Ethics - seminar

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2022-2023

Course director

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 0 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 14 hours

total of: 14 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OBA-101-S
  • 2 kredit
  • Biotechnology MSc
  • Basic modul
  • spring
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 5 – max. 24

Topic

The seminar provides an opportunity for the students to get involved in the discussions about the topics which are presented in the ethics lectures of the Biotechnology Masters Programme. Some additional topics will also be examined, including the ethics of scientific publication, and the rational basis of the research methodology in the field of biotechnology. The main aim of the seminar is to help students gain sensitivity to the ethical and social issues that are implied by biotechnological research and also by the application of biotechnology.

Lectures

Practices

Seminars

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. The role of ethics in biotechnology
  • 3. On how to apply ethical theories in decision making. 1.
  • 4. On how to apply ethical theories in decision making. 2.
  • 5. Critical thinking, scientific cognition, and the methodology of empirical research.
  • 6. The ethics of scientific publication.
  • 7. Case studies about issues raised by biotechnology. 1.
  • 8. Case studies about issues raised by biotechnology. 2.
  • 9. Short presentations given by the students.
  • 10. Short presentations given by the students.
  • 11. Mini conference on ethical and social implications of the possible future use of germ-cell genetic intervention in the human genome 1.
  • 12. Mini conference on ethical and social implications of the possible future use of germ-cell genetic intervention in the human genome 2.
  • 13. Summarizing discussion.
  • 14. Written test

Reading material

Obligatory literature

-

Literature developed by the Department

Available on Neptun Meet Street.

Notes

-

Recommended literature

Justin Burley and John Harris (eds.): A Companion to Genethics, Balckwell Publishers Ltd., Massachussets/Oxford, 2002
Gehring, Verna V., Genetic Prospects: Essays on Biotechnology, Ethics and Public Policy, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004
Andrew Johnson, Alan Holland: Animal Biotechnology and Ethics, Springer, 1997.
Peter Singer: Practical Ethics, Cambridge University Press, 1979, 48-72.
Hoeyer, K., Koch, L.: The Ethics of Functional Genetics: Same, Same, but Different?, Trends in Biotechnology, 24(9), 387-3789, 2006.
H. Verhoog: Naturalness and the Genetic Modification of Animals, Trends in Biotechnology, 21(7), 294-297, 2003.
F. S. Collins, E. D. Green, et al.: A Vision for the Future of Genomic Research, Nature, 422, 835-847, 2003

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Maximum of 15 % absence allowed

Mid-term exams

Short presentation and written test. To improve the grade, the test can be repeated two times in the first two weeks of the exam period.

Making up for missed classes

According to the Code of Studies and Examinations.

Exam topics/questions

-

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

  • Dr. Szolcsányi Tibor