EPM5020

Comparative moral theory and ethics ( 6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL)

Leader: Dr P Bilimoria & Dr G Petterson

Offered:
Not offered in 2006.

Synopsis: This unit will provide a comparative cultural background within which students are better able to contextualise bioethical debates and provide a basic understanding of ethical theory, as a foundation for studies in bioethics. Different models of ethical theory and reasoning discussed. Various cultural and religious traditions explored with particular emphasis on Asia Pacific region and Western thinking. Focus on meta-ethics issues and the three main traditional perspectives in normative ethics and examines key problems for these approaches.

Objectives: On completion of this unit students should be able to: 1. understand the nature and role of ethics and values in society, particularly in a multicultural context; 2. appreciate the different theories on moral thinking and ethics that have historically developed in East and West (i.e. from a cross-cultural and global perspective); 3 demonstrate their skills to think through common moral dilemmas and familiar issues through a variety of competing ethical theories and frameworks, and ways of problematising moral positions on specific practices; 4. apply this thinking in a particular practical context of medical practice - e.g. the doctor-patient relationship, principalism, consent , autonomy, invasive processes, etc - in contexts where religions and ethnic-cultural background determine the patient's and community's moral repertoire; and 5. Debate and resolve challenging issues in bioethics in imagined and real-life situations in a morally and culturally diversified milieu (e.g. would either a suggested abortion or euthanasia be acceptable to a Muslim family, without giving offence to orthodox Islamic moral principles?) By the end of their studies students will have acquired the ability to assess critically and apply a range of moral frameworks and methodological approaches in dealing with issues in the discourses of medicine, health care and bioethics.

Homepage: www.med.monash.edu.au/epidemiology/postgrad/

Assessment: Two written assignments + In-class presentation

Contact Hours: 2 contact hours per week