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Journal of Medical Ethics 2006;32:678-681; doi:10.1136/jme.2005.015818
Copyright © 2006 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Institute of Medical Ethics.

TEACHING AND LEARNING ETHICS

Teaching to the converted: religious belief in the seminar room

I Brassington

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
I Brassington
School of Law, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK; Iain.Brassington{at}manchester.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

It is not unknown for participants in discussions of ethics to prefix their claims with a profession of their religious faith—to say, for instance, "Well, I’m a Christian/Muslim/whatever, so I think that ...". Other participants in the debate may well worry about how to respond without the risk of giving offence or appearing ad hominem. Within a teaching environment, the worry may be even more acute. Nevertheless, it is suggested in this paper that such worries should not be allowed to impede debate; moreover, a teacher who let such prefixes pass without critique would be considered a poor teacher. In fact, a kind of duty for a teacher of ethics is to be contrary and to play the apostate.


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • McLachlan, H V (2008). The religious beliefs of students and the teaching of medical ethics: a comment on Brassington. J. Med. Ethics 34: 396-398 [Abstract] [Full Text]  

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