Bioinformatics

The course will cover the following topics: general intro to ethics for bioscientists; fundamental logic and psychology of reasoning for bioethics; history of bioethics; ethical theories for bioethics, naturalism/anti-naturalism and pragmatism in bioethics; principle-based and case-based approaches; research ethics and research integrity; genethics (ethics of genetics); genetic and neuroenhancement; biobanks and the use of genetic data in legal contexts; IT ethics, classical issues and new challenges from AI; neuroethics; ethics of neurotechnologies; the biological bases of morality. Examples, case studies and practical activities will cover other popular topics in contemporary bioethical debates (stem cells, cloning, GMOs, end of life decisions, vaccinations, DNA privacy, animal experimentation, prosthesis, genetic parenthood, in vitro fertilization, etc.). Some innovative questions in biotechnology will be presented and discussed ethically: brain organoids, moral machines, chimeras, BCI, CRISPR-CAS9, mitochondrial replacement, etc.

Preferable but not necessary elements of history of philosophy.

Required texts: - Instructor's slides. - List of readings (above). Readings (articles/book chapters in English) will be provided during class, before or at the end of each lesson. Slides/Readings will be uploaded in pdf format on the Sapienza e-learning website (Moodle) after class.

The course is both lecture- and discussion-oriented. There will be short assignments and class activities. Guest speakers will be invited to deliver seminars on specific topics.

Attendance is not mandatory in this Program.

The final exam will consist of 2 parts: - a test (dates to be defined) - another mandatory activity (oral presentation or written paper) is required. For Attendees: A Power Point presentation in front of the class. Guidelines and other details will be offered in class. Please contact the instructor to define date, topic and references. For Non-attendees: A short written paper is due at least ten days before the test date. Guidelines will be offered. Please contact the instructor to define date, topic and references in due time. Note: Oral presentations or written papers have to be argumentative. Grading is out of thirty and will average the two scores obtained by the two exam parts. Grading will be based on knowledge of the literature, quality of your own arguments, formal structure of your presentation/paper.

List of readings as follow (some changes will be proposed during the course, also by the students) Lecture 1 Intro to ethics for bioscientists No readings Lecture 2-3-4 Epistemology, logic and psychology: Demarcation science/pseudoscience/fallacies and cognitive biases - Chapter 4 Fallacies in Irving M. Copi, Carl Cohen, Kenneth McMahon, Introduction to Logic, Pearson Education Limited 2014 - Blancke S., De Smedt J. Evolved to Be Irrational? Evolutionary and Cognitive Foundations of Pseudosciences (Ch3) In: Pigliucci M. & Boundry M. (2013) Philosophy of Pseudoscience, University of Chicago Press, Chicago Lecture 5 History of Bioethics - Kuhse H., Singer P. (2009), What Is Bioethics? A Historical Introduction, IN: A Companion To Bioethics, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Lecture 6 Ethical Theories - A Companion to Bioethics: PART III Ethical Approaches: Chapter 7 Principle-based approach (by J. Childress), Chapter 9 A utilitarian Approach (by RM Hare), Chapter 10 Virtue ethics (by J Oakley), Chapter 11 A care approach (by RC Manning), Chapter 12 A case approach (by J Arras) pp. 65-125 (NO CHAPT 8!) Lect 7 Past presentations, how to present, discussion in class (COVID measures/policies in the different countries) Tips for presentations, file on the Moodle page. Lect 8 Discussion in class * (This reading may change!) -Savulescu J., Cameron J. (2020) Why lockdown of the elderly is not ageist and why levelling down equality is wrong, J Med Ethics Lect 9 Approaches - Same readings of Lect 6 (especially Ch. 7-11-12) Lect 10 Genethics - Reisnek D., Vorhaus D.B. (2006) Genetic modification and genetic determinism Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine 2006, 1:9 - Savulescu J., Singer P. (2019) An ethical pathway for gene editing, Bioethics, 33(2):221-222. Lect 11 Enhancement On genetic enhancement: - (in favor) Harris J. (2007) Enhancing evolution, ONLY CHAPT. 5 (Reproductive Choice and the Democratic presumption) AND 9 (Designer Children) - (against) Sandel M. (2009) The case against perfection, in Savulescu J., Bostrom N., Human enhancement, OUP On moral enhancement: - (in favor) Savulescu, Julian and Persson, Ingmar (2012) Moral Enhancement, Freedom and the god machine, The Monist, 95: 3, 399–421. - (against) Harris J. (2016) Moral Blindness – The Gift of the God Machine, Neuroethics For the different arguments in favor/against please see Section 2 (The ethics of enhancement) from this entry on SEP: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/neuroethics/#EthiEnha Lect 12 Neuroethics - Liao S. M., Sirgiovanni E. (2018) Neuroethics: Challenges and Opportunities, in Europa: Scienza e Tecnologia, Treccani - Greene J. (2016) Beyond shooting morality, In Liao S.M. Moral Brains OUP Lect 13 AI ethics and moral machines - ONLY CHAPTER 9 (The control problem) and CHAPTER 12 (Acquiring values) from Bostrom N. (2014), Superintelligence, OUP Lect 14 Research integrity - ALLEA (2017) The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, available online: https://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/data/ref/h2020/other/hi/h2020-ethics_code-of-conduct_en.pdf - Corbellini G, Sirgiovanni E, Science, self-control and human freedom: a naturalistic approach, CH 13 Manchester University Press.

The course is both lecture- and discussion-oriented. There will be short assignments and class activities. Guest speakers will be invited to deliver seminars on specific topics.