Bioethics is concerned with our understanding of our relationship to life itself. The extent to which we as a species are willing to share the planet with other life forms will be determined by how we use our biotechnologies. Such concerns go well beyond the analytic and scientific and have serious implications for the political, economic, and the social in the broadest sense. With the rise of biotechnologies, human beings now have the power to manipulate life at its most fundamental level. Controversies over the possibilities of designer babies and embryo manipulation, genetically modified organisms and the alteration of existing species, cloning, and gene editing and synthetic biology, as well as the ability to create totally new life forms, are too often resolved economically for the sake of profit. Human beings have become like gods with the power of life and death over all life on earth. Whether we can use this power wisely is the critical question. What it means to be a person and the very essence of our humanity is at stake. How we should deploy these awesome new powers over life itself is the topic of bioethics. Philosophy and Critical Theory (PHCRT) courses focus on developing critical reading and thinking skills, with an emphasis on learning to frame and explore meaningful questions. Students consider multiple perspectives and claims in the process of formulating independent, well-founded opinions.

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