how our thinking about time affects what we think about death - as well as axiological topics, such as whether death is bad for its victim, what makes it bad to die, what attitude it is fitting to take towards death, the possibility of posthumous harm, and the desirability of immortality.

Is it ethical to manufacture designer babies or experiment on human embryos? Is abortion morally justifiable as well as legally acceptable? Do terminally ill people have the right to choose when to end their lives? Sinse the birth of the first baby through in vitro fertilization just over thirty years ago, scientific advances in this field have been startling. Developments associated with cloning, human-animal hybrids and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis - so disturbing for many people - raise a crucial question about the moral status of the very early embryo. And, just as much as arguements about the right to interfere with the beginning of human life, the debate about the individual's right to choose when to die also provokes strong emotional responses.

Bioethics asks fundamental questions. 'Who lives? Who dies? Who decides?' These questions are relevant to us all. Too often, the general public's sole encounter with these weighty questions is through sound bites fed to us by the media where complex, difficult matters are typically presented in superficial and inaccurate terms. Here, renowned bioethicist Albert R. Jonsen equips readers with the tools and background to navigate the fascinating and complex landscape of bioethics. Bioethics Beyond the Headlines is a primer. You will find an engaging sampling of the key questions in bioethics, including euthanasia, assisted reproduction, cloning and stem cells, neuroscience, access to healthcare, and even research on animals and questions of environmental ethics areas typically overlooked in general introductions to bioethics.

This book covers the social and legal responses to the equality rights of disabled people, focusing on the right to life, and the end of life assisted suicide. This work engages with contemporary debates and explores the problems surrounding many legal concepts. It is crucial to distinguish between unjust discrimination and differential treatment and unify the disagreements surrounding the issues by highlighting ethical ideals that should be shared by all stakeholders in life and death decisions that impact people with disabilities.

Issues of Life and Death such as abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment and others are among the most contentious in many societies. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? This book explores these questions and the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The author's goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions.