The aim of the course is to introduce bioethics, with particular reference to the main issues related to the three disciplinary areas of clinical ethics, re-search ethics and public ethics.
The course aims to provide a historical-methodological introduction of bio-ethics as a discipline. In particular, the different methodological approaches present in the literature and currently used within bioethical reasoning to face the so-called ethical dilemmas and moral disagreements will be pre-sented and discussed.
The course also deals with the three aforementioned sectors - clinical eth-ics, research ethics and public ethics - through the presentation of the main theoretical and applied issues addressed within these areas of investigation, and the treatment of selected case studies that allow to show how bioethics can become a useful tool for analyzing, if not solving, these issues.
Finally, the course will offer opportunity to evaluate the ethical and social impact of many topics proposed in the study path with reference to the dis-ciplinary area of research methodologies and communication and to the area of clinical and diagnostic disciplines.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
• demonstrate familiarity with the major concepts and theoretical perspec-tives in ethics;
• recognize and critically analyze ethical concerns in biology, medicine and public health;
• distinguish ethical questions from scientific and legal questions and from questions of personal preference, custom, or habit;
• develop and use critical thinking skills to analyze information and situa-tions in order to respond and act ethically with regard to scientific research, practice, and technology;
• recognize that while there can usually be several answers or approaches to an ethical question, it is important to present a strong, well-reasoned ar-gument for one’s position. And then to develop the ability to justify an ethi-cal position;
• Enhance respectful dialogue among individuals with diverse perspectives.
At the end of the course, students should have also the theoretical compe-tences that will allow them to assess ethical reasoning in complex situations and ethical decision making in professional and research practice.