Ethics Minor
This program of study will introduce students across the university to general philosophical approaches for thinking more clearly and critically about ethical questions: What should we do in particular situations? What ethical principles should govern our actions? What justifies our actions and ethical principles? Students can also learn how to analyze and respond to ethical questions and problems in specialized contexts: business, governance, the law, the arts, and even sports. For those students interested in better understanding of human ethical behavior in general, there are classes in the Minor that address religion and ethics, evolutionary ethics, and the moral psychology and neuroscience of ethics.
Total 6 courses (18 hours)
Required course (3 hours)
PHL 221 Honors Intro to Ethics/292 Intro to Ethics
3 classes (9 hours) from the following introductory courses:
PHL 223 Medical Ethics
PHL 230 Political Philosophy
PHL 234 Social Philosophy
PHL 240 Philosophy and the Law
PHL 256 Philosophy of Sport (sports ethics)
PHL 293 Environmental Ethics
PHL 294 Business Ethics
2 classes (6 hours) from the following more advanced courses:
PHL 341 Law and Morality
PHL 343 Philosophical Issues in International Law
PHL 381 Philosophy of Religion
PHL 387 Philosophy and Evolution (evolutionary ethics)
PHL 420 Special Studies in Ethics
PHL 422 Neuroethics (neuroscience of moral psychology)
Medical Ethics Minor
The practice of medicine raises many ethical concerns from the beginning of life to the end of life, and relative to abortion, stem cell research, cloning, the allocation of scarce or limited resources, animal experimentation, genetic engineering, patient autonomy, assisted euthanasia, medical enhancement and more. The Medical Ethics Minor will introduce students to these and other ethical issues, questions and problems explicitly raised by the practice of medicine. Additionally, students will also gain an understanding of medical ethics relative to the broader background: how the ways we conceive health and disease affect the practice of medicine; how ethical issues intersect with the law; how conceptions of justice might play a role in the practice of medicine; what role political and economic institutions might play relative to the practice of medicine; what role religion might play in deliberations about medical practice; and how our understanding of psychology and neuroscience might influence ethical deliberation.
Total: 6 courses (18 hours)
Required courses (6 hours)
PHL 221/292 Intro to Ethics
PHL 223 Medical Ethics
2 courses (6 hours) from the following:
PHL 230 Political Philosophy
PHL 234 Social Philosophy
PHL 341 Law and Morality
PHL 381 Philosophy of Religion
2 courses (6 hours) from the following:
PHL 422 Neuroethics
PHL 423 Advanced Seminar in Medical Ethics
PHL 488 Philosophy of Mental Health
PHL 489 Philosophy of Medicine