Environmental Ethics

Shepherd College Environmental Studies Program

Spring 2002

Instructor: Matthew Wilburn King Course: Wednesday, 6:40 p.m. to 9:20 p.m. Location: Room 15, Snyder Hall, Shepherd College Contact Information: Matthew Wilburn (M.Phil) International Program Manager Office of International Activities Oceanic & Atmospheric Research National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration United States Department of Commerce 1315 East/West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910 Course Description: A study of how the principles of ethical theory can be applied to contemporary environmental issues. The class will examine a variety of theoretical approaches to environmental ethics including, but not limited to, anthoprocentric views of nature, non-anthropocentric views of nature, ecocentrism, biocentrism, deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism.  To what extent (if any) do we have a moral obligation to effect change in terms of peoples’ attitudes to environmental issues?  The class will primarily rely on student participation and these and related issues will be addressed through lecture, group discussion, and student presentations. Texts: Des Jardins, Joseph R.; “Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy” Wadsworth Publishing, 1997. Newton, Lisa H. & Dillingham, Catherine K.; “Watersheds 2: Ten Cases in Environmental Ethics” Wadsworth Publishing 1997.  Course Objectives: At the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Define Environmental Ethics.
2. Describe the nature and relationship of philosophy to contemporary environmental issues.
3. Describe ethical relativism, natural law theory – the tradition of teleology, the utilitarian tradition, deontology: an ethics of duty and rights, and social justice issues.
4. Describe environmental ethics as applied ethics.
5. Describe the relationship between environmental ethics questions and the economy.
6. Describe the relationship between ethics, energy, and responsibilities.
7. Describe what we mean by “responsibilities to the natural world.”
8. Define anthropocentrism.
9. Define a non-anthropocentric world-view
10. Define ecocentrism
11. Describe what we mean by animal rights, biocentric ethics, deep ecology, social ecology, and ecofeminism.
12. Describe the relationship between ethics and ecology.
13. Describe Aldo Leopold’s “Land Ethic.”

