Ethical Issues in Healthcare - Introduction Lecture

Instructor and Course Details

Professor: Dr. Jada Tweet Strabing (call as Professor Strabing or Dr. Strabing)
TAs: Dominic Colaluca and Lian Raz
- First contact for grading or technical issues.
- Open for discussions about course material.
- Reach out for extensions or personal issues affecting coursework.

What is Philosophy?
- Philosophy is an activity involving systematic, rigorous questioning and argumentation about fundamental questions concerning humans and the world.
- It's about supporting beliefs with reason and argument, not just opinion.
Key Aspects of Philosophical Inquiry:
- Philosophize about any subject (e.g., science, knowledge, reality, morality).
- Examples include questions about existence of God, nature of reality, or ethics.

Branches of Moral Philosophy:
- Metaethics:
  - Examines the nature and meaning of moral terms and judgments.
  - Questions about morality's objectivity and justification.
- Normative Ethics:
  - Discusses theories on what makes actions right or wrong (e.g., consequentialism, deontology).
  - Consequentialism focuses on outcomes, utilitarianism focuses on happiness.
- Applied Ethics:
  - Practical ethical questions, such as in healthcare.
  - Topics include abortion, euthanasia, genetic modification, informed consent, truth-telling by doctors, medical research ethics, and COVID-19 ethics.

Philosophy is challenging; expect to read articles twice:
1. First pass: get the big picture.
2. Second pass: focus on details.
Identify the author's thesis and arguments.
Look for key signposts in the text to understand main points and arguments.

Definition of Philosophy:
- Rational inquiry addressing fundamental human matters, transcending science.
Philosophical Questions Related to COVID-19:
- Allocation of scarce resources (ventilators).
- Justification of government lockdowns.
- Determining trustworthy sources of information.
- The course will discuss resource allocation ethics.

Textbook: No required textbook; articles provided as PDFs on Canvas.
Reading Quizzes:
- Two articles weekly, with quizzes due Sunday at midnight.
- Quizzes open after readings; lectures open after quizzes.
- Opportunity to retake quizzes post-lecture viewing.
Exams and Grading:
- Midterm and final exams, each 25% of grade, non-cumulative.
- Exams include multiple-choice and essay sections.
- Essay questions provided in advance.
Discussion Board Posts:
- Required per course topic, not weekly.
- Original post and reply on different case studies.