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PHIL 371: Ethics in Science and Technology (Rev. 4 & 5) Report a Broken Link

Philosophy 371: Ethics in Science and Technology is a senior-level, three-credit course that introduces ethical problems and issues associated with science, scientific research, applied science, and technology.

Unit 1: Introducing Ethics in Science and Technology

Franklin, Ursula. The Real Word of Technology. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, 2004 (pp. 1–26).
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research. Washington, D.C.: The National Academy Press, 2009.

You can access the specific pages for this link by entering the page numbers in the search box near the top of the webpage:

  • Preface in “Front Matter” (pages ix–xii)
  • “Introduction to the Responsible Conduct of Research (pages 1–3)
  • “The Treatment of Data” (pages 8–11)
  • “Competing Interests, Commitments, and Values” (pages 43–47)
Stevenson, Leslie. “Is Scientific Research Value-Neutral?” Inquiry 32, no. 2 (1989): 213–222.

Unit 2: Ethics and Moral Reasoning

Callahan, Joan C. “Chapter 1: Basics and Background.” In Ethical Issues in Professional Life, edited by Joan C. Callahan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. 3–25.

Unit 3: Research Ethics: Human and Animal Experimentation

Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy.  “Human Participants and Animals Subjects in Research.” In On Being a Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research, 2009. 23–25.
Roy, David J., John R. Williams, and Bernard M. Dickens. “Research Ethics: Historical Background.” In Bioethics in Canada. Pp 322-332, 334-338. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall, 1994.
Canadian Council on Animal Care, “Appendix XV: Ethics of Animal Investigation.” pp. 199–200.
Singer, Peter. "All Animals Are Equal. . ." In Animal Liberation. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.
Singer, Peter. "Tools for Research." In Animal Liberation. New York: HarperCollins, 2009.

Unit 4: Professional Responsibility and Whistle-Blowing

Brunk, Conrad, G. “Professionalism and Responsibility in the Technological Society.” The Conrad Grebel Review, 3 no. 2. 1985, 133–153.
James, Gene. “Whistle-Blowing: Its Moral Justification.” In Business Ethics: Readings and Cases in Corporate Morality. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.
Boisjoly, Russell P., Ellen Foster Curtis, and Eugene Mellican, “Roger Boisjoly and the Challenger Disaster: The Ethical Dimensions.” Journal of Business Ethics, 8, no. 4, 217–230.

Unit 5: Bio-engineering and Nanotechnology

Government of Canada. Assisted Human Reproduction Act (Sections 1–5; 8; 10–11)

(Read Sections 1–5, 8, and 10–11.)

Bowring, Finn. “Therapeutic and Reproductive Cloning: A Critique.” Social Science and Medicine 58, no. 2 (January 2004): 401–409.
Diprose, Rosalyn. “A Genethics that Makes Sense: Take Two.” In Ethics of the Body. Edited by Margrit Shildrick and Roxanne Mykitiuk. Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2005.
Moor, James, and John Weckert. “Nanoethics: Assessing the Nanoscale from an Ethical Point of View.” In Discovering the Nanoscale. Edited by D. Baird, A. Nordmann, and J. Schummer. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2004.
Bennett-Woods, Deb. “Case Presentation: NBIC and Human Enhancement.” Nanotechnology: Ethics and Society. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2008.

Unit 6 Computer Ethics and Machine Ethics

Fried, Charles. “Privacy: A Rational Context.” An Anatomy of Values. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970. 137–152.
Callahan, Joan C. “Chapter 1: Basics and Background.” In Ethical Issues in Professional Life, edited by Joan C. Callahan. New Tork: Oxford University Press, 1988. 19–20.
Anderson, Michael, and Susan Leigh Anderson. “Machine Ethics: Creating an Ethical Intelligent Agent.” AI Magazine, 28, no 4, 2007.

Unit 7: Military Technology and Ethics

Singer, P.W., “Military Robots and the Laws of War.” The New Atlantis, 23. Winter, 2009. 25–45.
Kipphardt, Heinar. "Act 1, Scene 1." In The Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer. New York: Hill and Wang, 1968.

Unit 8: Technology and Humanity

Andrew-Gee, Eric. “Your Smartphone is Making You Stupid, Anti-Social, and Unhealthy: So Why Can’t You Put It Down?” Globe and Mail (April 10, 2018).
Thomas, Laurence. “Friendship in the Shadow of Technology.” Morality and Moral Controversies. Victoria, BC: Abebooks (forthcoming).
Sherry Turkle, Ted Talk “Connected, but alone?” tedtalks.com