Law and Ethics in the Health Sector

A.Y. 2023/2024
6
Max ECTS
40
Overall hours
SSD
IUS/20
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The course aims at the following educational objectives:
- Knowledge of the conceptual foundations of the subject, of the main current theories and of the state of the art of the current discussion;
- Ability to re-elaborate the topics covered by the lessons and to apply the theoretical cases to concrete situations;
- Use of an appropriate language in the presentation of the problems and in the argumentation for or against a certain choice.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student will have taken over the contents of the course, will have developed adequate argumentative skills and will have acquired appropriate competences to favor the continuation of studies with a deeper awareness of the juridical and moral dimension of some organizational and managerial problems in the health sector.
Single course

This course can be attended as a single course.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Course syllabus
The teaching programme includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:
1. Ethics and law and their functions for the individual and the community
2. Health - illness - well-being: Concepts and ideas between attempts at objectivism and subjective self-perception (body/mind).
3. Health as an individual value, common good, public good, etc.
4. The right to health and medical care - the ethics of care
5. Law and health care (private/public)
6. Concepts and criteria of justice in health issues
7. Allocation and distribution of health resources
8. The good of health in theories of justice
(i) the utilitarian approach
(ii) the libertarian and anarchist views
(iii) the communitarian view
(iv) the theological approaches
(v) contractualism and political liberalism
9. How are health and life to be valued? Critical analysis of some approaches to economic cost-benefit analysis
10. Case studies: Covid-19 emergency, genetic experimentation, disability.

For more information about the programme, please visit the website https://ariel.unimi.it.
Prerequisites for admission
Please see the Programme description and courses list.
Teaching methods
The teaching includes lectures with strong student involvement, in the form of group discussions initiated by the teacher or by the students themselves.
Attendance is optional, but strongly recommended.
Teaching Resources
For students attending, the examination will cover the syllabus explained in the course of the lectures and will focus on one of the following texts from which each student may alternatively choose:
- PALAZZANI L., Il potenziamento umano. Tecnoscienza, etica e diritto, Giappichelli Serie Recta Ratio 2015.
- Etica, diritto, salute, prospettive evolutive nello spazio globale, edited by Ubaldo Comite and Giovanni Tarantino, ESI, 2021 (with a selection of n. 10 essays).
- Paola Russo, Salute e giustizia sociale, Rubbettino, 2016

Students not participating in the course may study one of the three above texts of their choice (as for the second, always with a selection of 10 essays).
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam will be oral and aims to verify the knowledge of the fundamental concepts and theories of the subject, the ability to organize this knowledge discursively, the ability to develop a critical reasoning on the contents of the subject, the quality of the exposure and the lexicon used.
IUS/20 - PHILOSOPHY OF LAW - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor: Zorzetto Silvia
Professor(s)
Reception:
Every day subject to previous appointment by email required
Department / OnLine Teams or by other Platform up to Students' request