Friday, May 6, 2011

Final Exam

Just a reminder: the final exam is Wednesday, May 11th at our normal class time.  One change, though: it's being held in Madison 311, NOT our normal classroom.

OK, One: Napping

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Assisted Dying

Here are a few links on euthanasia:
VERY Active Euthanasia

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Infants

Here are some links related to our class section on the ethics of treating infants with severe impairments:

Monday, April 25, 2011

Persennhood

Here are some links related to our ongoing discussion of the the moral status of persons:
Obligatory 42 Reference

Friday, April 22, 2011

Abortion

Here are some links related to our class discussions on the ethics of abortion:
Listen to Classical Music If You Want to SEEM Smart

Friday, April 15, 2011

Extra Credit: Buchanan's Article

Here is the extra credit assignment on the Allen Buchanan article (pgs. 525-529) that I mentioned at the end of class this week.  Answer each of these three questions:
1. How does Buchanan define a “moral right” to a decent minimum of health care? (pg. 526)  Explain his definition in your own words.
2. In your own words, explain the reasons Buchanan gives for thinking that:
-many current U.S. citizens deserve access to basic health care (3 reasons on pg. 527); and
-the U.S. government should require all citizens to contribute to our health system. (pgs. 528-29)
3. In one sentence, summarize the main point (conclusion) of Buchanan’s article.
This is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, April 20th. 

A LolDog Will Do When a LolCat Isn't Available

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Selling Organs?

Get Your Freak On
The authors of Freakonomics wrote an interesting article that touches on a few things we discussed in class last week.  In the article, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner argue that one of the big reasons that it's illegal to sell human organs for transplants in the U.S. is that it simply strikes most of us as repugnant.  Shades of Leon Kass!

They argue, however, that repugnance isn't a good enough reason to object to a practice.  Further, they suggest that opening up an organ market would create an incentive for many to give up their healthy organs.  This, in turn, would lead to a larger supply of organs.
 
Levitt and Dubner wrote a sequel to their book with the cool title SuperFreakonomics.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Test Reminder

Just a reminder that we're having a test at the beginning of class on April 13th.  It's worth 15% of your overall grade, and will cover everything we've studied since I took over class on March 9th:
  • Utilitarianism (John Stuart Mill)
  • Kant's Ethics (Immanuel Kant)
  • Race and Gender (Susan Sherwin and Annette Dula readings)
  • Stem-Cell Research (President's Council on Bioethics, Pontifical Academy, and Michael Sandel readings)
  • Genetic Screening for Disabilities (Jeff McMahan and Dena Davis readings)
  • Homosexual Parenting (Gillian Hanscombe reading)
  • Cloning (Leon Kass and Carson Strong readings)
  • Scarce Medical Resources (George Annas reading)
You will have about 50 minutes to take the test.  The format of the test will be mostly a mix of multiple choice questions and short answer questions. There will also be one 2-paragraph essay question, and one or two extra credit questions.

Theatrical Mathematics

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Lesbian Parenting

Since donor insemination first became popular in the U.S. in the 1980's, there was a bit of a baby boom among lesbian parents at that time. As a result, there are some long-term studies that have been wrapping up lately on the effects of being raised by parents who are lesbians. For instance, it seems that child abuse is much less likely to occur in a lesbian household. Other studies can be found here and here.

Also, one of my favorite movies of last year, The Kids Are All Right, is a comedy about a lesbian couple with two children who seek out their sperm-donating biological father. Here's the trailer: