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Mark Greene’s bioethics course deals with perplexing life science issues

Mark Greene
1:15 p.m., Sept. 22, 2003--Fast moving advances in the life sciences and subsequent applications through biotechnology have presented society a multitude of moral questions and given rise to a new field of academic inquiry known as bioethics, which are being examined in a new course offered this fall at the University of Delaware.

Mark Greene, a postdoctoral fellow at the Phoebe R. Berman Bioethics Institute at Johns Hopkins University, has joined the faculty of UD’s philosophy department and has begun teaching the new bioethics course.

“This is a significant step because the University of Delaware is a leader in life sciences research on a variety of fronts, with important work under way in the colleges of Arts and Science, Engineering, Marine Studies and Agriculture and Natural Resources,” Fred Adams, chairperson of the philosophy department, said in announcing Greene’s appointment.

“The University also is home to the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, a unit of the University that constitutes a partnership among academia, the public sector and the private sector with the mission of research, education and economic development in the life sciences,” Adams said, noting that many UD researchers are part of, or work cooperatively with, DBI.

Adams said adding Greene to the faculty and offering bioethics courses are initial steps in a broader initiative to establish a program for ethics and the life sciences at UD.

David Weir, DBI director, said many granting agencies, such as the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, strongly recommend instruction in bioethics as part of their research awards.

Greene is teaching his first course in bioethics (Philosophy 667/467) from 4-7 p.m., Thursdays, in 315 Gore Hall, during the fall semester. The course is open to all graduate students and also to undergraduate students with the permission of the instructor. It will be offered again during the spring semester.

Greene, who has a veterinary degree from the University of Bristol in England and a doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University, said the course is “an ideal introduction to ethical issues that arise out of new methods in biotechnology,” adding that it will examine the philosophical dimensions of ethical issues that arise and also will seek solutions to ethical problems.

“It is incumbent on us as academics to be informed participants both in the research and in the wider debate,” Greene said. “This practical introduction to methods in biotechnology will give an understanding of the ethical dimension of such developments.”

Greene exudes enthusiasm for his chosen field. “At the heart, philosophy is about arguments,” he said, noting that it is “a highly focused discipline, which can be a shock to some people who have this idea that in philosophy nothing you say can be wrong. You can definitely go wrong. Philosophy is exacting and disciplined.” Greene started his career as a veterinarian but found his passion in reading philosophical works. He vividly recalls the first philosophy class he took, and it would be hard not to given that the professor accidentally shocked himself while unscrewing a lectern light bulb.

After three years of working with all creatures great and small, Greene decided to pursue postgraduate studies in philosophy. Because his background was outside the field, he found the curriculum at American universities best suited to his needs and enrolled at Stanford.

He taught there for several years and then took a position as a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University. He will continue his work at Johns Hopkins while teaching at UD, then will join the Delaware faculty full-time in the 2004-05 academic year.

Greene said bioethics is an important topic now because of the vast changes under way in the life sciences. He added it is a field with wide interest because so many people are aware of scientific advances and the questions those advances raise. “Philosophy and bioethics can help sort out the issues,” he said.

Greene said his classroom style is centered on discussion with students and, in particular, discussion of events in the news. Is it wrong to use stem cells to cure disease, or to use human brain tissue in chimpanzees, or to genetically modify crops?

Greene said he hopes to impart to his students four essential philosophical skills: exegesis, which is the skill of understanding and reconstructing other points of view; thesis, the skill of developing one’s own interesting and focused point of view; argumentation, the key skill of giving strong reasons in support of that point of view; and style, the skill of expressing your views so that others can see clearly how your argument works.

Article by Neil Thomas
Photo by Duane Perry

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