Instructor: Clifford Roth
When you attend class, talk with your roommate, watch television, or surf the Internet, you face decisions about what to believe. Should you accept a newspaper editor’s claim that the pharmaceutical industry has too much power to set drug prices? Should you agree with a website’s conclusion that stem cell research has the potential to cure Muscular Dystrophy? Should you be persuaded by your roommate’s claim that a particular herbal tea can prevent you from getting the common cold? The answers to these questions depend on the quality of the arguments provided in each case.
In this course, you will learn how to identify, evaluate, and construct arguments. Your readings, written assignments, and oral presentations will focus on contemporary issues in the healthcare field. We will examine arguments as they appear in a range of topics, including such questions as: Should euthanasia be legal? Is the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) a success or could Congress make improvements? Is the administration of vaccines a public health issue or one of personal choice?
(CA 1)