Philosophy 245, Section CY 001

Environmental Ethics

Spring 1995 - Wednesday 7:30 – 10:20 PM

Dr. Geoffrey Frasz, Office Rm 2022, Cheyenne Campus, 651-4126 

Syllabus

Textbook:

We will read all of Des Jardins' Environmental Ethics, plus I will be giving you reprints of articles to supplement ideas presented in the text. The text is available in the CCSN bookstore.

Format and Examinations:

The class will meet for the full 2 hours and 20 min period, with at least one 5-10 break. The class will be a combination of short lectures by me and discussion of concepts and assigned review questions in the text by the class in small groups and as a whole. There will be two take home essay examinations. These exams are to be typed. In addition to the tests you will write a typed final paper in which you examine an environmental problem, present an evaluation of the problem and its possible solution from the perspective of one of the current environmental ethics and offer your own critique of that position and solution. Detailed insturctions for the paper will be given later in the semester.

Grading:

Your grade will be calculated in the following manner:

2 essay tests @ 25% each = 50%

1 evaluation and position paper @ 25% = 25%

weekly assigned review questions @ 25% = 25%

Class Activities:

Weekly class activities will include lectures, discussions, films, I will make weekly assignments of readings from the text as well as from article reprints given to you in class. I will also make homework assignments from selected discussion questions in the text. This questions will be gone over the following class and I will then collect what you have written. While it is not required, I prefer this answers to be typed.

Attendance: Attendance is very important! From the lectures will come the study questions on which the examinations will be based. If you are not present during class sessions, you cannot participate in the discussion, which diminishes the prospect of receiving a high grade. I believe a student cannot pass this course without regular class attendance and participation.. 

Credit: This course provides 3 credits and will satisfy a general humanities elective and will transfer as such and as a philosophy elective to UNLV or UNR.

Recommended Readings 

A. The Judeo-Christian Tradition: Ian McHarg, Design With Nature. Philadelphia: Falcon, 1969; Francis Schaeffer, Pollution and the Death of Man: The Christian View of Ecology. New York: Hodder and Stoughton, 1970; D. and E. Spring, eds., Ecology and Religion in History. New York: Harper & Row, 1974; Elizabeth D. Gray, Green Paradise Lost. Wellesley, Mass.: Roundtable, 1979; Albert J. Fritsch, S.J., Environmental Ethics: Choices for Concerned Citizens,. Garden City, NY: Doubleday/Anchor, 1980; and Robin Attfield, The Ethics of Environmental Concern. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983.

B. Environmental History and Science: Lynn White Jr., "The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis", Science 155 (1967): 1203-07; Roderick Nash, Wilderness and The American Mind. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press, 1967; Michael Ruse, The Darwinian Revolution: Science Red in Tooth and Claw. The University of Chicago Press, 1979; Donald Worster, Nature's Economy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday/Anchor, 1979; J. E. Lovelock, Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1979; Mountains Without Handrails. Ann Arbor, Mich: University of Michigan Press 1980.

C. Traditional and Protracted Humanism: John Passmore, Man's Responsibility for Nature; Ecological Problems and Western Traditions. New York: Scribner's, 1974; William Baxter, People or Penguins: the Case for Optimal Pollution. New York: Columbia University Press, 1974; R. I. Sikora and B. Barry, eds., Obligations to Future Generations. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1978; K. S. Shrader-Frechette, Environmental Ethics. Pacific Grove, Calif.: Boxwood, 1981; Ernest Partridge, ed. Responsibilities to Future Generations: Environmental Ethics, Buffalo, New York: Prometheus, 1981.

D. Extensionist Approaches: Albert Schweitzer, Civilization and Ethics. London: Black, 1946; Peter Singer, Animal Liberation: A New Ethics for Our Treatment of Animals. New York: The New York Review, 1975; Tom Regan and Peter Singer, eds., Animal Rights and Human Obligations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1976; R. K. Morris and M. W. Fox, eds. On The Fifth Day. Washington, D.C.: Acropolis, 1978; Charles Birch and John B. Cobb, Jr., The Liberation of Life: From the Cell to the Community. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1981; Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights, Berkeley, Calif,: University of Calif. Press, 1982; Earth and Ethics: The Case for Moral Pluralism. New York: Harper & Row, 1987; Peter Wenz, Environmental Justice, Albany, NY:SUNY Press, 1988.

