Fall 2019 SyllabusPHIL.192B:Neuroethics

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Class time and location: MWF 11-11:50am, Mendicino 3009Instructor: Dr. Garret Merriam

Office Location: Mendocino 3028Office Phone: 916-278-7588

Office hours: MW 1:30pm-2:30pm; F 12pm-1pm and by AppointmentEmail Address: merriam@csus.edu

Course Description: Your brain does most of your thinking (yes, only ‘most’, we’ll get to that), including your thinking about the nature of morality. But if our brains are responsible for our sense of morality, then understanding how they work is essential for understanding morality. And as we better understand our brains this gives rise to new technology that gives us unprecedented control over things like memory, emotions, perception, and psychological disorders. This new technology creates a host of novel ethical problems unimagined when our brains evolved to deal with moral problems eons ago.

This course will address both ‘the neuroscience of ethics’ and ‘the ethics of neuroscience,’ attempted to shed light on the ancient moral structures of our brains and the cutting edge problems investigating those structures gives rise to.

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Readings: All readings will be posted on Canvas in PDF form. I recommend getting a good PDF reader that will allow you to highlight and take notes (e.g.--IAnnotatePDF)

Learning Objectives: Upon completion of the course students should be able to:1) Identify key concepts and arguments pertaining to neuroethics2) Understand basic neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, and neurotechnology as

relevant to morality, moral decision making, and moral problems in neuroscience

3) Develop your own ideas and arguments in response to those we cover in class.

4) Challenge your ideas, considering them from competing viewpoints.5) Express your ideas and arguments, both verbally and in writing, in a manner

that is clear, coherent and compelling.

Slides: As this is a seminar course the use of slides will be more minimal, serving to prompt in-class discussion, rather than guide lecture. They will be made available on Canvas.

Assessments

In-Class Discussion: The majority of our class time will be dedicated to talking about the readings. You should come to class (a) having done the reading (b) having written some notes on the reading, including at least one question for the class. If you don’t do either of these things it will become clear very quickly and you won’t get credit for that day.

Post-Discussion Reflections: After each class will be required to a short write up on the day’s material. You should address anything that stood out to you as interesting, incorrect, unclear or thought-provoking. You can use your preparatory notes from before class, but you should address how the discussion related to them (e.g.--what answers did the class give to your question?) There is no formal word requirement, but anything less than 100 words will likely be insufficient for full credit (unless it’s a REALLY GOOD 100 words).

Argumentative Paper Outline: Before you write your first paper you will need to type up an outline of how you see your paper developing. This can take either the form of a formal outline, or just an informal list of thoughts, but it must be a full page and cover all major parts of the paper. (It can be a rough draft, if you prefer.) You must meet with me in person to get credit for this assignment.

Argumentative Paper: The first paper will be an argumentative paper with a minimum 1,600 words (about six pages double-spaced.) You will need to demonstrate both an understanding of what you’ve read and an ability to think about it and criticize it in your own terms. There should be a specific thesis for the paper that you defend in the main

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text, which addresses one of the topics that we cover in the course readings. Unlike the research paper, no sources outside of the assigned readings are required. Papers will be submitted through TurnItIn on Canvas.

Research Paper Prospectus: Before you write your second paper you will need to type up a proposal for a research question you want to investigate. This should be a question IS NOT directly address in any of the assigned readings (though it can be one mentioned in passing.) For the prospectus you should identify 5-10 sources (papers or book chapters) that you plan to read to inform your paper and describe what you hope they will address, and what you suspect to do with the information they contain. You must meet with me in person to get credit for this assignment.

Research Paper: The second paper will be a research paper with an annotated bibliography. The main text of the paper should be a minimum of 1,600 words (not counting the bibliography). Unlike the argumentative paper, there does not need to be a specific thesis that you are attempting to defend (although you may, if you wish); it is sufficient to explore a novel problem from multiple perspectives. Papers will be submitted through TurnItIn on Canvas.

Annotated Bibliography: Along with your research paper you will need to submit an annotated bibliography that lists both (a) the sources that you used in your paper, and (b) a short paragraph on each source that explains the general point of the source in question and exactly what you drew from the source in your paper. A minimum of 10 sources will be required.

