Philosophy (PHIL) 333

Overview

PHIL 333 provides an introduction to the special ethical problems and issues that arise for practitioners of professions. For example, what does it mean to identify oneself as a professional? What moral qualities should professionals bring to their practice? Can one's moral judgements as a professional conflict with those one would make as a private citizen? How should the interests of the professional, the client, and the larger community be balanced? What are the special moral problems of conducting a professional practice in a multicultural setting? Students will develop their own ability to recognise moral aspects of professional practice, to analyse concepts and issues in professional ethics, and to develop and defend their own positions on a variety of issues.

Outline

Part I: Conceptual and Foundational Issues

Unit 1: Introduction: Professions

Unit 2: Ethics and Professional Ethics

Unit 3: Rights and Responsibilities of Professionals I: Occupational and Ordinary Morality

Unit 4: Rights and Responsibilities of Professionals II: The Relationship between Professional and Client

Part II: Recurring Moral Problems

Unit 5: Deception

Unit 6: Informed Consent

Unit 7: Privacy and Confidentiality

Part III: Professional Responsibility

Unit 8: Individual and Collective Responsibility

Unit 9: Social Responsibility I: The Right to Strike and Whistle Blowing

Unit 10: Social Responsibility II: Justice

Unit 11: Regulation, Training, and Codes of Ethics for Professionals

Evaluation

To receive credit for PHIL 333, you must complete all assignments and achieve a course composite grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

Exercise	Essay	Case Study	Total
20%	40%	40%	100%

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