This is a first course in understanding the methodologies and styles of reasoning employed in the sciences. The course will provide insight into testing of theoretical hypotheses as well as inductive and probabilistic reasoning and their applications in science and ordinary decision-making. We will devote considerable time to case studies in the history of science as well as contemporary issues. The goal of the course is to develop a useful understanding of how to distinguish respectable scientific inquiry from less scientific and often disreputable uses and abuses of this methodology.

A critical examination, in the light of contemporary moral disagreements and traditional ethical theories, of some of the moral issues arising out of medical practice and experimentation in our society. Issues that might be discussed include euthanasia, genetic engineering, organ transplants, medical malpractice, the allocation of medical resources, and the rights of the patient.