Exploring Bioethics - NIH Office of Science Education - National ...

Table 2d. Students say they already have a strong opinion because of their religion.How You Might RespondCraft a response that respects religious beliefs andmakes it clear that you are not trying to build consensuswithin the classroom or to change students’ minds. Yourresponse should emphasize the need for students to providereasons to support their positions.Examples of What You Might Say“It’s fine that you already have an opinion. The goal hereis not for me or anyone else in this room to change yourmind. However, the class discussions and activities giveyou the chance to express more reasons that support youropinion. We’ll be discussing ethical considerations likerespect, fairness, and minimizing harms while maximizingbenefits to people, and you’ll be able to use these considerations,which often arise within religious teachings, tosupport your opinion. By listening to other students’ opinions,you’ll be able to further develop your own thinkingand provide more reasons for your own opinion.”Table 2e. Students are stuck thinking that all positions are equally valid and that ranking them is impossible.How You Might RespondExamples of What You Might SayGive a very concrete example to help students confrontsituations that they would probably deem unfair orunacceptable—such as a teacher giving a grade of “D” topapers of all students whose name begins with a vowel.Then, after students have had a chance to respond, helpthem make the connection: it’s good to see that therecan be a wide range of ethically accepted positions, butsome positions are better justified than others.“Suppose you’ve been waiting in line for a very long timefor tickets to an event. Someone comes along and hopsright to the front of the line. You voice your discontent,and the person who jumped to the front comments that‘everyone is allowed to do what they want.’ What mightyou say in response to engage this person in a constructiveand meaningful dialogue?” (Student responds … .) Then,“How does this ‘jumping-to-the head-of-the-line’ examplerelate to bioethics?”Or, “What if I decided to assign random grades to yourpapers? How would you react? Are all practices reallyequally okay?”“Let’s put this specific issue aside for a moment and thinkmore broadly. Are there certain practices in the world thatare ethically wrong? If so, what are some examples? Whyare these ethically wrong?”Ask probing questions to help students reconsiderwhether or not all arguments are equally good and howimportant it is to give reasons in support of a stance.Some students might think it’s rude to critique anotherstudent’s thinking. Explain that discussions and critiquesare not rude as long as students focus on the reasonsbeing discussed and do not mock them.“Here are two positions on a completely different issue … .Which has better supporting evidence or reasons?”“What does it mean for a justification or reason to bewell-developed? Why is it important for your reasons to bewell-developed?”“It may not always be possible to know what is best, butit is usually possible to distinguish between ‘better’ and‘worse’ justifications.”“It’s not rude to assess someone’s arguments; rather, judgingsome positions and the reasons given for them is whateducated and informed people should do.”18 Exploring Bioethics