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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Law : Law

Postgraduate Course: Fundamentals in Bioethics (LAWS11397)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Law CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course serves as a foundation for critical engagement with the core elements of bioethics and of doing bioethics. It will introduce students to three pillars of rigorous bioethical analysis: (i) concepts, (ii) theories, and (iii) robust argumentation. It will equip students with the skills to develop and defend ethical arguments, and to apply these to legal, regulatory and policy issues in health and biomedicine.
Course description At the beginning of this course, students will be introduced to an 'ethical toolbox', outline the importance of the pillar of good bioethical reasoning: (i) the skills of sound argumentation (ii) the importance of conceptual clarity (iii) the relevance and limitations of ethical theory.

The following nine weeks will explore several key areas in bioethics, as outlined below. Each week will be an opportunity to engage with the various aspect of bioethical reasoning. Topics will include:

- Who matters? The significance of moral status
Examining the question of what kinds of beings are the proper object of moral concern and introducing the concept of personhood.

- What makes human life worth living?
Comparing a range of accounts that seek to characterise what wellbeing or a worthwhile life consist in and highlighting the different perspectives from which this question may be approached.

- Introducing theories about what makes something good or right
Introducing the core precepts of the most prominent ethical theories (e.g. utilitarianism, deontology etc.) and critically engaging with the limits of the use of theory in practical bioethics

- A moral difference between acts and omissions?
Exploring whether there is a moral distinction between acting and refraining from acting in the context of health care.

- Why worry about justice and inequality?
In what ways do questions of justice apply to ethical questions arising in various areas of health care, research and public health?

- Fairness and justice in health
Exploring the ways in which we might approach questions of fairness in health care and in access to health, with the help of key theoretical approaches.

- What is autonomy and does it matter?
Introduction to theories of autonomy and the limitations of autonomy as a guiding principle

- To what extent am I my body?
Encouraging students to think critically about the ways in which we are and are not our bodies, and the extent to which a worthwhile life or good outcomes are synonymous preserving a healthy or normal body.

- Beyond the person
Broadening our ethical lens beyond individuals to think about collectives, structures and power in the context of health.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites Students MUST also take: Fundamental Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (LAWS11328) AND Contemporary Issues in Medical Jurisprudence (LAWS11329)
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  25
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 20, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 176 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) This course will be assessed by means of a 4000 word essay, which is worth 100% of the overall course mark.
Feedback Students will have the opportunity to obtain formative feedback over the course of the semester. The feedback provided will assist students in their preparation for the summative assessment.

Feedback on the formative assessment may be provided in various formats, for example, to include written, oral, video, face-to-face, whole class, or individual. The course organiser will decide which format is most appropriate in relation to the nature of the assessment.

Feedback on both formative and summative in-course assessed work will be provided in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course.

Feedback on the summative assessment will be provided in written form via Learn, the University of Edinburgh's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate critical understanding of the principal concepts, theories, and methods of bioethical reasoning and argumentation.
  2. Identify, conceptualise and analyse ethical problems and issues.
  3. Deal with complex issues and make informed judgements in situations characterised by dilemmas and plurality of values.
  4. Communicate ethical ideas and positions, appropriately and effectively, using a variety of methods, and to arrange of audiences, considering the complex and sensitive nature of many bioethical topics.
Reading List
Core texts will include chapters from:

Hope, R. A., Tony Hope, Julian Savulescu, and Judith Hendrick. Medical ethics and law: the core curriculum. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2008.

Kuhse, H., & Singer, P. (Eds.). (2010). 'A companion to bioethics: second edition'. John Wiley & Sons. (Available as an e-book from University of Edinburgh library.)

Kuhse H , Schueklenk U and Singer P. 2010, 'Bioethics: An Anthology', Wiley Blackwell. (Available as an e-book from University of Edinburgh library.)

Rachels, J. The Elements of Moral Philosophy (4th ed.), McGraw-Hill, Boston 2003.

Ashcroft, Richard Edmund, Angus Dawson, Heather Draper, and John McMillan, eds. Principles of health care ethics. John Wiley & Sons, 2007. (not available as an e-book).
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Upon the completion of this course, students will be able to:

- Deal with complex issues and make informed judgements in situations characterised by dilemmas and
plurality of values.

- Identify, conceptualise and analyse ethical problems and issues.

- Communicate ethical ideas and positions, appropriately and effectively, using a variety of methods, and to a range of audiences, taking into account the complex and sensitive nature of many bioethical topics.
KeywordsEthics,Bioethics,Level 11,Postgraduate,LLM,Medical Law,Medical Ethics
Contacts
Course organiserDr Agomoni Ganguli Mitra
Tel:
Email: Agomoni.Ganguli-Mitra@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Bethan Walters
Tel: (0131 6)50 2386
Email: bethan.walters@ed.ac.uk
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