Description: Bioethics is a relatively new field emerging from developments within medicine, biology, and biotechnology. Almost daily, media attention is focused on some particular problem, application or breakthrough science that inevitably raises as many problems as it solves.

The objective of the course is to give the PhD students a broader base to discuss and analyse the ethical problems they meet through their scientific work. The focus of the course will be on ethics relevant for people conducting experiments with human subjects or animals.
The course will consist of a series of invited lectures from experts in the field and discussions on essays or case stories outlining ethical issues, or issues related to the PhD student’s own research. The topics covered will include; 1) introduction to ethical theories and principles from a philosophical viewpoint, 2) the ethics of animal experimentation from a philosophical and a practical viewpoint, 3) the ethics of conducting experiments with human from a philosophical and a practical viewpoint.

Literature
Beginning bioethics by Aron Ridley, St. Martin's press Inc. 1998
The animal ethics reader, edited by Susan J Armstrong and Richard G Botzler, Routledge 2003

Prerequisites
During the course we will specifically work towards increasing the PhD student’s ability to identify, reflect on and analyse ethical problems and issues in writing ethical applications for conducting animal or human experiments. Therefore, it is important that PhD students have some experience, and they must have been enrolled at least one year in the doctoral school before participating in the course or have carried out previous human and/or animal experimental studies.
Evaluation
A combination of a written assignment and oral presentation. Time for the evaluation will be allocated during the course.

Organizer: Professor Winnie Jensen, e-mail: wj@hst.aau.dk

Lecturers: Professor Winnie Jensen, Aalborg University, and invited speakers

ECTS: 1.6 (subject to changes)

Time: 30 November, 1 and 7 December, 2015 (8.15-16.00)

Place: Aalborg University, the 30th of november at Fredrik Bajers Vej 7E, room E3-109 and opn the 1st and 7th of december at Fredrik Bajers Vej 7E, room E3-209

Zip code: 9220

City: Aalborg

Number of seats:

Deadline: 9 November, 2015