Tuesday 5:l5-6:50 Norton 2l8
Instructor: Barry Smith, Department of Philosophy
(645-2444 x7ll)
Office hours: 611 Baldy Hall, Tuesday: 12:00-1:00
e-mail: phismith@acsu.buffalo.edu
/smith
GSC Registration #249509, PHI Registration #014380
Jan. 20 General Introduction to Ethical Theories: Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Virtue Ethics; Paradoxes of Utilitarianism as Applied to Scientific and Technological Research (Corpses as Crash-Test Dummies). Implications for Medical Ethics. Assignment of topics for student debates
Jan. 27 General Introduction to the Philosophy of Science: What is science? Popper's views, Scientific Realism, Truth vs. Knowledge of the Truth. Theories of Truth: Pragmatism, Conventionalism, Instrumentalism, the Correspondence Theory.
Feb. 3 Fraud, Deceit, Civility. Debate between Barry Smith and David Triggle
Feb.10 Contemporary Developments: Postmodernism, Science Studies and the Sokal Affair. Scientific ethics, scientific etiquette. The nature of academic freedom. The New Paltz Affair
Feb. 17 Science, Race and Intelligence; The Bell Curve Wars, Debate with David Garren, UB Department of Philosophy
Feb. 24 Animal Experimentation (Lecture by David Triggle)
Mar. 3 Human Subjects Testing: Guest Lecture/Debate with John Furedy, Professor of Psychology, Toronto University
Mar. 10 SPRING BREAK
Mar. 17 Debate on Informed Consent: Legal and Clinical Aspects, with Professors Stephen Wear and Gerry Logue (Department of Philosophy and UB Medical School)
Student debates:
Mar. 24 Science and Multiculturalism: Helen Hardy, Brian Long, John Novasky, Hui Qin
Mar. 31 1. Affirmative Action: Julie
Kim, Don Mager, Kathleen West, Fonda Chen
2. Fast-tracking: Robert Arnold, Jeanine
Hand, Dave Schubert.
Apr. 7 Pros and Cons of Universal
Health Care: Haijing Mei, Eric Hung, Bob Fountaine, Mindy Magee
Animal Testing: Jode McGleish, Tom Black,
Mauren Glyn, Karen McCormick
Apr. 14 Science and Gender: Deborah Griffis, Heather Wynn, Raymond Cha, Mimi Haskins
Apr. 21 Human Cloning: Dennis Meletiche, Ron Churchill, Rajiv Shukla, Mark Connors
Apr. 28 Outside guest speaker TBA
Science and the Idea of Progress
Should Government be involved in deciding science
policy?
Positive and Negative Contributions to Science
The Role of Experts vs. Democracy
Science and Junk Science in the Law.
Science and Freedom of Speech
Forbidden Knowledge: Are there things we should
not know?
Science and the Holocaust.
Science and the Military
Libertarianism, Drug Use, and the FDA
Public and Private Science; Issues of Copyright
and Intellectual Property; Plagiarism
Falsification; should there be a Scientist's
Hippocratic Oath.
Science and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples