Ethics teaching in the Biosciences, Leeds 2007
Using case studies to promote
ethical thinking and awareness
Dr Chris Willmott Dr Jim Parry
Dept of Biochemistry Dept of Philosophy
University of Leicester University of Leeds
cjrw2@le.ac.uk s.j.parry@leeds.ac.uk
University of
Leicester

Approaches
• Case studies/ scenarios
• Debate and role-play
• Newspapers
• Book extracts
• TV programmes
• Structured activity based on news footage
• Clips from other programmes
• Knowing what’s on and when

Bioethics = Bio AND Ethics!
• Science – COULD it be done?
• Ethics – SHOULD it be done?
Important that both are being considered:
Science without ethics may be immoral
Ethics without science may be impossible