This page contains a summary of an in-person discussion from an upper year course in bioethics, though the tools are similar to ones I’ve used in other courses. They will not generalize to everyone nor every course context. I am working to develop a clearer or more comprehensive version of the following, but share these draft resources for now.

Click here to skip the background and scroll right down to sample scripts.

Background:

In the entry survey, I asked whether we had any worries for this course. Several of us answered that we were worried about participating in class, for many reasons. Some of us were worried about seeming unprepared, or not knowing enough about either philosophy, medicine, psychiatry, or other areas we’ll be building on. Others of us were worried that we would say the wrong things and offend or hurt people in trying to ask questions, perhaps because these topics are new to us, or because we have different degrees of familiarity with English or with the social cultures around Canada. Some of us were similarly worried that their positions would be seen as “not politically correct” or otherwise unacceptable even if they are dominant views in their homes, communities, or countries.

I can understand and appreciate these worries, and I want us to think collaboratively about how to respond to them. That will be an ongoing project throughout the course. For now, as we wrap up this first lecture, I want to quickly share a few of my own commitments, and some tools I think can be helpful for us moving onward.

Three of these basic commitments are that:

We should hold room to make mistakes and to learn from them. You will see this commitment reflected in the design of your assignments, which reward forms of improvement throughout the course. For the purposes of participation, I mean that we should feel invited to ask questions even if we do not have the right words yet, to ask questions that might seem obvious or even wrong, to try answering questions even if we only have half thoughts, and in general to understand our space as a learning space, where learning is an ongoing process. If we don’t feel comfortable making mistakes, we will lose several opportunities for inquiry and for improvement.
It is important to interrogate what we believe is obviously true or right, and to listen to positions that differ from our own. I certainly do not expect us to all share the same backgrounds, beliefs, or even to come to the same conclusions on the issues we discuss. I do expect us to be willing to try engaging with alternative views, and to practice engaging with them charitably. This also means that we should create space for others to share those views or ideas.
It is important to engage with personal experience, and to monitor our boundaries. The topics in this course can be deeply personal, and many of us will have existing experience with the topics we cover. We’ll discuss the moral and epistemic values of experience throughout this course in more detail, and I want to invite us to bring experiences into the conversation where we think it appropriate. At the same time, I want us to be able to hold space for boundaries, such as boundaries in what I’m comfortable disclosing or not, in what I’m comfortable with others commenting on, or even what I’m comfortable with hearing.

These are lofty goals, and meeting them will depend on our ongoing collaboration throughout the term,. I also know that me saying these things will not immediately make us comfortable with them, and that our needs, comforts, and worries can change throughout the coming months. To end today and to start the course, I want to offer us some scripts as some starting tools toward these goals.

Sample classroom scripts

Building on three of the most common concerns from the entry survey, below are some scripts that might help as we navigate these worries. I’m borrowing the language of “scripting” from autistic, mad, and neurodiverse communities, where scripts are understood as tools that can help us plan out what we want to say and minimize misunderstandings – like a movie or TV script. Meanwhile, there are many existing social or professional scripts that we might see in our readings or discussions. After all, even “In this paper, I argue that ___” can be understood as a type of script!

Note that you’re not expected to use any of the below, but some students report finding them helpful for framing their questions or contributions. I share them as a resource, not a requirement.

Remember also that you’re very welcome to read your questions or contributions off your laptop screen or written notes, in case it helps to write them down ahead of time.

Finally, if you want some bonus homework, consider reflecting on your own learning goals, background, or worries for this course, and what other scripts might be helpful for you. If you come up with helpful scripts, consider sharing them on the discussion board for our peers, and so I can share them in other courses too!

I’m feeling unprepared, or don’t know the “right” language.

While my hope is that you complete all the preparation before each lecture, and the lectures will be much easier to understand if you have done so, I know that sometimes this won’t be possible. You should still feel invited to ask questions in class even if you are underprepared for that particular day. (Still do try to finish the readings as soon as you can!).

Meanwhile, we are a very diverse group of people with different language backgrounds, including disciplinary languages. The language and concepts used in philosophy can be very different from those in biology, for example.

