Medicine and Ethics in a Sociological Perspective 3500-FAKANG-MES
New technologies and scientific discoveries, the realities of climate
crisis and global health crises, as well as ongoing transformations
in economy and culture – all these developments deeply affect the
practice of medicine, including its social and ethical dimensions.
Bioethics is an interdisciplinary field of academic reflection
drawing on the achievements of many sciences: medicine,
philosophy, law, anthropology, and also sociology. Simultaneously,
it encompasses a sphere of social and political practice, including,
among others, the reality of the healthcare system, legislation, and
public debate. Because of this, exploring the relationships between
bioethics and sociology—and also between spheres of ideas and
social practices and reality—must encompass different
perspectives, which will be accomplished during the course. To
facilitate this, students will engage with diverse articles, and the
seminar will be led by both a sociologist and a bioethicist.
Throughout the course, we will examine five broad topics
connected with considering ethics and medicine from a
sociological perspective: 1. Public debate – society – politics (e.g.,
who (and why) is considered an expert in bioethics issues; how
politicians utilize bioethics issues to garner support; is it possible to
forge a compromise on the most polarizing issues). 2. Sociological
perspective on boundary situations in medicine (e.g., abortion,
euthanasia, assisted suicide, transplantation). 3. Justice in
medicine (e.g., allocation of funds within the healthcare system;
gender, social, and racial inequalities in access to the healthcare
system). 4. Patient and medical professional – autonomy vs.
paternalism. 5. Future of medicine (e.g., transhumanism).
Rodzaj przedmiotu
Tryb prowadzenia
Założenia (opisowo)
Koordynatorzy przedmiotu
Efekty kształcenia
K_W01 Knows and understands basic concepts of various sub-
domains of sociology (e.g. sociology of family, health, work,
religion, economy, education, etc)
K_W03 Is aware of ongoing theoretical and methodological
disputes conducted in modern sociology; is reflective and critical of
various positions
K_W16 Has in-depth knowledge about major international and
domestic sociological research pertaining to selected areas of
social reality or sub-domains of sociology
K_W27 Has in-depth knowledge of the 19th, 20th and 21st ideas
and social processes which have shaped the face of the modern
world
K_U16 Knows how to interpret the role of culture in the life of the
individual and society
K_U17 Can relate an academic text to the problems of social life
and its empirical studies
K_U18 Can identify the kinds of research in which the scientific
texts read can be applicable
Kryteria oceniania
Assignments for each meeting and active participation in
discussions in the classroom. Students are allowed to miss up to
three meetings during the course. Weekly tasks are assessed
taking into account clarity of the argument, use of knowledge from
mandatory readings and keeping deadlines. In case of a belated
completion of the course, the same requirements apply.
Literatura
B.K. Rothman, E.M. Armstrong and R. Tiger (eds), Bioethical Issues,
Sociological Perspectives; K. Orfali, R.G. DeVries, "A Sociological gaze on
bioethics", in: W.C. Cockerham (ed.), The New Blackwell Companion to
Medical Sociology; G. Howarth, M. Jefferys, “Euthanasia: sociological
perspectives”, British Medical Bulletin 1996; J. Czekajewska, D.
Walkowiak, and J. Domaradzki, “Attitudes of Polish physicians, nurses and
pharmacists towards the ethical and legal aspects of the conscience
clause”, BMC Medical Ethics 2022; A. Ash, Whistleblowing and Ethics in
Health and Social Care; M.J. Sandel, The Case Against Perfection: Ethics
in the Age of Genetic Engineering; B. Gert, C.M. Culver, D. Clouser,
Bioethics: a systematic approach; F.D. Ginsburg, Contested lives: the
abortion debate in an American community; P. Singer, Ethics in the real
world: 82 brief essays on things that matter; S. Gbadegesin, “Bioethics
and Cultural Diversity”, in: Kuhse H., Singer P. (eds.), A Companion to
Bioethics, Blackwell Publishing 2001; E. Kaczmarek, “Promoting diseases
to promote drugs: The role of the pharmaceutical industry in fostering
good and bad medicalization”, “British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology”
2022, 88(1): 34- 39; P. Łuków, „Non-adjectival bioethics.” Ethics,
Medicine and Public Health 3, no. 4 (2017/10/01/ 2017): 401-09.
Więcej informacji
Dodatkowe informacje (np. o kalendarzu rejestracji, prowadzących zajęcia, lokalizacji i terminach zajęć) mogą być dostępne w serwisie USOSweb: