07654 - Bioethics

Learning outcomes

Introduction to bioethics from a philosophical point of view. Analysis and critical comparison with the fundamental topics of applied ethics and, in particular, matters of life and death or environmental issues. Reflection on the most influential moral arguments in the context of public ethics and acquisition by students of awareness and critical analysis skills on the central problems of bioethical relevance.

Course contents

Frontiers of life, frontiers of technology

In 1966 Henry Beecher published an article, destined to become very famous, denouncing the violation of international rules on clinical experimentation on human subjects. Three years later, Hans Jonas took up the issue in a paper that, among other things, criticised a Harvard report that sought to redefine brain-based death. The ensuing debate highlighted the need for ethical reflection on medical practice, since the latter was becoming increasingly scientifically and experimentally oriented, as well as increasingly determined by the use of technological instruments. In 1970, Van Rensselaer Potter coined the term ‘bioethics’.

Since then, the complexity of the discipline has grown enormously. Its boundaries now extend far beyond medical ethics to more broadly involve biomedicine and the care of (not only human) life: from therapeutic practice to clinical, diagnostic and pharmacological reflection, to biotechnological applications and systems of care, welfare and enhancement.

This raises a large number of philosophical problems, both moral and legal. By way of example: when does human life begin? What is meant, morally and legally, by a person? How to deal with difficult cases concerning the end of life?

The continuing (unstoppable?) development of technologies and biotechnology has further increased the problematic nature of the picture. When can intervention in the genetic heritage of an unborn child be justified? Is it permissible to resort to human enhancement techniques? What are the ethical implications of the spread of artificial intelligence?

Starting from a nucleus of by now traditional questions and from a comparison with fundamental authors in the reference panorama, the course proposes to investigate four areas that concern the most pressing frontiers of life and technology: i) the beginning of life; ii) the end of life; iii) genetic manipulation and human enhancement; iv) artificial intelligence.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography (compulsory examination texts):

1. R. Dworkin, Il dominio della vita (1993), Edizioni di Comunità, Milano, 1994 [due to the difficulties in finding the text, a digital copy will be available on the Platform Virtuale].

2. E. Lecaldano, Bioetica. Le scelte morali, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2005 (nuova edizione ampliata), capp. 1, 2, 3.

3. H. Jonas, Tecnica, medicina, etica. Prassi del principio responsabilità (1985), Einaudi, Torino, 1997, capp. 6, 8, 11.

4. J. Habermas, Il futuro della natura umana. I rischi di una genetica liberale (2001), Einaudi, Torino, 2010.

5. N. Cristianini, La scorciatoia. Come le macchine sono diventate intelligenti senza pensare in modo umano, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2023.

Attending students must supplement the bibliography with lecture notes.

Non-attending students must supplement the bibliography by reading S. Vantin, Le metamorfosi della responsabilità. Tecnica, diritto, bioetica, Giappichelli, Torino, 2024.

 

Additional optional further reading:

Beginning of Life

- P. Foot, The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect, in “Oxford Review”, 1967, pp. 5-15.

- J.M. Finnis, Abortion and Legal Rationality, in “The Adelaide Law Review”, 1970, pp. 431-467.

- H.G. Frankfurt, Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person, in “The Journal of Philosophy”, 1971, pp. 5-20.

- Judith J. Thomson, A Defence of Abortion, in “Philosophy & Public Affairs”, 1971, pp. 47-66

- M. Tooley, Abortion and Infanticide, in “Philosophy and Public Affairs”, 1972, pp. 37-65.

- M.A. Warren, On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, in “The Monist”, 1973, pp. 43-61.

- C.A. MacKinnon, Privacy vs. Eguaglianza. A partire dal caso Roe vs. Wade (1983), in Ead., Le donne sono umane?, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2012, pp. 64-75

- J. Feinberg, Abortion, in T. Regan (ed.), Matters of Life and Death, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1986, pp. 256-293.

- D. Marquis, Why Abortion is Immoral, in “The Journal of Philosophy”, 1989, pp. 183-202.

- L. Purdy, Are Pregnant Women Fetal Containers?, in “Bioethics”, 1990, pp. 273-291.

End of Life

- P. Foot, Euthanasia, in “Philosophy and Public Affairs”, 1977, pp. 85-112.

- T. Beauchamp, A. Davidson, The Definition of Euthanasia, in “The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy”, 1979, pp. 294-312.

- L. Kass, Neither for Love nor Money. Why Doctors Must not Kill, in “Public Interest”, 1989, pp. 25-46.

- J. Finnis, A Philosophical Case Against Euthanasia, in J. Keown (ed.), Euthanasia Examined: Ethical, Clinical and Legal Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995, pp. 23-35.

- R. Dworkin, T. Nagel, R. Nozick, J. Rawls, J.J. Thomson, T.M. Scanlon, Assisted Suicide. The Philosophers’ Brief, in “The New York Review of Books”, 1997.

- G. Dworkin, G.R. Frey, S. Bok, Euthanasia e and Pysician-Assisted Suicide (1998); trad. it. Eutanasia e suicidio assistito. Pro e contro, Edizioni di Comunità, Torino, 2001.

- F.M. Kamm, Physician‐Assisted Suicide, the Doctrine of Double Effect, and the Ground of Value, in “Ethics”, 1999, pp. 586-605.

- J.D. Velleman, A Right of Self‐Termination?, in “Ethics”, 1999, pp. 606-628.