In addition, you will develop your writing skills, your ability to present material in a coherent and substantive manner, and articulate yourself with clarity and conciseness. Format, Requirements, and the Final Paper: Environmental Journal: The environmental journal will have three components.  Each week the students will be required to submit three pages to include in their journal.  They should have two copies of each page.  I will retain the copy that is handed in and you must retain a copy to be included in your notebook.  Each week the journal will include 1) a one page summary of the assigned reading from Des Jardins, Environmental Ethics; 2) a one page summary of the assigned reading from Newton & Dillingham; & 3) students will be required to submit a one page summary on an environmental article taken from a newspaper, magazine, journal, etc. each week. At the end of each summary you will need to have written down two good questions that will provoke substantive dialogue in the classroom. The one page summary of the contemporary environmental issue should include three paragraphs.  First, the student must write a paragraph summarizing the article. Second, the student shall write a paragraph stating their thoughts and/or feelings about the article.  Finally, the student shall explain how one aspect of each week’s reading from Des Jardins relates to the article that they have selected. Each of these summaries will be due at the beginning of each class.  Again, I will keep the copy that you hand in to me so it is important that you print an additional copy to include in your notebook.  Your final notebook will be handed in to me at the end of the semester.  Don’t try and write up the journal entries at the end of the semester.  I will have a record of what you’ve handed in during the course of the semester.  If you miss a class you will only have until the next class that you attend to hand in the previous weeks entry.  The journal entries that you turn into me will not be returned to the.  Those will go into my records. Each week students will be randomly selected and required to give a presentation of their summaries. The presentation is intended to generate discussion among the class which the instructor will facilitate. (Read the sections on presentation and participation.)  The journal will account for 40% of the student’s final grade. DO NOT hand me a journal entry that has not been typed in 12 font, double spaced, on standard 8.5 X 11 in paper. Final 3000 Word Paper: The final paper will be 3000 words and it shall be completed by the date that you are assigned to present your paper at the end of the semester.  This will be April 24th or May 1st depending upon which date you choose.  You will need to choose a specific ethical orientation to the world and apply it to a contemporary environmental issue of your choosing.  In essence, your asking how would a “whatever ethical perspective” deal with “whatever issue” you choose.  For example, you may ask; What would a deep ecologist’s perspective be on global warming and what types of policies and/or recommendations would a deep ecologist make to deal with it?  To address your question you will obviously need to expound upon what the ethical perspective that you have chosen is, what the issue that you are dealing with is, and finally, how that ethical perspective applies to the issue.  You may select any theoretical perspective on the environment that you wish, including those that have been addressed during this course.  You may also select any type of anthropogenic change that is occuring in the global environment.  Each student will need to establish a time to meet with on January 30 to discuss the question that has been chosen.  You will be required to also establish a follow-up meeting with me on February 20, March 13, and April 10.  During your first meeting with me on January 30 you will be required to have: 1. A clearly stated thesis. The thesis is the question that you are trying to answer.  It is a proposition advanced for discussion or the subject of a composition. 2. An established methodology to address the thesis. How are you going to answer the question that you are asking? A methodology is a systematic procedure for answering the question that you are asking.  It’s a plan or a system of action. 3. A clearly stated level of analysis.  The analysis is the separation of a conception into its elements, induction.  The process of drawing a general conclusion from particular facts. Specifics: You will be required to type your paper.  Your paper will need to be printed on standard 8.5 X 11inch paper.  You must use 12 font, double space, and number the pages.  DO NOT hand me anything that is in a hand written format. Since term papers are all about research, you must indicate the sources of your research within your paper.  This is done with footnotes (or endnotes), references within the text, and a bibliography.  There are very specific rules to follow when including references within a paper: 1. Quotations should be copied exactly, and referenced in the footnote.  If you must shorten a quotation, indicate that sections were removed by using the ellipses, those three dots “…” which translate to “Something has been omitted here.”  If you interject language into a quote you should enclose the interjection within a set of [   ]. 2. Quotations of fewer than four typed lines are placed within quotation marks, and introduced by a comma or a colon.  Quotations of four typed lines or longer are also introduced by a comma or a colon, but are set off from the text by triple spacing, and indented five lines on either side; they should also be single-spaced. 3. The footnotes and/or endnotes are ordered references indicated by a superscript number after a paraphrase or quotation that is not your own.[1]  Make sure that you check out the example below. 4. The bibliography is a list of all the works used in compiling a research paper.  If you have used a book or article for information it belongs in your bibliography, even if you have not directly cited it.  Do not list books you did not use, no matter how fancy you want to appear.  If you have used footnotes or endnotes you should list the works in alphabetical order without numbers.  Bibliography entries are constructed different from footnotes.  Here is what a bibliography should look like: Des Jardins, Joseph. “Environmental Ethics: An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy,” Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 2001. Your paper will need to include the following components: 1) A title page that includes your name, the question that you are asking, the course date and time, and the date that it is due. 2) A brief abstract or summary of the paper. 3) A brief table of contents that clearly defines the various sections of your paper. 4) A bibliography. Resources:  These books are not generally fun to read, except The Elements of Style, but they contain useful information for research paper writers like yourself. Guide to Reference Books, American Library Association. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Modern Language Association. William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, Macmillan. Participation: Participation is defined as actively engaging in the class discussions, asking questions of your students and the professor, as well as contributing to the dialogue of the course.  Your level of participation will be assessed and account for 15% of your grade.  You will be evaluated on the aforementioned criteria.  You will be assessed as either having participated or having not participated.  Obviously, if you miss class you were not able to participate.  Therefore, you will not receive a pass for that particular class. Presentation: Presentation will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.  Presentation not only includes the presentations for your environmental journal and final paper.  It also includes clearly articulating yourself during class discussions, sitting up straight, looking your fellow students in the eyes or whomever you are addressing, and being confident and comfortable with your audience.  These skills are paramount to functioning in the so-called “real-world.”  This will be an opportune time to practice because it doesn’t affect your ability to get or retain your position within whatever organization you choose to work for in the future. When presenting the summaries that are going to be included in your environmental journal and when presenting your final paper you will be required to: 1) clearly articulate the content of your summary without reading it in its entirety; 2) have a substantive understanding of what it is that you have read and have written about in your summary and paper; and 3) ask two good questions pertaining to each summary and the final paper to generate dialogue in the classroom.  Again, if you are not in class you will not receive credit for your presentation. Attendance Policy: If a student should decide to miss class s/he will still be required to submit each week’s entries into the environmental journal.  It is the student’s responsibility to attend all classes.  If the student is ill, fails to attend, or misses class for any reason they shall be responsible for the journal. This will ensure that the student does not fall behind on the material being presented.  Since this course is held only one evening per week it is imperative that the student keep-up-to-speed on the topics being read, discussed, and written about. Grading: Final 3000 Word Paper: 25% Environmental Journal: 40% Participation in Discussions: 15% Presentations: 15% Credit: This class is worth 3 credit hours and counts toward the completion of the “cultural resources” track in the environmental studies program. Tentative Schedule of Reading Assignments: January 9: This is the first day of class.  No reading assignment is due.  Review of the syllabus, structure of the course, and expectations. January 16: Preface & Chapter 1 of Environmental Ethics.  Preface & Introduction of Wathersheds 2.  Submission of first Environmental Journal entry. January 23: Chapter 2 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. January 30: Chapter 3 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. February 6: Chapter 4 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. February 13: Chapter 5 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. February 20: Chapter 6 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. February 27: Chapter 7 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. March 6: Chapter 8 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. March 13: Mid-Term March 20: Spring Break March 27: Chapter 9 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. April 3: Chapter 10 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. April 10: Student/Instructor Meeting on their Paper Assignment April 17: Chapter 11 of Environmental Ethics. Watersheds 2 Case Study Chapter to be determined. April 24: Paper Presentations. May 1: Paper Presentations. May 8: Finals Week Bibliography: