Philosophy 480/680 – Advanced Environmental Ethics: - Spring 2003
The Ethics of Hunting
Dr. Michael P. Nelson
Office: 416 CCC (346-3907)
Office Hours: 1-1:50 MTR, and by appointment
OBJECTIVE
This course will be an in-depth exploration of the arguments employed to defend and critique hunting.
Purchase:
A View to Death in the Morning, by Matt Cartmill. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993)
A HunterÕs Heart: Honest Essays on Blood Sport, edited by David Peterson. (New York: Owl Book/Henry Holt and Co., 1996)
Other reading will be placed on e-reserve.
REQUIREMENTS
Students will be expected to participate regularly and take an active role in classroom discussions. Students will also be responsible for more formal presentations in class and leading classroom discussions.
Students will be expected to prepare writing assignments on a regular (weekly) basis. The single lowest grade on those papers will be dropped; no late papers will be accepted. The majority of the grade will be determined by a substantial term paper (i.e., roughly 10-15 pages).
Students will be expected to do all of the reading and attend all of the classes. Failure here will result in failure in the above requirements. (Note: any student missing more than 3 sessions of the class will automatically receive a failing grade for the class)
Attendance and Participation = Approx. 25%
Small Writing Assignments = Approx. 25%
Term Paper = Approx. 50%
Because this is a writing
emphasis class, your work will be evaluated both for content and for writing
effectiveness. For help with
philosophical writing I will distribute a handout ÒWriting a Philosophy
PaperÓ. Roughly there are three
levels of philosophical writing. I
will expect your daily papers to be at a beginning level. Your final paper will be at the
intermediate level. Advanced
writing generally occurs at the graduate and professional levels for the
purpose of publication.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
Jan. 21
– Introduction
Jan. 28
– Hunting and History
Reading: A View to Death in the Morning,
Preface, Chapters 1-4.
Feb. 4
– Hunting and History, cont.
Reading:
A View to Death
in the Morning, Chapters 5-8.
Feb. 11
– Hunting and History, cont. again
Reading: A View to Death in the Morning,
Chapters 9-12.
Feb. 18
– Essays on Hunting
Reading: A HunterÕs Heart, pp. xi-79.
Feb. 25
– Essays on Hunting, cont.
Reading: A HunterÕs Heart, pp.
80-161.
March 4
– Essays on Hunting, cont. again
Reading: A HunterÕs Heart, pp.
162-245.
March 11
– Essays on Hunting, cont. again, again
Reading: A HunterÕs Heart, pp.
246-326.
March 18
– No class, Spring Recess
March 25
– Leopold and Hunting
Reading: Leopold ÒWildlife in American
Culture,Ó ÒThe Land Ethic,Ó Charles List ÒIs Hunting a Right Thing?Ó
April 1
– The Ethics of Hunting
Reading:
Robert Loftin ÒThe
Morality of HuntingÓ
April 8
– The Ethics of Hunting, cont.
Reading: Ann Causey ÒOn The Morality of
HuntingÓ
April 15
– The Ethics of Hunting, cont. again
Reading:
Theodore Vitali
ÒSport Hunting: Moral or Immoral?Ó
April 22
– The Ethics of Hunting, cont. yet again
Reading: Roger King ÒEnvironmental Ethics
and the Case for HuntingÓ
April 29
– The Ethics of Hunting, and again, can you believe it?
Reading: Brian Luke ÒA Critical Analysis of
HuntersÕ EthicsÓ
May 6
– The Ethics of Hunting, cont. for the last time
Reading: A. Dionys de Leeuw ÒContemplating
the Interests of Fish: The AnglerÕs ChallengeÓ
GRADING SCALE
Conversion from numerical to letter grade: 95-100=A; 90-94=A-; 87-89=B+; 84-86=B; 80-83=B-; 77-79=C+; 74-76=C; 70-73=C-; 67-69=D+; 63-66=D; 0-62=F.