PHI 237 SOCIAL AND ETHICAL VALUES IN MEDICINE Spring 2022 Monday Wednesday and Friday10 00 10 50 Room Knox 109 Instructor Professor David B Hershenov Office Hours Tuesdays 11 00 am 1 00 pm or by appointment Office Park Hall 123 Email dh25 buffalo edu Head Teaching Assistant TA Noah Kim Office Hours Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 30AM 12 30PM and by appointment Office Park Hall Rm 155 Noah is the TA for students whose last names are found alphabetically from Abilmona through Hayes Email njkim4 buffalo edu Teaching Assistant TA Gloria Sanso Office Hours Wednesdays 11 00 am 1 00 pm Office Park Hall 120 Email gsanso buffalo edu Gloria is the TA for students whose last names are found alphabetically from Hill through Mussenden Teaching Assistant TA Josh Vonderhaar Office Hours Mondays Wednesdays 11 00 pm 12 00 pm Office Park Hall Rm Park 158 Email jvonderh buffalo edu Josh is the TA for students whose last names are found from Mustari through Zheng Learning Outcomes Understanding the role of conscience autonomy and informed consent in medical decisions Understanding how the leading theories of our worth and dignity influence life and death issues Understanding conflicts between one s right to control one s body duties to save another s life Understanding debates about the nature definition and criterion of death Understanding the moral issues involved with procuring and distributing transplantable organs Understanding the arguments for and against creating children through surrogacy Understanding the arguments for rationing resources and mandating vaccinations during an epidemic Understanding the arguments for and against genetic and chemical enhancements Understanding the methodology of moral arguments logic analogies and thought experiments Developing the ability to critically read a philosophy text Developing the ability to write a critical philosophy paper Learning Outcomes Assessment All but the last learning outcome will be assessed through both exams and a paper The last outcome will be assessed solely by grading and commenting upon the paper Email Etiquette I won t open emails without subject headings and may not respond if you don t provide your first and last name in the body of the message Please include Phi 237 in the subject heading Please continue on the same thread so my memory can be refreshed about our previous correspondence I have many students 200 in this class alone so I may not remember your previous email 1 Attendance Requirements Attendance will be taken starting the second week of the course Students are allowed five unexcused absences Excused absences are medical conditions your TA may request a medical note family emergencies and the like Contact your TA not the professor about excused absences Oversleeping work schedules or transportation problems car trouble traffic jams and missed buses do not count as valid excuses Each additional unexcused absence will result in the loss of a point from the student s course average For example if your average score on the tests and papers is a 90 an A grade then with your sixth unexcused absence that number will be reduced to an 89 and you will receive a B rather than an A in the course If you miss a class watch the recorded lecture or read the lecture transcript Both are available on UB Learns under Documents Revoking Attendance Credit TAs reserve the right to revoke attendance credit when students leave right after attendance is taken when it is recorded early in the class or arrive right before attendance is taken when it is recorded later in the class Student may be given either partial or no attendance credit for not attending the entire class TAs may also take away full or partial attendance if students are on cell phone or looking at anything on their computer other than course material or typing in notes Not paying attention during the class violates the spirit of the attendance rule Attendance Questions CONTACT YOUR TA NOT THE PROFESSOR for any queries concerning your attendance records If you believe there is an error in the record keeping or believe you have a justified excuse contact your TA There is no reason to contact the Professor about attendance matters unless you believe you have been treated unfairly by your TA Accessing Assigned Articles All the articles can be found on UB Learns Read every article at least twice once before and once after the lecture Free Expression and Civil Dialogue The topics we will cover will often be controversial and elicit strong feelings Please don t censor yourself or others We re here to discover the truth and convince others of it Arguments and persuasion not appeals to tradition political correctness browbeating and shaming will be the modus operandi of the course That said the pursuit of truth is compatible with civil discourse and charitably interpreting others Also keep in mind that this isn t a psychology course As such we aren t interested in folks motives only the philosophical merits of the principles they use to justify their beliefs Grades Grades will be determined by attendance extra credit discussion posts three tests one paper abstract and one paper The 1st exam is worth 20 of your grade excluding any X credit earned the 2nd and 3rd worth 25 The abstract is worth 5 of your grade excluding any X credit and the paper is worth 25 your grade excluding any X credit Tests Each test will consist of multiple choice questions and true false questions Some of the test questions will be based on material covered only in the lectures that will not be found in the outlines power points or in the readings This is not a correspondence course A practice exam will be distributed two days before the exam It was an actual exam from an earlier semester Translating Test Points into Letter Grades Every 3 3 points is one third of one grade For instance a score from 70 up to and including a 73 3 will be a C a score above 73 3 and up to and including a 76 6 will be awarded a C Scoring above 76 6 but below an 80 will qualify as a C Likewise a grade of a B will be from 80 83 3 and so on 2 Possibility of Curved Tests The exams will not be curved unless half the class has not managed to obtain an 82 B grade If that happens then everyone in the class including students taking makeup tests will receive whatever number of points are needed to get half the class up to the 82 B mark Return of Tests The plan will be to return the tests after a week has elapsed since the taking of the test