BIOETHICS 1

1. Knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

 - learn the theoretical foundations of bioethics and its main currents (principlism, utilitarianism, personalism, ethics of care);

 - understand the fundamental concepts of bioethical and legal terminology;

 - know the main national and supranational regulatory frameworks in the field of bioethics;

 - analyse the ethical and legal issues related to the beginning of life (assisted reproductive technologies, abortion, the legal and moral status of the embryo) and the end of life (euthanasia, assisted suicide, informed consent, advance healthcare directives).

2. Applying knowledge and understanding

Students will be able to:

 - apply bioethical and legal categories to concrete cases;

 - critically analyze complex clinical situations;

 - assess the ethical implications of medical decisions;

 - interpret legal texts and relevant case law.

3. Making judgements

Students are expected to develop:

 - critical evaluation skills regarding different ethical positions;

 - autonomy in analyzing conflicts between fundamental rights (life, self-determination, dignity);

 - sensitivity to the complexity of clinical and decision-making contexts;

 - ability to construct ethical and legal arguments.

4. Communication skills

Students will be able to:

 - clearly and rigorously present bioethical issues;

 - correctly use the technical language of the discipline;

 - argue for and defend a position in structured discussions;

 - interact effectively with interlocutors from different backgrounds (medical, legal, philosophical).

5. Learning skills

Students will develop:

 - ability to independently deepen bioethical topics;

 - capacity for continuous updating on legal and ethical debates;

 - critical skills in consulting scientific and legal sources;

 - ability to connect theory and practice.

Part I – Introduction to Bioethics

 - Birth and development of bioethics

 - Fundamental concepts: person, dignity, autonomy

 - Theoretical models of bioethics

 - Bioethics and biolaw

 - The role of informed consent

Part II – Figures and paradigms

 - Principlism

 - Utilitarianism

 - Personalism

 - Ethics of care

 - Contemporary debates

Part III – Responsibility, evil, and empathy: three figures for a bioethics of the human condition

 - Hannah Arendt: the banality of evil and responsibility

 - Hans Jonas: responsibility and the limits of technology

 - Simon Baron-Cohen: empathy, the brain, and dehumanization

Part IV – Bioethics of the beginning of life

 - The moral and legal status of the embryo

 - Assisted reproductive technologies

 - Pre-implantation diagnosis and genetic selection

 - Voluntary termination of pregnancy

 - Legal and jurisprudential issues

Part V – Bioethics of the end of life

 - Definition of death

 - Therapeutic obstinacy (futile or disproportionate treatment)

 - Palliative care

 - Euthanasia and assisted suicide

 - Advance healthcare directives (AHDs)

 - The role of consent and self-determination

Non-attending students: Sergio Filippo Magni, Bioetica, Carocci, Roma, 2026.

1.How do the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice guide clinical decision-making? 

2. What is informed consent, and what are its underlying requirements?

3. What is the moral status of the embryo?

4. What are the ethical limits of human experimentation?