Genetic Manipulation and Human Enhancement

- F. Fukuyama, Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution (2002); trad. it. L’uomo oltre l’uomo. Le conseguenze della rivoluzione biotecnologica, Mondadori, Milano, 2002.

- N. Bostrom, Human Genetic Enhancements: A Transhumanist Perspective, in “The Journal of Value Inquiry”, 2003, pp. 493-506.

- N. Agar, Liberal Eugenics: In Defense of Human Enhancement, Blackwell, Malden, 2004.

- M. Sandel, The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering, Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 2007.

- T. Douglas, Moral Enhancement, in “Journal of Applied Philosophy”, 2008, pp. 228-245.

- A. Asch, J. Block, Against the Enhancement Project: Two Perspectives, in “Free Inquiry”, 2011, pp. 25-33.

- J. Harris, Moral Enhancement and Freedom, in “Bioethics”, 2011, pp. 102-111.

- I. Persson, J. Savulescu, Unfit for the Future: The Need for Moral Enhancement (2012); trad. it. Inadatti al futuro. L’esigenza di un potenziamento morale, Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino, 2019.

Artificial Intelligence

- J. Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason (1976); trad. it. Il potere del computer e la ragione umana. I limiti dell’intelligenza artificiale, Gruppo Abele, Torino, 1987.

- M. Coeckelbergh, Robot Rights? Towards a Social-Relational Justification of Moral Consideration, in “Ethics and Information Technology”, 2010, pp. 209-221.

- J. Danaher, The Threat of Algocracy. Reality, Resistance and Accommodation, in “Philosophy & Technology”, 2016, pp. 245-268.

- C. O’Neil, Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy (2016); trad. it. Armi di distruzione matematica. Come i Big Data aumentano la diseguaglianza e minacciano la democrazia, Bompiani, Milano, 2017.

- M. O’Connell, To Be a Machine. Adventures among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death (2017); trad. it. Essere una macchina, Adelphi, Milano, 2018.

- V. Eubanks, Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor, St. Martin’s Press, London, 2018.

- F. Santoni de Sio, J. van den Hoven, Meaningful Human Control over Autonomous Systems: A Philosophical Account, in “Frontiers in Robotics and AI”, 2018, https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2018.00015.

- S. Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power (2019); trad. it. Il capitalismo della sorveglianza. Il futuro dell’umanità nell’era dei nuovi poteri, LUISS University Press, Roma, 2023.

- K. Crawford, Atlas of AI. Power, Politics, and the Planetary Costs of Artificial Intelligence (2021); trad. it. Né intelligente né artificiale. Il lato oscuro dell’IA, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2021.

- C. Doctorow, The Internet Con. How to Seize the Means of Computation (2023); trad. it. Come distruggere il capitalismo della sorveglianza, Mimesis, Milano-Udine, 2024.

- N. Farahany, The Battle for Your Brain. Defending the Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology (2023); trad. it. Difendere il nostro cervello. La libertà di pensiero nell’era delle neurotecnologie, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2024.

Teaching methods

All lessons will take place exclusively in person and will be recorded. Both attending and non-attending students will be able to view the recordings of the lessons, which will be available in a Team created and managed by the teacher. The recordings can be intended as learning support material.

Lessons will be held from 16^th September 2024 to 9^th December 2024. Any changes will be communicated by the teacher and will be indicated with a notice on the platform Virtuale.

During the course, a seminar lesson will take place with Prof. Silvia Salardi (Univ. Milano Bicocca).

Exam sessions’ dates will be made available on Alma Esami.

For any need or doubt relating to the course, please contact serena.vantin3@unibo.it

Assessment methods

Both for attending and non-attending students, knowledge will be tested through an oral examination.

"Attending" are those students who regularly participate in face-to-face lessons.

"Non-attending" are those students who do not regularly participate in face-to-face lessons.

Attendance signatures will not be collected during the lessons. Displaying the recordings of the lessons is not relevant for the purpose of being considered as an attending student.

The assessment will take into account the following verification criteria:

1. knowledge and ability to understand specific issues;

2. ability to apply knowledge, through the examination of specific topics;

3. autonomy of judgment, or the ability to re-elaborate information independently and personally;

4. communication skills, starting from the ability to communicate ideas and problems with a proper language and a good articulation of thought;

5. learning skills, i.e. correct acquisition of tools and critical judgment skills on complex concerns.

The purpose of the oral exam is to verify the student's ability to apply his or her own knowledge and to make the necessary logical-deductive connections.

Graduation of the final grade:

- Preparation on a very limited number of topics covered in the course and analytical skills that emerge only with the help of the teacher, expression in overall correct language → 18-19;

- Preparation on a limited number of topics covered in the course and autonomous analysis skills only on purely executive issues, expression in correct language → 20-24;

- Knowledge of a large number of topics addressed in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis, mastery of specific terminology → 25-29;

- Substantially exhaustive preparation on the topics addressed in the course, ability to make independent choices of critical analysis and connections, full mastery of the specific terminology and ability to argue and self-reflect → 30-30L.

People with disabilities or specific learning disorders are entitled to special adaptations in relation to their condition, subject to evaluation by the University Service for students with disabilities and DSA. Please do not contact the teacher but the Service for an appointment. The Service will be responsible for establishing which adaptations are appropriate. More information on the webpage <site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it/per-studenti >.

Teaching tools

For the benefit of (attending and non-attending) students, both the slides and the recordings of the lessons will be made available.

Office hours

See the website of Serena Vantin