The course provides students with an advanced overview of the main relationships that exist between the various sciences, the philosophy of science, and contemporary ethical and metaethical reflection.
The aim of the course is to provide students with an advanced overview of the main relationships that exist between the various sciences and contemporary ethical and metaethical reflection in order to understand how evaluative and factual issues are often inseparable. Particular attention will also be given to the epistemological and ethical implications of specific clinical cases.
The aims of the course are to:
- Consolidate the epistemological and ethical issues learned during the three-year course, as well as the conceptual and terminological apparatus necessary to be able to argue rigorously and clearly about problems at the intersection of ethics and science. - Critically address the major relationships between the various sciences and current ethical and metaethical reflections. - Deepen the issues addressed by the main disciplines involved in the debate between ethics and science, as well as their impact on more general philosophical reflection.
The main expected learning outcomes are:
- To master the advanced concepts and methods of contemporary ethics, moral psychology and philosophy of science. - To know how to argue critically using these tools, as well as to apply them in the discussion of novel ethical and scientific problems. - To know how to approach, understand, explain and synthesize some advanced texts in moral philosophy and philosophy of science, as well as properly use their specific technical language.
The course requires previous basic knowledge of the main concepts in the philosophy of science and moral philosophy.
The first part of the course consists of lectures using slides. In the second part, attending students are required to orally present and critically discuss an article provided by the lecturers that delves into one of the topics covered.
The ethics of science, the science of ethics
This course aims to present the main points of contact between science and ethical issues, in the dual sense of "ethics of science" and "science of ethics." In the first part, the course will discuss the ideal of the avalutativity of science and how various value issues fit within scientific practice; in the second, it will show the contribution made to ethics by various scientific disciplines, such as cognitive and social psychology, evolutionary biology, and neuroscience.
Attending students: articles provided during classes
Non attending students
One book among the following:
Ricevimento: On appointment
Ricevimento: Monday 3pm-5pm (by prior appointment)
MARIA SILVIA VACCAREZZA (President)
MARIA CRISTINA AMORETTI (President Substitute)
MICHEL CROCE (Substitute)
17 October 2022
Attending students: one in-class presentation and one written paper related to one of the articles discussed in the course [OR: one in-class presentation related to one of the articles discussed in the course and oral examination covering the remaining articles].
Non-attending students: oral examination focusing on the two volumes chosen from those in the bibliography.
NB: Non-attending students are requested to contact the lecturers to discuss the syllabus well in advance of the exam.
Attending students
In-class presentation + written paper [OR: In-class presentation + oral examination]
The in-class presentation will be evaluated in thirtieths taking into account: content understanding (up to 10 points), argumentative ability (up to 10 points), and expressive correctness (up to 10 points).
The written paper will be evaluated in thirtieths taking into account: argumentative ability (up to 20 points) and linguistic correctness (up to 10 points). [OR: The oral examination will consist of a question on the course topics, in which the achievement of the training objectives and learning outcomes will be ascertained].
Final evaluation will consist of the average of grades between in-class presentation and written paper. [OR between in-class presentation and oral examination.]
Non-attending students
Oral examination.
The oral examination will consist of a question on the course topics, in which the achievement of the training objectives and learning outcomes will be ascertained.
