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PHIL 371 course cover

Philosophy (PHIL) 371
Ethics, Science, Technology, and the Environment (Revision 2)

Delivery mode: Individualized study or grouped study.
Video component*.
*Overseas students, please contact the University Library before registering in a course that has an audio/visual component.

Credits: 3 - Humanities

Prerequisite: PHIL 252 and one university-level science course are recommended but not required.

Centre: Centre for Global and Social Analysis

PHIL 371 has a Challenge for Credit option.

Overview

This course provides an introduction to the special ethical problems and issues associated with science, scientific research, applied science, and technology. For example, should research be conducted on animals, and if so, under what conditions? What ethical issues arise as a result of our increasing use of computers?

Why should students study ethical issues in science and technology? One reason is that several recent scientific developments such as cloning and genetic engineering of plants and animals have raised pressing ethical issues. Many universities and research funding agencies have determined that science and technology majors should increase their awareness of the ethical issues they are likely to face in their careers and have made courses such as this one mandatory. As well, many members of the public wish to increase their understanding of current debates about ethical issues in biotechnology and other areas of science that will affect their lives and well-being.

The reasons for studying ethical issues in science and technology extend beyond current controversies to the pervasive influence of science and technology in our lives. Thus, we will focus in this course not only on current issues, but on long-standing debates and deeper questions about why ethical issues continue to arise in science and technology. For example, some people argue that our attitude toward the natural environment as a resource to be dominated and exploited is at the root of these issues. This course will not provide easy answers to the questions we will raise, but it will provide students with concepts and methods for thinking about them systematically and coherently, and for developing justifiable positions about them.

Outline

Part I: Foundational Issues

Unit 1: Introduction: Ethical Aspects of Science and Technology

Unit 2: Ethics and Moral Reasoning

Part II: Social Responsibilities of Scientists

Unit 3: Research Ethics

Unit 4: Individual and Collective Responsibility

Part III: Specific Issues

Unit 5: Issues in Bioethics

Unit 6: Ethical Issues in Computing and Informations Systems

Unit 7: Ethics and Military Technology

Part IV: Environmental Ethics

Unit 8: Environmental Ethics I: Causes

Unit 9: Environmental Ethics II: The Role of Science and Technology

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Evaluation

To receive credit for PHIL 371, you must submit every piece of written work and achieve a course composite mark of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite mark is as follows:

Tutor-marked Exercise Essay or Case Study Final Exam Total
20% 40% 40% 100%

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

The course materials include a study guide, a student manual, and a reader.

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