Associate Professor
Focus: Philosophy/Bioethics
Contact Information
(518) 694-7259
Barry.DeCoster@owilhe.com
Speaker Request
Barry Decoster, PH.D.
EDUCATION
- Ph.D. Philosophy, Michigan State University
- M.A. Philosophy, Michigan State University
- B.S. Biotechnology & Humanities, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
COURSES TAUGHT
- ETH 310 – Bioethics
- ETH 315 – Health, Disease, and Authority in Medicine
- ETH 410 – Special Topics in Bioethics
- ETH 510 – Health Care and Human Values
- PSC 671G – Ethics in Research
ACADEMIC/RESEARCH INTERESTS
- My research interests focus on the areas of bioethics and philosophy of science & medicine (and their overlap). My work is largely in three main areas. First, I am interested in how vulnerable patients (e.g., women’s health; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health; racial minority health) engage and respond to the particular moral needs of their communities. In addition, I’m interested in these communities as “active epistemic agents.” Second, I’m interested in contemporary virtue ethics. Third, I’m interested in causal and explanatory issues within biomedicine, such as “medically unexplained disorders” like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.