(in Polish) The Ethics of Consent

elective seminars
general courses

Successfully completed basic ethics course, command of English sufficient for reading assigned materials and participation in discussions in class.

Consent is one of the key conditions of the ethical (and, often, legal) acceptability of acting for the benefit of others. It is a central idea of political legitimization in a democratic society, authorization in law and a central element of medical ethics. During the seminar key philosophical-anthropological and axiological prerequisites of consent will be discussed, as well as the limits of consent: what one is allowed to authorize others to do and what consent does not authorize. During the seminar we will discuss the normative foundations of consent (ideals, right, values, duties), its validity (form, scope, voluntariness, information, competencies of its parties), normative consequences (authorizations, entitlements, duties); we will also discuss such actions without consent as acts of paternalism, exploitation, deception, rape, and violence.

Consent is one of the key conditions of the ethical (and, often, legal) acceptability of acting for the benefit of others. It is a central idea of political legitimization in a democratic society, authorization in law and a central element of medical ethics. During the seminar key philosophical-anthropological and axiological prerequisites of consent will be discussed, as well as the limits of consent: what one is allowed to authorize others to do and what consent does not authorize. During the seminar we will discuss the normative foundations of consent (ideals, right, values, duties), its validity (form, scope, voluntariness, information, competencies of its parties), normative consequences (authorizations, entitlements, duties); we will also discuss such actions without consent as acts of paternalism, exploitation, deception, rape, and violence.

Wstępna lista lektur/A tentative reading list:

L. Alexander, "The Moral Magic of Consent (II)", Legal Theory 2, nr 3 (1996): 165-74

B. Berofsky, "Identification, the self, and autonomy", Social Philosophy and Policy 20, nr 2 (2003): 199-220

M.E. Bratman, "Autonomy and hierarchy", Social Philosophy and Policy 20, nr 2 (2003): 156-76

S. Buss, "Valuing Autonomy and Respecting Persons: Manipulation, Seduction, and the Basis of Moral Constraints", Ethics 115, nr 2 (2005): 195-235,

M.M. Dempsey "Victimless Conduct and the Volenti Maxim: How Consent Works", Criminal Law and Philosophy 7, nr 1 (2013): 11–27

T. Dougherty, "Yes Means Yes: Consent as Communication", Philosophy & Public Affairs 43, nr 3 (2015): 224-53

G. Dworkin, The theory and practice of autonomy, Cambridge studies in philosophy, (Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988)

J. Feinberg, "Harm to others. The Moral Limits of the Criminal Law ", w: The Metaphysics of Death, red. J.M. Fischer (Stanford University Press, 1993)

F.M. Frohock, "Liberal Maps of Consent", Polity 22, nr 2 (1989): 231-52

H.M. Hurd, "The Moral Magic of Consent", Legal Theory 2, nr 02 (1996): 121-46

N.C. Manson, "Permissive consent: a robust reason-changing account", Philosophical Studies 173, nr 12 (2016): 3317-34

A.R. Maclean, "Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Consent And The Legal Protection Of Autonomy", Journal of Applied Philosophy 17, nr 3 (2000): 277-88

O. O'Neill, "Which are the offers you can't refuse?", w: Violence, Terrorism, and Justice, Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Public Policy, red. C.W. Morris, R.G. Frey (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991)

J. Raz, The morality of freedom, (Oxford Oxfordshire New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, 1986)

F.G. Miller, A. Wertheimer, The ethics of consent : theory and practice, (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2010)

A. Wertheimer, "What Is Consent? And Is It Important?", Buffalo Criminal Law Review 3, nr 2 (2000): 557-83

Knowledge. After completing the course the student knows:

- key problems and theoretical approaches to the questions of consent (K_W02, K_W03, K_W09)

- key normative aspects of consent (its foundations and consequences) (K_W02, K_W03, K_W09)

- the concept of consent and the associated theoretical difficulties (K_W02, K_W03, K_W09)

- main theoretical approaches to consent (K_W03, K_W09)

- influential publications on consent (K_W03, K_W09)

- links between classical and contemporary conceptions of consent (K_W02, K_W09)

Skills. After completing the course the student can

- critically analyse current philosophical ethics literature (K_U02, K_U15)

- identify and interpret key problems, theses, and arguments found in the literature on consent (K_U01, K_U15)

- formulates her/his own theoretical view of philosophical problems associated with the topic of consent (K_U13, K_U14, K_U15)

Social competencies. After completing the course the student can:

- critically evaluate their knowledge, information obtained (K_K01, K_K02)

- collaborate with others and take different roles in collaboration (K_K07)

- appreciate the significance of theoretical reflection on morals and for social practice (K_K02, K_K06, K_K07)

- diligently and responsibly develops the achievements of bioethics as a theoretical discipline and social practice (K_K06)

- activity in class (including: attendance, knowledge of the literature assigned, participation in discussions) – 30% of grade

- preparation of a session report and its presentation in class – 30% of grade

- final essay on a topic discussed during the seminar– 40% of grade

Number of absences: 1