Ethics Institute
Faculty Director: Ronald M. Green
Executive Director: Aine Donovan
2010-2011 Advisory Board Members: P. Argenti, I. Baker, N. E. Cochran, S. R. Craig, M. L. Guerinot, J. C. Horrell, J. M. Kopper, S. S. Levey, W. Lotko, D. Niremberg, L. A. Swaine, R. A. Virginia, K. Womack, M. Zubkoff.
The Ethics Institute exists to foster the study of applied and professional ethics throughout the Dartmouth community, both at the undergraduate level and in the professional schools. Since its beginning in 1982, the Ethics Institute has been distinguished by a grassroots faculty interest. The Ethics Institute provides support for research in applied and professional ethics ranging from medical, business, legal, and engineering ethics to the ethics of teaching and research. We gather in seminar groups and task forces to discuss and research cutting edge ethical issues, to prepare publications, symposia, and lectureships, and to develop courses.
On-campus services include: 1) forums in Applied and Professional Ethics; 2) dinner-discussions; 3) a Faculty University Seminar in Applied and Professional Ethics; 4) monthly interest group meetings on ethical issues that foster faculty discussions, joint research, publications, teaching, and course development in applied and professional ethics; 5) development of externally-funded projects and fellowships; 6) newsletter; 7) annual undergraduate essay contest; 8) research grant opportunities for faculty and undergraduate students; 9) consultations with professors, students, and departments of the college.
The Ethics Institute’s administrative offices, library, and conference room are located in Haldeman Center, second floor.
Ethics Minor
Research Associate Professor Aine Donovan.
The Ethics Institute at Dartmouth coordinates the Ethics Minor, which is open to students from all majors who seek a coherent program of study in the field of applied and professional ethics. The minor is designed to enhance the formal ethics education of students interested in medicine, law, journalism, government or other professional areas. It also provides an opportunity for sustained study of specific ethical issues, such as ethics and the environment, or research ethics. An up-to-date list of Ethics Minor courses is available at
www.dartmouth.edu/~ethics/programs/ethics_minor/Index.html.
Six courses are required for the Ethics Minor. These courses may not count toward a student’s major or another minor. Students must sign up for the minor no later than the third term prior to graduation. The Ethics Minor has three components (courses marked with an asterisk are pending faculty approval):
I. Prerequisite: Two course conveying basic ethical theory. Options include:
* Government 6, Philosophy 8, 37 or 38, or Religion 11.
II. Three additional courses that form a coherent cluster or focus on an issue in or approach to applied and professional ethics. Courses currently available for the minor:
Anthropology 16. Secrecy and Lying in Politics (Identical to Public Policy 81.7)
Anthropology 17. The Anthropology of Illness
Anthropology 18. Introduction to Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology
Anthropology 45. Asian Medical Systems
Anthropology 50.8 The Cross-Cultural Study of Values: Universal and Particular
Anthropology 55. Anthropology of International Health
Anthropology 56. Introduction to Research Methods in Medical Anthropology
Biology 4. Genes and Society
Classical Studies 3. Reason and the Good Life: Socrates to Epictetus
College Course 2. Assisted Reproduction in the 21st Century
College Course 6. Mind and Brain: Philosophical Implications of Modern Neuroscience
Comparative Literature 10. Lying and Truth Telling in Literature
Education 29. Policy and Politics in American Education
Education 62. Adolescent Development
Engineering Sciences 5. Healthcare and Biotechnology in the 21st Century
Engineering Sciences 80. Ethics and Engineering
Environmental Studies 58. Environmental Justice Movements
Geography 13. Population, Culture, and Environment
Geography 16. Moral Economies of Development
Geography 25. Social Justice and the City
German 13. Beyond Good and Evil
Government 36. The Making of American Public Policy
Government 60. Topics in Political Theory or Public Law
Ethics and Public Policy (Identical to Public Policy 42)
Liberalism and Its Critics
Theorizing Free Speech
Democratic Theory
*Government 61. Jurisprudence
Government 63. Origins of Political Thought: Render unto God or unto Caesar?
Government 67. Civil Liberties Legal and Normative Approaches
Government 86.01 Multiculturalism
Government 86.10 Order and Justice: Greek Perspectives
Government 86.18 Contemporary Readings on Justice
History 94.2. Science, Technology and Culture in the Nuclear Age
International Studies 87.1. Essentials of Global Health Research
Philosophy 9. Topics in Applied Ethics: Reproductive Ethics
Philosophy 22. Feminism and Philosophy
Philosophy 24. Philosophy of Law
Philosophy 25. Philosophy of Medicine
Philosophy 80. Advanced Seminar
Free Speech and Conflict of Rights
Ethics and the Future of Computing
Free Will, Responsibility, and the Brain
Religion 29. Kierkegaard and Existentialism
Russian 35. Dostoevsky and the Problem of Evil
Sociology 63. Trust in Society (formerly 26)
Among possible clusters are “Ethics in Biomedicine”; “Ethics and Society”; or “Ethics and Public Policy.” Other clusters are also possible. Students will identify an appropriate cluster in consultation with, and with the approval of the Director of the Minor.
Courses in the “Ethics in Biomedicine” cluster can include Anthropology 17, Anthropology 45, Anthropology 55, Anthropology 50.8, Biology 4, Engineering Sciences 5, College Course 2, College Course 6, and Philosophy 25.
Courses in the “Ethics and Society” cluster can include Anthropology 16, Anthropology 18, Anthropology 50.8, Education 62, Geography 25, and Sociology 63.
Courses in the “Ethics and Public Policy” cluster can include Biology 4, Engineering Sciences 5, Government 36, Government 60, Government 67, Government 86.18, and History 94.2.
III. A senior culminating project. This involves an independent study project with a faculty member offering a course or courses in the Ethics Minor (or other approved faculty member) on a topic related to the student’s course cluster. The culminating project will normally involve a substantial paper (20-25 pages in length) on a topic related to the student’s cluster courses.