Grade Breakdown:● In-Class Discussion: 300 points (10 points a day, up to 20 points a week)● Post-Discussion Reflections: 150 points (5 points a day, up to 10 points a week)● Argumentative Paper Outline: 50 points● Argumentative Paper: 200 points● Research Paper Prospectus: 50 points● Research Paper: 200 points● Annotated Bibliography: 50 points Total: 1,000 points

Your final grade will be determined by the amount of points you have out of a possible 1000. You will be graded on a fixed scale rather than a curve: A = 93-100%; A- = 92-90%; B+ = 89-87%; B = 86-83%; B- = 82-80%; C+ = 79-77%; C = 76-73%; C- = 72-70%; D+ = 69-67%; D = 66-63%; D- = 62-60%; F = 59-0%.

Attendance Bonus and Penalty: To give you an incentive to show up, each one of you starts with 60 bonus points (out of 1000) that will be attributed to your final grade. Every time you miss a class, I take 20 points away from your grade. Hence, you can miss three classes before your extra points run out; after that, it starts eating into your earned points.

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Extra Credit: There are a number of ethics related talks on campus this semester, including the departments’ Ethics Symposium (November 18th-19th). I will announce these talks in class. If you attend one of these talks and write a short (300 word) reflection on the talk and its relevance to our course material you may get up to 30 extra credit points (subject to my grading).

Academic Dishonesty: I do not expect this problem to arise, but should you be caught cheating on a paper, discussion board, or an exam, this may be grounds for your immediate failure of the course. You should take this rule VERY seriously. Everyone must complete the Plagiarism Tutorial here before I will grade your papers and email a copy of your results to me. ALL incidents of cheating and plagiarism will be reported both to the Department Chair and to the Judicial Officer in the Office of Student Affairs for possible further administrative sanction. It is your responsibility to know and comply with the University’s Stated Policy here.

Reasonable Accommodations: If you have a documented disability (visible or invisible) and require accommodation or assistance with assignments, tests, attendance, note taking, etc., please contact me by the end of the third week of semester so that arrangements can be made. Failure to notify and consult with the instructor by this date may impede my ability to offer you the necessary accommodation and assistance in a timely fashion. Also be sure to consult with the Services to Students with Disabilities in Lassen Hall to see what other campus services and accommodation options are available for you.

Students with other types of accommodation requirements, such as English as a second language, are invited to discuss them with me to facilitate understanding and the best learning experience for all. All information will remain confidential.

I. Late Work Policy

Papers: I am usually willing to give short extensions, provided the request is made BEFORE the paper is due. Otherwise, no late papers will be accepted.

Post-Discussion Reflections : I recommend writing up and posting your reflection the night after class, when the material is freshest. Formally, all reflections for the week are due by the start of next Monday’s class. As with papers, if you cannot make this deadline consult with me beforehand so arrangements can be made. Otherwise, no late posts will be accepted.

II. If You’re Having Difficulty: Please contact me. I would like to give everyone an “A” and, to help make that possible, I’m also available to give tutorial help to anyone who needs and wants it. You must, however, let me know that you want the extra help.

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This course demands that your reading skills be at least the level of a first-year college student, and even then you may need to read with your dictionary handy. If your reading or study skills are lacking, you may need extra help and extra effort. My goal is not for you or anyone to fail, but for you to succeed as well as you possibly can. You will have to do the work to meet the standards of the course, but I will be there in any way possible to help you do this--all you need do is call or email me for help.

Contact Information for the Chair of the Department: If you have a problem with either the class or with me I would appreciate it if you talked to me about it first. But if you feel you cannot talk to me for some reason, you can talk to my department Chair, Dr. Russell DiSilvestro at rdisilv@csus.edu.

Reading Schedule (an updated schedule will be posted on Canvas later.)

Week of 8/26: Introduction, and Scope of the Class: What is Neuroethics? ● Intro: Opening and Greetings (No Assignment) ● Syllabus, Course Overview (Read the Syllabus)● “Neuroethics” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy--Adina Roskies (18)

Week of 9/2: How should we think about the brain?

● “Brain Drain”--Roger Scruton (4)● “The limits of neuro-talk”--M.B. Crawford (14)● “The Empty Brain”--Robert Epstein (11)

Week of 9/9: Neurons, Neurotransmitters, Brains, Bodies, Environments

● “Our Brains are not Us”--Walter Glannon (30)

● “Neuroscience 101”--Robert Sapolsky (25)

Future topics may include: Neuroenhancement, free will and moral responsibility, neurolaw, memory, neuroexistentialism, clinical neuroethics, mind reading and mind control, moral theory and moral psychology, love and emotion, brain machine interfaces, addiction, brain injury and brain death, and deep brain stimulation.