Isaac Shur

This course is a study of moral and political problems related to biology, health, medicine and biotechnology. We will begin by examining competing philosophical accounts of biological functions, health, and the ethics of the physician-patient relationship. What is health and why should we care about it? How should we understand the distinction between physical and mental health? Should the distribution of healthcare be left primarily to private or public institutions? What values ought to govern physician-patient relationship, how might those values may conflict, and how should such conflicts be resolved? In the second part of the course, we will turn to some specific ethical challenges related to biotechnology, including abortion, genetic manipulation, human enhancement, and physician-assisted suicide. We will close the course by surveying the field of public health ethics, with particular attention to ethical issues related to global pandemic preparedness and response.

This course treats artificial intelligence not as a marvel of technology but as a test of human judgment. Students learn to dissect the claims, metaphors, and narratives that surround AI, ranging from the myth of ¿thinking machines¿ to the ways algorithms quitely shape taste, belief, and behavior. Our aim is not to celebrate or fear AI, but to learn to think better in its midst. We begin with the foundations of reasoning and evidence: how to tell a good argument from a bad one, how bias lurks in data and language, and how epistemic shortcuts can distort understanding. We then move to the questions of creativity, authorship, and moral agency: When an AI imitates, who is responsible for what it outputs? When it assists in making art or policy, whose judgment counts? Near the end, we turn our attention to the cognitive, political and economic impact of AI on our societies. Throughout, students practice analysis: breaking down complex claims, questioning assumptions, tracing causal chains, and articulating defensible positions amid uncertainty. Readings and exercises will draw from logic, epistemology, philosophies of technology & science, and media theory, paired with case studies from art, design, and contemporary culture. By the end of the semester, students will be able to recognize signs of rhetorical, textual and audio-visual manipulation, evaluate AI-generated material with disciplined skepticism, and construct arguments that withstand scrutiny. Assignments vary, but they might include some or many of the following: weekly reading responses, quizzes, papers, and exams.