January 30, 2001

Spring 2001

Lindley Darden

University of Maryland, College Park

Aims of the course: Discoveries in molecular biology have revealed the secrets of life, namely the way genes reproduce themselves and the roles they play in forming the characteristics of organisms. They have enabled various new technologies to emerge, which now raise various ethical and policy concerns. This course will trace the historical development of molecular biology, ask about its philosophical foundations (e.g., is the goal to discover mechanisms?), and explore ethical and policy implications of cloning. In addition to a historical account and original scientific papers, students will read James Watson’s autobiography about the discovery of the double helix of DNA and view a movie that portrays Rosalind Franklin’s role more sympathetically than does Watson in his book. Franklin’s role in the discovery of the structure of DNA will serve as a case for discussing the topic of women in science. Then the philosophy of molecular biology, viewed as reasoning to discover mechanisms, will be examined. The final part of the course will deal with various approaches to the subject of cloning.

Useful details: Instructor: Lindley Darden, Professor of Philosophy. Office: 1107C Skinner; Mailbox: Philosophy Department, 1125A Skinner; Phone: 405-5699. Office hours: 2-3 Tuesday by appointment. . Email: darden@carnap.umd.edu. Web page: www.inform.umd.edu/PHIL/faculty/LDarden/ and Web CT page for the course: www.courses.umd.edu

Requirements: Two papers (5-10 pages), oral class presentations, a midterm exam and a final exam. Promptness on all assignments is mandatory. Regular class attendance for the entire class period is expected. Students will be "up" for two or more class discussions; students who are "up" are expected to prepare questions for discussion on the reading material. If you are unable to attend a class for which you are "up," make arrangements ahead of time for someone else to take your place and notify the instructor.

One of the papers will be a research paper on a molecular mechanism, including the history of its discovery. The other paper will be a position paper on cloning. A section of the Nussbaum book will be chosen; the student will read that section and choose which articles are to be discussed in class; the student will lead the class discussions on those articles; then the student will write a summary of the chosen article(s) and take a position of his/her own on the material.

Grading: The midterm and final exam and the two papers each will count 20 points of the final grade; 10 points will be determined by general class attendance and by the performance on "up" assignments; 10 points will be determined by the two class presentations. A late paper receives a lower grade; the grade decreases by a portion of a letter grade for each day that the paper is late; thus it is possible to receive an F because of lateness. However, an F is not a 0, which is given for failure to turn in a paper. The two exams and the two papers must all be completed to receive a passing grade in the course; in other words, completing them is a necessary, but not a sufficient, requirement to pass the course.

Listserv: There is an email discussion forum for the class. All students should have email accounts and will be expected to be receiving the material on the list on a regular basis throughout the semester. If you do not have an email account, go to the Computer Science Center and sign up for a wam account. Get handouts on using email and the User’s Guide to Listserv. Once you have an email account, from your regular email account, subscribe to the listserv: send a message to listserv@umdd.umd.edu Put no subject in the subject line. As the only line of the text of the message type: subscribe helix your first and last names, e.g., subscribe helix James Watson Respond immediately to the confirmation message that you receive. When you want to send messages to the class, send the message to helix@umdd.umd.edu Note the difference between the address for subscribing and the address for sending messages.

Honesty: Honesty on the part of students is presumed. The student is expected to be familiar with the University of Maryland Code of Academic Integrity available at

http://www.inform.umd.edu/jpo/ Students may get help with the grammar and structure of their writing, such as at the Writing Center (Room 0125, Taliaferro Hall), but they may not get unacknowledged help with the content of their work. Please contact the instructor with any questions about what is acceptable or unacceptable outside help. Learn exactly what plagiarism is and avoid it. The Code is administered by the Student Honor Council, which strives to promote a community of trust on the College Park campus. Allegations of academic dishonesty can be reported directly to the Honor Council (314-8206) by any member of the campus community.

Required texts (in the order in which they will be needed):

Life Story: The Double Helix, Q141.L7 1997, on reserve in the Non-print Media Room of Hornbake Library, fourth floor

Assignments:

Jan. 30, Introduction: history, philosophy, ethics of molecular biology

discussion question: what is life? what is it to be human?

Nussbaum, fictional story by Tuttle, "World of Strangers," pp. 297-309 and fictional story by Nussbaum, "Little C, " pp. 338-346.

Morange, Introduction and Chs. 1-3

Morange, Ch. 4, 5

February 13, first class paper on molecular mechanisms assigned

Morange, Ch. 6, 7

Morange, Ch. 8, 9, 10

Morange, Ch. 11

Read Watson (1968), The Double Helix, in Norton edition, pp. 1-133.

See movie Life Story: The Double Helix, Q141.L7 1997, in the Non-print Media Room of Hornbake Library, fourth floor

Feb. 27, Required: Watson (1968), The Double Helix, in Norton edition, pp. 1-133.

Original papers by Watson, Crick, Franklin & Wilkins,

Recommended:

Strongly recommended: Judson, Part I, pp. 1-173

Mar. 15, In Class Midterm exam

Mar. 20, 22, no class, spring break

Morange, Ch. 12

Morange, Ch. 13, 14

Apr. 3, Genetic engineering

Morange, Chs. 15, 16

Morange, Chs 17, 18

Morange, Ch. 19, 20

Required: Nussbaum: Brock, "Cloning Human Beings: An Assessment of Ethical Issues Pro and Con"

Apr. 17, Nussbaum, Part I, Science

May 10, Nussbaum, Part IV, Law and Public Policy