PHIL 171 CM - Health, Measurement, and Justice

When an insurance company decides what treatments to cover, a government decides what medical research to fund, or a charitable organization decides where to direct its resources, those decisions can determine who lives and who dies. How should such decisions be made? In this course we will look at quantitative tools, such as the QALY and DALY, increasingly being used to make policy decisions about health. We will investigate the philosophical assumptions underlying the measures and the ethical issues raised by their use. Along the way, we will discuss several general problems in the philosophy of economics.

Prerequisite: One previous course in philosophy.

Offered: Every other year

Credit: 1

Course Number: PHIL171 CM