Ethics of the Beginning and End of Life

Programme details

To begin with, we will consider ethical questions about the creation of new life, whether through natural reproduction, through In Vitro Fertilisation, or even the creation of new life forms in the laboratory.

When does life begin, and what are the arguments for and against abortion and embryo destruction? We will then discuss possible ethical limits to human intervention in the reproductive process.

For example, is it wrong to ‘play God’ or should we pursue stem cell research and create new synthetic life forms? Turning then to the end of life, we shall analyse the concept of death, and review the legal shift to a ‘brain death’ definition of death, including criticism of this shift and extension to cortical brain death. We shall then consider the value of life, and what underlies death’s badness. We shall consider the role of religious doctrines in medical ethics and the sense (if any) in which human life can be said to be sacred. Against this background, we shall next turn to examine controversies relating to euthanasia and assisted suicide, organ donation and the vegetative state. 

Accommodation

Accommodation is available at the Rewley House Residential Centre, within the Department for Continuing Education, in central Oxford. The comfortable, en-suite, study-bedrooms have been rated as 4-Star Campus accommodation under the Quality In Tourism scheme, and come with tea- and coffee-making facilities, free Wi-Fi access and Freeview TV. Guests can take advantage of the excellent dining facilities and common room bar, where they may relax and network with others on the programme

Bed and breakfast accommodation at other University colleges can also be booked on the Oxford Rooms website.

IT requirements

Please ensure that you have access to a computer that meets the specification detailed here:
http://onlinesupport.conted.ox.ac.uk/technicalsupport/yourcomputer.php.

Fees

Fees to be confirmed

Tutors

Professor Julian Savulescu

Module lead

Professor Julian Savulescu has held the Uehiro Chair in Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford since 2002. He holds degrees in medicine, neuroscience and bioethics. He is the Director of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics within the Faculty of Philosophy. He is Director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics, which is one of three strategic centres in biomedical ethics in the UK funded by the Wellcome Trust. In 2014, he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator award to work on Responsibility and Health Care. He is also Director of the Institute for Science and Ethics within the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford, where he examines the ethical implications of technology affecting the mind, as well as leading an interdisciplinary programme on collective responsibility for infectious disease. In 2017, he will establish the interdisciplinary Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities with co-Directors in Public Health, Psychiatry and History.
Professor Savulescu is a leader in medical and practical ethics. He is Editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, the highest impact journal in the field, and founding editor of Journal of Practical Ethics, an open access journal in Practical Ethics.  He is the Sir Louis Matheson Distinguished Visiting Professor at Monash University and the Honorary Professorial Fellow at the Florey Neuroscience Institutes. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bucharest in 2014.

Dr Guy Kahane

Module lead

Dr Guy Kahane is the Director of Studies at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics and Deputy Director of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics. He is also a Fellow and Tutor in Philosophy in Pembroke College, Oxford and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford. Kahane joined the Uehiro Centre as research fellow in 2005, and held a Wellcome Trust University Award in Biomedical Ethics from 2009 to 2014. Kahane is the author of over 70 papers on practical ethics, the psychology and neuroscience of morality, and on other topics in moral philosophy. He was associate editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, and is currently an associate editor of the Journal of Practical Ethics.

Teaching methods

This course consists of an intensive teaching week in Oxford to include lectures, seminars, discussion groups and student presentations.

The teaching week will be fully supported online via a Virtual Learning Environment to include essential readings, texts and online lectures. Students can continue discussions when away from Oxford using the online forums.

Students will also have access to:

• Oxford's Libraries online learning resources

• Facilities available at the Department for Continuing Education:
  • Graduate Room with study space, printing facilities, lockers and refreshments
  • Library 
  • Computer resource room
  • Common room and bar
  • Dining room

Assessment methods

Assessment for each module will be based on a written assignment, which shall not be of more than 3,500 words.

This course can be taken with or without academic credit. All participants who satisfy the course requirements will receive a Certificate of Attendance. Those opting to take the course for credit and successfully complete an assignment will also receive 20 CATS points at FHEQ Level 7 (postgraduate). Credit points are recognised by many employers and universities in the UK and internationally.

Application

This module can be taken as part of the MSt in Practical Ethics, or as a stand-alone short course. 

Short course applications

This module will next run in 2019-20 and is not yet open for applications. Please register an interest to take this module as a short course and receive notification when it is open for applications.

MSt in Practical Ethics applications

Please follow the application guidelines on the MSt in Practical Ethics page.

Selection criteria

• Applicants are normally expected to be predicted or have achieved a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree with honours (or equivalent international qualifications), as a minimum, in any subject.
• However, in the absence of an appropriate undergraduate degree, sufficient relevant professional experience and/or other educational attainment may be considered as evidence of suitability in some circumstances.
• For applicants with a degree from the USA, the minimum GPA normally sought is 3.6 out of 4.0.
• Applicants will need to have a good working knowledge of email, internet, word processing and Windows applications (for communications with course members, course team and administration).
• Where applicable, applicants will need to provide evidence of proficiency in English at the higher level required by the University.

If you hold non-UK qualifications and wish to check how your qualifications match these requirements, you can contact the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom (UK NARIC).