The basic ethics course was a prerequisite for Medical Ethics for many years. Now it is sufficient to have either that course or �Introduction to Philosophy� to enroll in Philosophy or HPS 442 (Medical Ethics).
There are good reasons to require the basic ethics course since the concepts and theories that you learn in that course are assumed, and applied, in Medical Ethics. Equally important is the whole approach of ethical reasoning in support of different positions. In the past when I have admitted students without the Ethics course, some would often be puzzled about the difference between normative and factual claims or about why utilitarians don�t believe in rights or ask, �isn�t it all a matter of how you feel about the issue?� Then I felt in the uncomfortable position of needing to take the time of the rest of the class to answer a question that would not be asked by a student who had had the basic ethics course. Most students without the prerequisite ended up dropping the course and telling me that they came to realize that they did need the basic ethics course after all.
Having said that, there are exceptions. In fact, several of the best students in Medical Ethics the last few years were honors students who asked to be admitted to the course without the prerequisite. It worked out fine for them, and I think a key reason was that they were willing to read, and be tested on, the �Introduction to Bioethics� packet that all the students in Medical Ethics read and are tested on very early in the course. Usually they had come to ask me about Medical Ethics early in the summer, so they were able to take the test well before the beginning of the fall term.
So: my conclusion is that I am willing to admit students without the prerequisite, including students who have never taken a philosophy course, if they will read the �Introduction to Bioethics� and be tested on it. Ideally this would be during the summer long enough before the start of fall classes so they can be assured admission to the class. The �Introduction to Bioethics� will be on sale as a course pack in the bookstore, but you can download it for free from my web page and print it out. The file is available at: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elias/full primer.htm.
All of this is really meant mainly as a protection to you so that you don�t expend time and money on a course you will need to drop. If you take a look at the above primer and feel that you will have no problem handling the material, then you should discuss with me taking the course without the prerequisite. Philosophy is not like Calculus 1 and 2; prerequisites are not hard-and-fast things.
If you have any questions or I can help in any way, please email me: [email protected]
Elias Baumgarten
Web page: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elias/