PHIL 1120 - Environmental Ethics

1. Apply one’s own ethical responses to classic and/or modern writings on topics assigned for reading in environmental ethics.
2. Demonstrate the implication of ethical theories upon the relationship between humankind and its broader natural environment.
3. Consider case studies in order to identify the causes of ethical and legal tensions existing in the issue, which inevitably include social and scientific considerations.
4. Identify the different institutions at play that deal with different environmental or natural resource challenges as learned in class.
5. Explain ethical considerations (i.e. systemic environmental injustice) with respect to the disproportionate impact of environmental harms on race and socioeconomic standing.
6. Demonstrate the distinction and interplay between individual members of ecosystems and the biotic community as a whole.
7. Develop and advocate student position on best possible solutions to environmental problems, given environmentally informed considerations.
8. Develop and advocate student position on best possible solutions to environmental problems, given ethically informed considerations.
9. Research and then share a current topic of relevance, culminating in an analysis and application of ethical theory to an environmental issue.

1. Theories in Ethics (e.g., Utilitarianism, Deontology, Social Contract Theory, Virtue Ethics)
2. Ways of valuing nature and the environment (Anthropocentric vs. Anti-Anthropocentric views).
3. Theories of Nature (e.g. Biocentrism, Ecocentrism, Anthropocentrism, Deep Ecology, Environmental Pragmatism, Ecofeminism)
4. Animal Rights/Ethics (e.g., Veganism, Animal Experimentation, Animal Property status, Fur, Hunting)
5. Intergenerational justice as it pertains to environmental and natural resource use, management, conservation, and restoration
6. Systemic environmental injustice and its impact upon racial groups and other vulnerable populations
7. Examination of current issues in environmental ethics (e.g., Environmental Management, Climate Change, Conservation and Preservation, Natural Resource Use, Population Issues, Pollution, International Responsibilities and Obligations)
8. Contrasting Western and Nonwestern perspectives as they pertain to environmental ethics