PHILOSOPHY 550: BIOETHICS AND
LIFE SCIENCE RESEARCH
Spring 2007, Iowa State
University
Clark
Wolf, Instructor.
435
Catt Hall, jwcwolf@iastate.edu
294-3068
Office Hours: MWF 12:00-1:00
This
Site Under Construction! Sorry for Incompleteness.
Course
Website: http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Ejwcwolf/ClassSyllabi/550S07SYLL.HTM
Note about the
Course: This course is under
development in coordination with the NSF Funded program supporting work
on
research ethics in Land Grant Universities.
[LANGURE: ‘Land
Grant University
Research Ethics]. You can access the LANGURE website at:
http://www.chass.ncsu.edu/langure/ While this course will cover major
subject
areas specified in the LANGURE program, we will adjust the course
schedule so
that it appropriately meets the needs and interests of class
participants. In particular, we will not
focus exclusively
on issues in the responsible conduct of research, but will more broadly
consider
bioethical issues involved in biotechnology and life sciences.
Required Texts and
Sources:
1) Rollin, B. 2006. Ethics
and Science. NY: Cambridge University
Press. (Note:
Rollin’s book is not
at the bookstore. You will need to order
it at Amazon.com or from some other source.)
2) Other required readings will be available
online at: http://www.public.iastate.edu/%7Ejwcwolf/ClassSyllabi/550S07SYLL.HTM
3) Students should also find resources at the
LANGURE
site: www.chass.ncsu.edu/ethics/langure/Corecourse.htm
Credit Hours,
Grading, Attendance, Punctuality: 1
credit, S/U grading. Attendance is mandatory, and punctuality is
strongly
encouraged. To receive a passing grade, the student must have no
unexcused
absences, complete all assignments on time and participate
significantly in
class discussions.
Prerequisites: Graduate
standing. Other students may
enroll with consent of instructor.
Format: The
course will be structured as a seminar including some presentation, but
significant class discussion.
Reading Synopses:
For each assigned reading, students should
turn in a brief but thoughtful synopsis before the beginning of the
assigned
class period. For some readings, students will also be asked to respond
with
short responses to one or more questions related to the reading in
addition to
a synopsis. In general, a synopsis might
be no more than a short paragraph long, but should demonstrate a
thoughtful
understanding of the reading in question.
Reading synopses should not be handwritten. Recommended readings
can be
used as supplemental material for the reading synopsis but the assigned
readings are the focus for these reflections.
Students with
Disabilities: If you have a disability and anticipate needing
accommodations in this course, please make arrangements to meet with me
during
the first two weeks of class. I will
gladly make any reasonable accommodations.
Please contact a staff member from Disability Resources for help
filing
a SAAR form specificying the
accommodation you
will need.
Learning objectives :
The purpose of this course is to help
students understand the policies regulating research and the ethical
principles
on which these policies are based, and more broadly to provide students
an
opportunity to think about ethical issues involved in life science
research. Students will gain
familiarity with common
ethical theories and principled used to evaluate research and
technology, and
will gain some familiarity with
After completing this
course, students should have the ability to explain: (From
LANGURE)
1) The
research mission of land grant universities;
2) Ethical principles supporting
research policies;
(a)
What is ethics? Interests, harms, choices, customs, science, law, prof.
codes;
(b)
Basic ethical principles and their justifications;
(c)
A method for analyzing ethical arguments and making decisions;
3) Policies regulating research;
(a)
Mentoring, and under-represented minorities and women in research;
(b)
Use of humans in research;
(c)
Use of animals in research;
(d)
Research misconduct, and appropriate responses, including
whistleblowing;
(e)
Authorship and peer review;
(f)
Intellectual property;
(g)
Conflicts of interest and commitment; collaborative research;
(h)
Proper experimental design, data collection, and statistical
interpretation;
4) The importance of life-long
learning (ability to find updated information on policies).
Useful Web Resources:
ISU Bioethics Program Website: http://www.iastate.edu/~ethics/
LANGURE core course: http://chasss.ncsu.edu/ethics/langure/Corecourse.htm
NC State Ethics Program: www.chasss.ncsu.edu/ethics
Ethics Updates: http://ethics.sandiego.edu/index.html
Ethics Center
for Engineering
& Science: http://onlineethics.org/reseth/index.html
Preliminary Schedule of Topics:
NOTE: The
schedule of topics given below is
substantially taken from the format developed for the LANGURE program. We will take some time on 22 January to
discuss how we might adjust this format to insure that the course will
cover
the most relevant and interesting issues.
Topics Identified in
the LANGURE program:
Ethical Principles, Professional Codes, and the Practice of
Life Science Research
Utilitarianism
and moral Rights
Egoism,
Virtues, and Ethical Theory
A
method
for making ethical decisions
The Research Mission of Land Grant Universities
Mentoring
Women and under-Represented Groups
Intellectual Property
Conflicts of Interest in the Research Process
Experimental Design and Statistical Interpretation
Research Misconduct
Authorship and Peer Review
The use of humans as research subjects
The use of animals as research subjects
Lifelong Learning
CLASS SCHEDULE: First
Class Meetings
I. First Meeting, 8
January: Introduction to the Course, Introduction to Ethics
(Introduction to the course, Blogs cases,
introduction to
ethical principles and reasoning.)
II. 2nd Meeting:
22 January: Ethical Theory.
Reading Assignment: Rollin,
Chapters 2,3.
III. 3rd
Meeting, 29 January: Research Ethics and
Ethical Theory
Reading Assignment:
(1)
Rollin, Ch.
10.
(2)
Comstock, Ethical
Principles and their Justification (Web link)
IV. 4th Meeting: Research Ethics
Reading Assignment: Please
read the
article I passed out in class. No additional reading
assignment for Monday.
V. 5th Meeting: 12 February
Stem Cells, Genetic
Engineering, and Other Controversial Research
Reading:
Rollin, Ch.
6
VI. 6th Meeting:
19 February Golden Rice Case Study
Weblink
to Case Study
VII. 7th Meeting:
26 February Ethics and Biotechnology
Reading:
Rollin, Ch.
7
VIII. 8th Meeting:
5 March Stem Cell Case Study
Reading:
Weblink
to Stem Cell Case Study
SPRING BREAK
IX. 9th Meeting:
19 March Ethics and Biotechnology: Further Issues
Reading:
Rollin, Ch.
8
X. 10th Meeting:
26 March Use of Animals in Research
Reading:
Rollin, Ch.
5
XI. 11th Meeting:
2 April Precautionary Principle and
Research Ethics
Reading:
Weblink, Stephen Stitch, “The
Recombinant DNA Debate.”
XII. 12th Meeting:
9 April Intellectual
Property
Group
Assignments for Schmeiser Case Study: Please read the materials
associated with your assigned group in the case study
under the link below. Come to
class prepared to argue for your group's view of this case.
Monsanto v.
Schmeiser Case Study
XIII. 13th
Meeting: 16 April Intellectual Property
Reading: Magnus,
"Biopiracy and Agricultural Biotechnology"
XIV. 14th Meeting:
23 April
Last Assignment: Please
write a page or so telling me (1) what features of this course were
good and should be repeated, (2) what features of
this course were less than ideal
and might be changed or improved, (3) what topics were not covered that
would have been especially useful or
interesting to you (4) what
topics were covered that might be omitted without much loss.