PHI210: Practical Ethics

This unit focuses on philosophical debates concerning contemporary social and ethical issues, such as euthanasia, abortion, surrogacy, genetic testing, cloning, free speech, censorship and environmental ethics. The discussion of these topics is structured around key philosophical concepts including: The boundaries of life and death; Notions of harm; Conceptions of autonomy and freedom; The body and the person and Discrimination. Although there are scientific, technological, legal, political and religious dimensions to these issues, this unit will highlight the philosophical aspect and provide a critical comparison of a number of different philosophical approaches to them.