Religion 3492: Religion, Ethics and Nature

Fall 2001

Schedule: Mondays 7th-9th periods (1:55-4:55 p.m.)

Room: Turlington 2354

Instructor: Anna Peterson

Office: 105 Anderson Hall, tel. 392-1625, ext. 226

E-mail: alp@religion.ufl.edu

Mailbox: 107 Anderson Hall (deliver all papers and assignments here)

Office hours: Monday 1:00-1:45 p.m., Tues. 10:00-11:30 a.m., and by appointment

Description and objectives

This course examines the ethical dimensions of humans’ interactions with the environment. We will look at materials from a variety of religious traditions in order to explore the ways different religious traditions and philosophical approaches answer the following questions:

1. What is “nature”? What gives it value, and what kind of value does it have?

2. How is humanness defined?

3. What constitutes a correct relationship with nature? What are the consequences of an incorrect relationship?

4. What defines a good community? Does a good community include non-human species and/or natural objects?

5. What are the main obstacles to achieving good relations with nature?

6. What, if any, role does the sacred play in achieving a good relationship with nature?

The diverse perspectives offered in the readings will provide a framework for thinking both about social-political ethics and about contemporary environmental issues, both practical and theoretical. We will examine the ways different problems have been approached, the assumptions underlying those approaches, and their strengths and weaknesses.

More concretely, we will use the readings to evaluate specific local and regional environmental issues. These case studies will be an ongoing, central aspect of the course, and will involve collaborative as well as individual assignments.

Readings

All are available at Goering’s Textbook Center on N.W. 1^st Ave. and on reserve at Library West

1. Anthony Weston, A Practical Companion to Ethics (Oxford University Press, 1997)

2. Audrey Chapman, Rodney Peterson, and Barbara Smith-Moran, eds., Consumption, Population, and Sustainability: Perspectives from Science and Religion (Island Press, 2000).

3. Harold Coward and Daniel Maguire, eds., Visions of a New Earth: Religious Perspectives on Population, Consumption, and Ecology (State University of New York Press, 2000).

4. J. Baird Callicott, Earth’s Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Environmental Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback (University of California Press, 1994)

5. David Barnhill and Roger Gottlieb, eds., Deep Ecology and World Religions: New Essays on Sacred Ground (State University of New York Press, 2001).

Course Requirements

1. Participation in class discussions. Participation requires not only attendance and alertness but also preparation, i.e., careful reading of the assigned texts prior to each class meeting (10% of final grade).

2. Cut out a newspaper or magazine article on an environmental problem and write a one-page analysis of why it is an ethical problem, due in class on Sept. 17 (5%)

3. Take-home exam (5 pages), due by 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28 (15%)

4. One-page letter to the editor presenting a religiously-grounded ethical argument on an environmental issue, due in class on Oct. 15 (5%)

5. Short essay (6-7 pages), comparing at least two different religious perspectives on the same environmental problem, due by 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 9 (20%).

6. Participation in discussion groups of 3-4 students, for discussion groups throughout the class as well as preparation and presentation of the research project.

7. Final research project analyzing an environmental problem in our region in light of religious perspectives. This assignment, which is worth 45% of the final grade overall, consists of several parts:

A. Initial presentation of the ethical aspects of the issue, due October 22 (2.5%)

B. Preliminary report, with initial bibliography of at least 5 GOOD sources, due November 5 (2.5%)

C. Report on interview with activist, religious leader, or policy maker, due November 26 (5%).

D. Oral presentation in class on December 3 (5%)

E.  Final papers, due in class December 3 (30%)

( I will provide more information about the research project on a separate page.

Schedule

Date Topic Reading

Aug. 27 Introduction

Sept. 3 Labor day; no class Begin Weston

Sept. 10 Defining ethical problems Weston (all)

Sept. 17 The environmental crisis Chapman, 23-107

** Newspaper article and analysis due in class Sept. 17 **

Sept. 24 Religious ethics and environmental Coward/Maguire, 15-28 and 43-64

ethics Chapman, 111-130

Barnhill/Gottlieb, 17-34

Callicott, Chapter 1

** First take-home essay due Friday, Sept. 28 **

Oct. 1 Judaism and Islam Chapman, 137-146 and 157-166

Coward/Maguire, 95-110 and 131-146

Barnhill/Gottlieb,153-168 and 193-212

Oct. 8 Christianity Callicott, Chapter 2

Chapman, 131-136, 147-156, and 167-190

Coward/Maguire, 65-94

Barnhill/Gottlieb, 169-192 and 213-242

Oct. 15 Hinduism Callicott, Chapter 3

Coward/Maguire, 111-130

Barnhill/Gottlieb, 59-76

** Letter to the editor due October 15 in class **

Oct. 22 Chinese religions Callicott, Chapter 4

Coward/Maguire, 161-174

Barnhill/Gottlieb,

Oct. 29 Buddhism Callicott, Chapter 5

Coward/Maguire, 147-160

Barnhill/Gottlieb, 77-106

Nov. 5 Indigenous and African traditions Callicott, Chapters 6, 7, and 8

Barnhill/Gottlieb, 35-58

Coward/Maguire, 175-200

** Second take-home essay due Friday, November 9 **

Nov. 12 No class; Veterans’ Day

Nov. 19 American Academy of Religion meeting; instructor out of town

Students meet with TA, work on collective projects, or conduct interviews

Nov. 26 Public policy and activism Chapman, 193-297

Callicott, Chapter 10

** Report on interview due Monday, Nov. 26 in class **

Dec. 3 Oral presentations

** Final papers due in class **