當代生物科技與醫療的快速進步，使人類生活產生了重大改變。例如民國40年台灣婦女平均壽命是56.33歲，104年已延長至83.62歲。或者又如在二十世紀前半葉，美國人若去世多半發生在家中，但是1987年美國的死亡人口中，有75%是在醫院或長照中心往生，而如今就更多了。
活得更久、直到臨終都不乏醫療照護，聽起來很吸引人，但是這些改變是好的嗎？「有位老校長7、8年來靠呼吸器維生，飽受無效醫療的折磨，子女為領校長18%利息的退休俸，活愈久領愈多，硬是不讓老人安寧善終...」看來，若我們沒有權利拒絕醫療，活得久未必是件好事。再來，考慮這段報導 : 「前日6位死囚伏法，其中一位希望「捐出器官」贖罪，但法務部在記者會上正式聲明，未來都不會再讓死刑犯器捐，此話一出引發醫界反彈...」若摘除器官時我們還不能確定囚犯已經腦死，進行死囚器捐手術的醫院就有活摘人體器官之嫌。但是拒絕死囚器捐，看在搶救病患生命的醫生和盼望活下去的病人眼裡，真的不是很好受。
人都有面臨生死關頭的一天，你有沒有想過自己或家人某天也可能遇到這些問題？生物科技與醫療的進步給人「能夠繼續活下去」的希望，卻也產生許多倫理和法律上的爭議。除了臨終前的決定、器官捐贈，醫學倫理還包括了這些議題 : 墮胎、安樂死、醫療抉擇遺囑、醫療資源分配、人體生物基因資料庫之建立等。這門課將介紹這些議題為何有爭議性、不同的立場有什麼樣的蘊含、哲學家如何針對這些立場做分析、這些分析有沒有道理。我們將從個人角度，例如身為病患或醫護人員，以及社會政策層面，來看這些問題。透過這門課，你也可以好好思考這些悠關個人生死和國家政策的重要問題 : 你應該採取什麼樣的立場？你有什麼理由支持你的主張？The rapid progress of contemporary biotechnology and medicine has caused major changes in human life. For example, the average lifespan of Taiwanese women in the Republic of China in 40 years was 56.33 years, and it has been extended to 83.62 years in 2014. Or, for example, in the first half of the 20th century, Americans most likely die at home, but in 1987, 75% of the deaths in the United States passed away in hospitals or long-term care centers, and now there are more.
Living longer and until finally there is no shortage of medical care, it sounds attractive, but are these changes good? "There is an old principal who has been born on a respirator for 7 or 8 years and is tortured by ineffective medical treatment. The child's retirement salary for the principal's 18% interest will be the longer he lives. The longer he lives, the more he will not let the elderly calm down..." It seems that if we do not have the right to refuse medical treatment, living for a long time may not be a good thing. Next, consider this report: "The day before yesterday, six death row prisoners were sentenced to death, one of them hoped to "donate organs" to punish them, but the Ministry of Justice officially stated at the reporter's meeting that death row prisoners will not be allowed to donate their weapons in the future. This will lead to the rebellion of the medical community..." If the organ is removed, we cannot confirm that the prisoners have died of brains. Hospitals that perform death row prisoners donation surgery are suspected of harvesting human organs. However, it is really not easy to refuse to donate death row prisoners to see the doctor who saves the lives of patients and the patients who hope to survive.
People are facing life and death. Have you ever thought that you or your family might encounter these problems one day? The advancement of biotechnology and medicine gives people the hope of "being able to survive" and has also produced many ethical and legal disputes. In addition to pre-determination decisions and organ donation, medical ethics also includes these issues: fetal uterine, mortality, medical decisions, medical resource allocation, establishment of human biological gene databases, etc. This course will introduce why these issues are controversial, what are the different standpoints, how philosophers analyze these standpoints, and whether these analysis makes sense. We will look at these questions from a personal perspective, such as being a patient or a medical staff, and as a social policy level. Through this class, you can also think carefully about these important questions about personal life and death and national policies: What kind of standpoint should you take? What reason do you have to support your initiative?
The Blackwell Guide to Medical Ethics, edited by Rosamond Rhodes, Leslie P. Francis, and Anita Silvers. Blackwell Publishing (2007).
The Blackwell Guide to Medical Ethics, edited by Rosamond Rhodes, Leslie P. Francis, and Anita Silvers. Blackwell Publishing (2007).
| 評分項目 Grading Method | 配分比例 Grading percentage | 說明 Description |
|---|---|---|
| 期中考期中考 Midterm exam |
40 | |
| 期末考期末考 Final exam |
40 | |
| 課堂參與課堂參與 Class Participation |
20 |