E. Ecocentric Approach: Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac with Essays From Round River. New York,: Ballentine, 1966; Christopher Stone, Should Trees Have Standing?: Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects. Los Altos, Calif.: Kaufman, 1974; Daniel Koslovsky, An Evolutionary and Ecological Ethic. Englewood Cliff, NJ.: Prentice-Hall, 1974; Holmes Rolston, III, Environmental Ethics. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988; Mark Sagoff, The Economy of the Earth. Cambridge England: Cambridge University Press, 1988; Eugene Hargrove, Foundations of Environmental Ethics. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1989; J. Baird Callicott, ed., In Defense of the Land Ethic. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1989; Holmes Rolston, III, Philosophy Gone Wild. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1989.

F. Deep Ecology and Ecofeminism:: Arne Naess, "The Shallow and the Deep, Long Range Ecology Movement: A Summary", Inquiry 16 (1973); Arne Naess, Bill Devall, "The Deep Ecology Movement", Natural Resources Journal 20 (1980): 299 - 322; Arne Naess, Ecology, Community and Lifestyle. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989; Warwick Fox, Towards a Transpersonal Ecology, Boston, MA: Shambhala, 1990; Karen Warren, "The Power and Promise of Ecofeminism", Environmental Ethics 12 (1990): 125 - 146; Karen Warren and Jim Cheney, Ecological Feminism. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1991.

G. Anthologies: In addition to the important journal Environmental Ethics, see articles collected in the following: K. E. Goodpaster and K. M. Sayers, eds., Ethics and the Problems of the 21st Century, Notre Dame, Ind., Notre Dame Press, 1979; D. Scherer and T. Attig, eds., Ethics and the Environment. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1983; R. Elliot and A Gare, eds., Environmental Philosophy, University Park, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983; Tom Regan, ed., Earthbound: New Introductory Essays in Environmental Ethics. New York: Random House, 1984; J. Baird Callicott and Roger Ames, eds., Nature in Asian Traditions of Thought. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1989.

1st Reading Assignment Sheet

1/25 first class meeting, syllabus and reading assignments given out

introduction of teacher and class members

library assignment sheet given out

description of course

discussion of nature of philosophy, ethics, and environmental ethics

reading assignment for next class: Des Jardins - Chapter One

discussion questions to be prepared for next class: Ch. 1. #1,3,5

2/1 discussion of Chapter One

discussion questions gone over and collected

reading assignment for next class: Des Jardins - Chapter Two, PP. 19 -29

and reprinted articles given out in class

discussion questions to be prepared for next class: Ch . 2, #1,2,3

2/8 discussion of Ch. 2: ethical relativism and natural law theory

library assignment due

reading assignment for next class Chapter Two, pp. 29 - 40

and reprint articles given out in class

discussion questions to be prepared for next class: Ch. 2, #4, 5, 6

(if time permits, the Locke Game played in class)

2/15 discussion of Ch. 2: utilitarianism and deontological ethical theories

discussion questions gone over and collected

reading assignment for next class: Ch. 3 plus reprinted articles

discussion questions to be prepared for next class: Ch. 3, #2, 3, 4, 6

2/22 discussion of Ch. 3 economics and environmental issues

discussion questions gone over and collected

film on population issues shown in class

reading for next class: Ch. 4 plus reprinted articles

discussion questions to be prepared for next class: Ch. 4, #2, 3, 4, 5

3/1 discussion of Ch. 4: energy and environmental issues

discussion questions gone over and collected

films on hazardous wastes shown in class

reading assignment for next class: Ch. 5 plus reprinted articles

discussion questions for next class: Ch. 5, #2, 3, 4, 5

first test questions given out