Foundations of Bioethics

Foundations of Bioethics is a four-day program designed for individuals seeking a deeper understanding of bioethics across clinical practice, research, public policy, and law. Whether you're new to the field or looking to strengthen your foundation, this program offers an accessible yet comprehensive overview. Participants will explore core ethical theories, examine real-world case studies, and engage with historical and contemporary issues shaping the field of bioethics. This year’s live sessions will include a special focus on neuroethics.

At the conclusion of this four-day program, participants will have gained exposure to:

• An introduction to ethical theory; 

• The history, strengths, and objections to utilitarian, deontological, virtue, natural law, and feminist and care ethics;

• Normative ethics, moral personhood, pluralism, social contract theory, and Rawls’ theory of justice;

• The history of bioethics and its relation to the history of medical ethics;

• Main principles, frameworks, and common terms within bioethics;

• Principlism and casuistry (case-based theory);

• Common bioethical arguments, including slippery slope, the distinction between foreseeing and intending, and distinction between doing and allowing.

• The major branches of bioethics, including research ethics, clinical ethics, law, policy, and public health; 

• Research ethics across borders;

• Federalism and the role of states in U.S. bioethics;

• Bioethics beyond the West;

• The significance of the US Fourteenth Amendment due process clause and related landmark cases (Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Griswold v. Connecticut, Cruzan v. Missouri Dept. Health, Washington v. Glucksberg, and Dobbs);

• The capability theory of justice;

• A wide range of current bioethical dilemmas, from racial inequity in healthcare to ethics of dementia care and ethical distribution of scarce medical resources.