This course introduces philosophical ethics in the context of environment such as population growth, resource use, sustainability, non-human animal welfare, biodiversity loss, environmental justice, and global climate change. No prior experience with philosophy is required. The two main goals of the course are to provide students with a more sophisticated understanding and vocabulary to make and evaluate ethical arguments and to engage students’ ethical reasoning and reflection on environmental issues.
teacher profile teaching materials
● Demonstrate important concepts and vocabulary related to ethics
● Exhibit ethical literacy and its application to environmental issues
● Use critical thinking to critique how environmental problems relate to ethical
consideration
● Differentiate between normative and meta-ethics and how they relate to how
humans react with the environment
● Relate how biocentrism, eco-centrism and anthropocentrism impact
environmental justice and conservation
● Comprehend the intersection of environmental ethics and culture
This course is taught in English.
McShane, K . (2007). Anthropocentrism vs. Nonanthropocentrism: Why Should We
Care?
Norton, G. B. (1984). Environmental Ethics and Weak Anthropocentrism.
Radford, T. (2010). How James Lovelock introduced Gaia to an unsuspecting world.
Korsgaard, C. M. (2013). Getting Animals in View.
Orland, M. A. (2004) A brief history of the relationship between humans and wildlife.
Programme
By completing this course, students will be able to:● Demonstrate important concepts and vocabulary related to ethics
● Exhibit ethical literacy and its application to environmental issues
● Use critical thinking to critique how environmental problems relate to ethical
consideration
● Differentiate between normative and meta-ethics and how they relate to how
humans react with the environment
● Relate how biocentrism, eco-centrism and anthropocentrism impact
environmental justice and conservation
● Comprehend the intersection of environmental ethics and culture
This course is taught in English.
Core Documentation
Required readings:McShane, K . (2007). Anthropocentrism vs. Nonanthropocentrism: Why Should We
Care?
Norton, G. B. (1984). Environmental Ethics and Weak Anthropocentrism.
Radford, T. (2010). How James Lovelock introduced Gaia to an unsuspecting world.
Korsgaard, C. M. (2013). Getting Animals in View.
Orland, M. A. (2004) A brief history of the relationship between humans and wildlife.
Reference Bibliography
No recommended biblography provided.Type of delivery of the course
Participation is valued as meaningful contribution online and in person, utilizing the presented resources and materials from the course. Meaningful contribution requires students to be prepared in advance of each class session and to have regular attendance. Students must clearly demonstrate they have engaged with the materials as directed, for example, through classroom discussions, online discussion boards, peer-to-peer feedback (after presentations), interaction with guest speakers and attentiveness on co-curricular and outside-of-classroom activities.Attendance
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Attendance is mandatory for all classes, including field studies. If a student misses more than three classesin this course, two percentage points will be deducted from the final grade for every additional absence. Any exams, tests,presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical emergenciesor family emergencies. The Faculty Committee will only consider extreme emergency cases and will strictly adhere to this policy.Type of evaluation
Assessment and Final Grade 1. Individual research paper: 25% 2. Animal ethics case studies: 10% 3. Group project: 15% 4. Final Exam: 30% 5. Class participation: 20% TOTAL 100