The course on Bioethics gives students theoretical and practical tools to analyze and asses human actions related to life and health.
Human life is made up of decisions. These decisions are influenced by many factors: values, society, individual freedom... Ethics is the reflection on these factors and on human behavior. What is right? What are moral principles based on? Why should rules be followed? These are some of the questions that ethics addresses. Bioethics is the ethics applied to the professions and sciences related to the assistance and care of life and health. This discipline reflects on how human beings can best protect and promote life. The human being possesses great technological power and it is important to ask how this power should be used, what rules should be followed, etc.
Titular Professors
Not required.
The aims of the course are:
1) To provide theoretical and practical tools to analyze and evaluate human behaviour towards life, health and technology.
2) To describe the most important current bioethical dilemmas.
3) To develop skills for analysis and ethical argumentation.
1. Ethics: Basic concepts.
1.1. Definition of Ethics.
1.2. Ethics and other disciplines.
1.3. Ethics, freedom and law.
2. Individual Conscience and Social Values.
2.1. Definition of moral conscience.
2.2. Ethics and moral conscience.
2.3. Conscientious objection.
3. Bioethics: Concepts and Principles.
3.1. Definition of Bioethics.
3.2. Ethics, Bioethics and human life/health.
3.3. The principles of Bioethics.
4. Ethical issues at the beginning of life.
4.1. Abortion.
4.2. Artificial Womb.
4.3. Synthetic embryos.
5. End-of-life Ethical Dilemmas
5.1. Euthanasia.
5.2. Assisted suicide.
5.3. Limitation of therapeutic effort.
6. Ethics in Scientific Research.
6.1. Scientific research and human subjects.
6.2. Ethical criteria in research with human subjects.
6.3. Informed consent.
7. Ethics and Technology: Technoethics Principles.
7.1. Technology, society and values.
7.2. Technoethics and human life.
7.3. Principles of Technoethics.
8. Ethics and Artificial Intelligence.
8.1. Technology and AI.
8.2. Ethical criteria in AI.
8.3. Ethical problems of AI.
9. Transhumanism: Technology and Human Nature.
9.1. Technology and human nature.
9.2. Therapy vs human enhancement.
9.3. The limits of technology.
10. Ethics and Genetic Engineering.
10.1. Ethics and genetics.
10.2. Gene editing techniques.
10.3. CRISPR-Cas9.
The course is taught in one weekly lesson. The usual dynamics of each session consists of a combination of theoretical explanations based on the discussion and debate on practical cases.
Applied methodologies: master class (1st part of the session), case/problem discussion (2nd part of the session).
Evaluation is based on: exams, participation in class discussions and one group task (a paper).
The following criteria are assessed:
-The conceptual understanding of the foundations of Bioethics.
-The correct application of theoretical concepts to practical cases.
-The rigor and coherence in the development of moral reasoning.
- Clarity and structure in the presentation of procedures and solutions.
-Beauchamp, T. i Childress, J., Principles of Biomedical Ethics, OUP, Oxford, 2019.
-Bilbao, G., Fuertes, J. i Guibert, J., Ética para ingenieros, Desclee, Bilbao, 2006.
-Jonas, H., El principio de responsabilidad, Herder, Barcelona, 1995.
-Rodríguez, A., Ética general, Eunsa, Pamplona, 1998.
Articles, movies, cases and documentaries.