Ethical Issues in Science and Technology

College of Humanities
Dean: Nancy McDermid

NEXA Program
HUM 415
415-338-1302
Program Director: Geoffrey Green

Department of Philosophy
HUM 388
415-338-1596
Program Director: Anatole Anton

Program

Minor in Ethical Issues in Science and Technology


Program Scope

The Minor in Ethical Issues in Science and Technology is offered jointly by the NEXA Program and the Department of Philosophy. The focus of this minor is on ethical conflicts as they arise in scientific and technological fields and as they influence society and cultures. The minor provides the student with a working knowledge of the major ethical theories, the background necessary to understand some of the most important and persistent ethical problems in science and technology, and the experience of analyzing in detail some of these problems--including the positive and negative aspects of various proposed solutions.

The minor is designed to complement the student's major program, as well as to appeal to students wishing to undertake a portion of their General Education requirement in an organized cycle of course work bearing upon the theme of the ethical, social, and human responsibilities of science and technology. Courses listed all have substantive elements dealing with ethical issues within this context. Additionally, some have prerequisites; please consult the course descriptions section of the Bulletin or contact NEXA for this information.

Students interested in this minor should contact a NEXA adviser, in HUM 415 or by telephone at (415) 338-1302, Monday through Friday when classes are in session.

MINOR IN ETHICAL ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

On-line course descriptions are available.

Core Requirements Units
NEXA 440 Ethical Issues in Science and Technology 3
Ethics--units selected from:  6
 PHIL 383 Ethics in Medicine  
 PHIL 440 Ethics at Work
 PHIL 450 Ethics 
 PHIL 470 Environmental Ethics
  Total for core 9
Electives
Units selected from the following:
6
 BECA 623 Ethics and Responsibility in the Electronic Media  
 BIOL 349 Senior Integrative Seminar: Bioethics
 PHIL 365 Science and Civilization
 Any of the Ethics courses not taken to fulfill core requirements
Units in NEXA chosen from the following: 3
 NEXA 330 The Marxian Revolution  
 NEXA 340 The Nuclear Revolution
 NEXA 355 Chinese Science and Culture
 NEXA 362 Computers in the Arts and Humanities
 NEXA 380 Cosmologies and Worldviews
 NEXA 389 The Darwinian Revolution
 NEXA 390 The Einsteinian Revolution
 NEXA 392 Culture and Technology
 NEXA 397 Communication Between Humans and Other Animals
Additional units selected from the following: 6
 BIOL 318 Our Endangered Planet  
 BIOL 321 Magic, Myths, and Medicine: A History of Medicine
 BIOL 330 Human Sexuality
 BIOL 333 The Genetic Revolution
 DAI 356 History of Technology
 GEOG 421 Future Environments
 GEOG 600 Environmental Problems and Solutions
 GEOL 305 Societal Problems of Energy
 I R/S S 520 Modernization and Third World Countries
 RAZA 210 Latino Health Care Perspectives
 SOC 476 Medical Sociology
 SPCH 570 Human Communication and Technology
  Total for minor 24