We’re allowed to name these starting points, and to disclose where we’re coming from. Consider phrases like:

“I don’t know the best way to express this yet, but I was wondering __”
“English isn’t my first language. What does __ mean in this context? Is it a technical term for this course?”
“I only did the first reading for this week. Did the other authors already cover __?”
“I didn’t finish the readings for this week. Could someone quickly explain what the difference is between __ and __? Or do they mean the same thing?”
“The readings used different language like __. Is there a reason we’re not using it?”
“Will we be expected to use language like __ in our papers? What about __ instead?”
“I’ve heard people use the words __. Is that language appropriate in this discussion?”
“I understood that passage in the reading differently, as saying __. Is that sentence maybe ambiguous or vague, or did I miss something in my interpretation?”
“I’m just thinking out loud. Please ask me to rephrase if this is unclear: _____”
“I don’t think my last comment was understood in the way I intended. I meant to say __.”
“This topic makes me really mad. So my thoughts might not come out as organized or kindly as I want them to. But __.”

Reminders: You’re not required to share your language backgrounds with us. You’re welcome, for example, just to ask “what does __ mean in this context?” without the further qualification. I have written these scripts based on specific disclosures in the entry surveys, but you can adapt them (or not!) in the ways useful to you.

I want to share my experiences, but don’t know how they will be received.

We’ll see throughout this course that it can be valuable to hear and engage critically with different experiences. Still, sharing experiences can feel risky at times, and for good reasons. Perhaps I don’t want to have to defend my experiences, especially if doing so might be traumatizing to me. Perhaps I’m just concerned about peoples’ impressions of me.

I might also want to avoid trauma-dumping or over-disclosing difficult content, since that might negatively impact other people in the class. But knowing where those lines are can be difficult to navigate on our own.

You’re allowed to tell us what your boundaries currently are, to help us listen and engage on your own terms, and you’re encouraged to check in with peers about where they are. Here are some example scripts:

“I have first-hand experience I’d like to add. Please don’t ask me follow up questions about the experience or my interpretation of it: __.”
“I was diagnosed with that condition and want to add something. I’m okay with discussing this further, though I prefer people use the words __ to refer to me instead of __.”
“I have an experience with __, but I know that the details can be difficult to hear. Are people okay if I share this now, maybe if I don’t go into detail?”
“I acknowledge those other experiences, but I want different experiences like mine to be heard too: __.”
“This is really hard for me to share, and I might need to calm down after. So, if I cry or leave the room mid-discussion, it’s not necessarily because of what anyone said.”
“I know someone who went through this, and while I don’t want to speak for them, I think it is important to note that __.”
“I have an experience I want to share, but I don’t really feel able to share it now. I might post it on the discussion board later if that changes. But based on that experience, I wanted to generally ask: __?”

Reminders: You do not have to disclose your experiences or diagnoses at all, not even for accommodations. You also do not have to ask permission to leave the room, or tell us why you’re leaving the room. You’re also very welcome to stim or self-soothe within the classroom if you want and if it works for you. I’m happy to navigate our needs as they change throughout the course. The above are just options based on people’s entry surveys.

I’m worried that my view will seem controversial or harmful, or that people will think badly of me.

I believe we miss many opportunities for inquiry and dialogue if we only uphold current social and moral norms without questioning them. This is especially important when we recognize that social and moral norms can differ across time and space: what is taken for granted as obvious here will not always be what is obvious elsewhere, or they may be obvious for different reasons. And even within the same times and spaces, there can be competing norms, as we will see throughout this course: it is worth digging deeper. In the very least, listening across difference can be a valuable exercise in philosophy, as a source for possible objections to our own arguments and reasoning.

So, I believe it is important to seek out and engage different perspectives, and I will often share ideas that I do not believe in for this reason. We should generally avoid reducing people to the beliefs or positions they share in class. Still, if we’re worried about how views will reflect on us, we can present them as views for discussion without necessarily identifying them as our own. Meanwhile, if we’re worried about harming others, we can name this worry too, and again ask for guidance. Consider phrases like:

“In my country/culture/religion, an argument I’ve heard a lot is __. That doesn’t seem to be reflected in any of our readings. Could we discuss this argument and why it might not be included?”
“As a member of __, I was always taught that __. Is this similar to what we’re discussing?”
“I’m not a member of __, but I had been told that they believe __. I’m not sure whether what I was told is right. Can comment on this, or tell me where to look for better information?”
“What would this position or argument say in response to arguments that __?”
“I want to ask a question about __, but I don’t know the right words to do so. Can I ask it now and people can correct me after?”
“I’ve been told that this argument is harmful, but I don’t understand why or what alternatives I should use. Can I share it and get feedback on the alternatives?”
“I have a really hard time understanding why people believe __, but I want to engage it charitably. Can we discuss a few examples?”
“I know this might sound like I’m just playing ‘devil’s advocate,’ but I think it’s important to discuss because __.”

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