Short course
Ethics Applied: AI, Assisted Dying, Climate Change and Beyond
Course status:
Applications being accepted
Dates and time:
19/01/2027 - 23/03/202714:00 - 16:00
Study format:
In-person weekly
Fees:
£315.00
The world today presents us with many challenges: geopolitical uncertainty, advances in technology, environmental degradation and many other problems. This course in applied ethics will help you develop an ethical structure in thinking and talking about the problems of today and give you an opportunity to share ideas with other students. We will explore ethical problems about advances in technology in communication and medicine as well as geopolitical problems of war and climate change. The course will be invaluable to anyone wanting a background understanding to any of these problematical areas whether for further studies or in the everyday.
Book this course
Book your place online using the button below.
Contact the team
Phone: +44 (0)1865 280900
Course starts Tuesday 19 January 2027
This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
Week 1: Ethics: ethical theories
Week 2: Life and death: assisted dying
Wee/k 3: Life and death: war and peace
Week 4: Life and death: animal ethics
Week 5: Technology: cognitive enhancement
Week 6: Technology: AI and social problems
Week 7: Technology: climate change and geoengineering
Week 8: The Earth: food systems, water and soil
Week 9: The Earth: nature, conservation and rewilding
Week 10: The Earth: deeper ethics
Course aims
This course aims to enable participants to develop an ethical approach to contemporary social and political issues, and to examine how different ethical approaches can inform responses to these issues.
Course objectives
By the end of the course, participants will have been given the opportunity to:
- develop an understanding of a range of ethical approaches and consider their application to contemporary social and political issues
- engage critically with ethical arguments, developing skills in reasoning, constructing and evaluating arguments from different philosophical perspectives
- explore ethical texts and contemporary debates through reading and discussion, developing confidence in analysing and discussing moral questions
Learning outcomes
The course aims to give students a deeper understanding of the ethical complexity of the problems discussed. It aims to clarify the arguments for each topic and help the student to learn how to form their own reflective arguments.
Level and demands
The Department’s Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Teaching methods
Teaching will be in the form of a lecture in two parts with power point illustrations, followed by class discussions. The students will be set a reading for each week as background for the discussion topic. The lectures will set out the ethical problem to be discussed and give some structure to the discussion. Students will be encouraged to express their views and reflect on the reading of the week.
Assessment methods
Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.
Assessment
You will be set two pieces of work for the course. The first of 500 words is due halfway through your course. This does not count towards your final outcome but preparing for it, and the feedback you are given, will help you prepare for your assessed piece of work of 1,500 words due at the end of the course. The assessed work is marked pass or fail.
Dr Helen Barnard
Helen Barnard has been teaching at the Department of Continuing Education for 15 years as well as a second level course in philosophy with the Open University. Her specialist interest is environmental ethics but also all other aspects of ethics and applied ethics.
Academic credit
Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)
Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.
Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.
Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.
Digital certificate of completion
Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course fee (with no assessment) | £315.00 |
| Assessment and Accreditation fee | £60.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses
Recommended reading
Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.
Library facilities
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.
- More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website.
- This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.
Preparatory reading
- Ethics in practice / Lafollette, Hugh ed
- Silent spring / Carson, Rachel
- Code dependent / Murgia, Madhumita
- Human enhancement / Savulescu, Julian ed
- Arguing about war / Walzer, Michael
- An introduction to moral philosophy / Wolff, Jonathan
Module code: O26P444PHW
How to enrol
Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page.
How to register for accreditation and assessment
To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.
If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.