OVERVIEW

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.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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.
- Acquire greater ability to manage one's social interactions with a collaborative attitude, constructive communication and dialogical skills.
- Demonstrate work autonomy, ability to handle primary literature, argumentative skills and collaborative attitude, coordination and negotiation.

PREREQUISITES

The course requires previous basic knowledge of the main concepts in the philosophy of science and moral philosophy.

TEACHING METHODS

The first part of the course consists of lectures using slides and during which debate and discussion will always be encouraged. In the second part, attending students are required to orally present and critically discuss a paper provided by the lecturers that explores one of the topics covered; these papers may also be conducted in small groups.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

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.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students: articles provided during classes

Non attending students

One book among the following:

• Martha J. Farah, Neuroethics: An Introduction with Readings, MIT Press 2010.
• L. May, M. Friedman, A. Clark, Mind and Morals: Essays on Ethics and Cognitive Science, MIT Press 1996.

One book among the following:

• H. Douglas, The Rightful Place of Science: Science, Values, and Democracy, Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, 2021.
• H. Longino, Science as Social Knowledge: Values and Objectivity in Scientific Inquiry, Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1990.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARIA SILVIA VACCAREZZA (President)

MARIA CRISTINA AMORETTI (President Substitute)

MICHEL CROCE (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

27 September 2023

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Attending students: one in-class presentation and one written paper related to one of the articles discussed in the course.

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.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Attending students

In-class presentation + written paper

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).

Final evaluation will consist of the average of grades between in-class presentation and written paper.

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.

Exam schedule