Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

An introduction to the field of environmental ethics for non-specialists. Addresses questions such as what obligations we have to future generations and the natural world, as well as the extent of these obligations. Students who have taken PHIL 333-3 or ENV 399-3 "Special Topics in Environmental Ethics" prior to or in 2011 and students with credit in ENV 320W or PHIL 328-3 may not enroll in this course for further credit. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

REM 320W will engage contemporary ethical discourse and environmental writing at an unprecedented juncture in human history. Faced with some measure of ecological disaster and catastrophe throughout our existence as a species, never before have the crises been so global, so inextricably interrelated and so…our fault. We are living at the dawn of the so-called ‘Anthropocene’, a controversial moniker which has been used to both celebrate and lament our rise to global ecological dominance. As the negative effects of climate change and species extinction continue to grow, we are faced with an increasing sense of urgency and a shrinking timeframe to course correct.

In this urgent situation, what role do our ideas about right and wrong play in the future of the planet? In other words, are ecological problems fundamentally moral problems? And if so, what is the best ethical framework for grappling with them? In this class we will explore three interrelated questions related to ethics:

1. What is the appropriate moral relationship between human beings and the rest of the earth community?
2. If the current state of affairs is lacking, what methods are being proposed to achieve this optimal moral relationship?
3. What role does creative and persuasive writing play in articulating, motivating and achieving this relationship between humans and the earth?

We will begin by learning the rudiments of classical philosophical approaches to ethics and morality, but we will focus most of our attention on contemporary environmental case studies and writers. Because this is a ‘W’ section, your work as students will be primarily through, you guessed it, writing; however, reading, discussion, facilitation and presentation will also be important components of this course.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

• Develop a familiarity with the discourse of ethics and its application to environmental problems.
• Become familiar with place-based examples of environmental problems and reflect on one’s own connection to these problems.
• Improve ability to engage ethical problems through descriptive and analytical writing.
• Develop critical thinking, argument, public speaking and discussion facilitation skills.

Grading

Materials

REQUIRED READING: