Aims

Starting from the new possibilities offered by the progress made in science, biological and medical techniques, students are asked to distinguish the human, social and political stakes of certain practices and to present an ethical assessment from both a philosophical and a theological point of view.

Main themes

Themes to be taken up include medical experimentation on human beings, organ transplants, medically-assisted procreation and the embryo's status (DPI, ICSI, FIVETE), cloning, prenatal diagnostics, neonatal reanimation, exploring the genome and its medical, social and juridical implications, the neuro-sciences and end-of-life problems (euthanasia, persistence in treatment, palliative medicine).

Content and teaching methods

Having exposed (Part One) the topics for bioethical consideration, given recent biomedical developments , the course proposes (Part Two) discernment criteria for taking up a particular question chosen among themes to be treated (cfr. course descriptions, above)