Ethical Issues and Human Ageing (DS9633C)

Content

The three complementary units are situated in the following context: Australians are living longer and our society is an ageing one. The recently concluded Royal Commission indicates some of the challenges and complexities in providing effective care for older citizens. Ageing in Australia today has become an urgent and increasingly important public issue. There are political, social and economic costs associated with an ageing society that require strategic thinking. A Gospel perspective calls Christians to collaborate in the building of a just and compassionate society.

This specific course unit takes up this context by focussing on the concrete ethical challenges arising from living longer. The range of burdens throughout the ageing journey will be developed in detail and will conclude with a study of end-of-life challenges.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

This unit is part of a suite of three integrated units: DS8632C, DS9631C and DS9633

Pedagogy

Lectures, seminars, tutorials

This unit is divided into three modules;

• each module involves two Saturdays;
• each Saturday requires 4 hours synchronous learning (10-12 noon, 2-4pm);

• in addition 4 hours asynchronous tasks are required for each Saturday

• Module 1 Living longer and aged care

• Module 2 Burdens of ageing

• Module 3 Challenges for ageing

Audit students may choose to participate in one or more modules.

Indicative Bibliography

• British Medical Association. Ethics of Caring for Older People. 2nd edition, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
• Callahan, D. The Troubled Dream of Life: Living with Mortality New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.
• Caplan, A.L. If I were a rich man could I buy a pancreas? and other essays on the ethics of health care. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.
• Gula, R. Just Ministry. Professional Ethics for Pastoral Ministers. New York: Paulist Press, 2010.
• Hauwerwas, S., Suffering Presence, Notre Dame. Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1986.
• Holstein, M.B., J.A. Parks, M.H. Waymack, Ethics, Aging, and Society. The Critical Turn, New York: Springer, 2011.
• Lange, F. de: Loving Later Life: An Ethics of Aging. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2015.
• Meilaender, G. Should We Live Forever?: The Ethical Ambiguities of Aging. Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans, 2013.
• Moody, H.R., Sasser, J.R. Aging. Concepts and Controversies, 8th ed., Los Angeles: Sage, 2015.
• Moses, S.M. Ethics and the Elderly. The Challenge of Long-Term Care. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 2015.

Assessment