PHI 3682: Honors Environmental Philosophy
Daniel White
Email: dwhite@fau.edu; see my Web page for office
hours and other syllabi: http://wise.fau.edu/~dwhite.
(Please note: this syllabus
is subject to regular updates; you should check this online version weekly.)
Office Hours, Spring 2009: T & R 11:30-12:30; 2:00-3:00, W 2-4, or
by appointment
Updated 1/6/09
Course
Description: This course
provides a study of contemporary environmental philosophy, including ethical
and practical issues related to the natural environment. As part of this enquiry the course focuses on
the history of ideas regarding nature, on the relevance of traditional ethical
standpoints to environmental issues, and the significance of both for current
scientific reportage regarding the ecological crisis. We will study
contributions of the European philosophical tradition as well as those of other
world cultures to the ideas of nature, humanity, community, and morality
underlying environmental issues. We will consider ecological ideas from an
interdisciplinary perspective, including the natural and social sciences as
well as the humanities. The contributions of ecological feminism to the study of
gender and the environment will also be an important theme. Our discussion will
be both theoretical and practical, encouraging each class participant to
explore options for a viable ecological ethic. Each of you will be responsible
for developing your own point of view based on the study of primary and
secondary sources. Each will participate
in and lead class discussion, write essays and dialogues, cooperate in a group
presentation, and explore the range of sources available in environmental
studies. We will pay special attention to the widening range of electronic
media relevant to ecological issues. Our study will be historical, thematic,
multicultural and interdisciplinary, as the character of environmental thinking
requires. This course has been approved for the Environmental Studies
requirement in the HC Core and for the Environmental Studies concentration, as
well as the WAC / Gordon Rule writing requirement.
Gordon Rule
writing requirement: 5,000--6,000 words
Course
Requirements and Grades:
1) Final
essay written outside of class, at least 1,500 words in length: 20% of the final grade.
2) A series of responses (500 words
apiece, written in and out of class), in essay form (totaling a minimum of 4000
words); = altogether 50% of final grade.
3) A group presentation or project,
including a 500 word outline and
bibliography: 20% of final grade.
4) One or more individual presentation(s) in which you
lead class discussion regarding one of our assigned readings; handout with
summary of key points required: 10%.
5) Regular class attendance and participation
are required; repeated unexcused
absences will result in a reduction of grade.
6) Essays and dialogues written outside of class
will be graded for composition and content; in-class essays will be
graded holistically for composition and content.
7) Numerical and Letter Grades: these values
apply to all assignments listed in 1-6 above; your final grade for the semester
will be determined by the same criteria.
100-94= A
93-90 = A-
89-87 = B+
86-84 = B
83-80 = B-
79-77 = C+
76-74 = C
73-70 = C-
69-67 = D+
66-64 = D
63-60 = D-
59-0 = F
8) Check system of holistic grading when used:
√+++ = 100
√++ = 95
√+(+) = 90
√+ = 85
√(+) = 80
√ = 75
√- = 70
√-- = 65
Dr. Weisser’s Online Writing Handbook: http://wise.fau.edu/~weisser/handbook.htm
should be used as a reference guide for English composition.
Students enrolled in
this course agree to abide by the Honors
College Honor Code. Please
review this important document: http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/academics_honor_code.htm.
Required Texts
and Sources:
1) Schmidtz,
David and Elizabeth Willott, eds., Environmental Ethics (Oxford UP) (EE)
2) WorldWatch, State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World (WW)
3) Worldwatch CD
ROM, in
4) Readings on
Library Reserve (as needed)
5) Online sources
(please see syllabus below)
6) Environmental
Ethics. Leading journal in the titular field, available in our library. You may either read the issues available
in the library or, for your convenience, order them online (one year, 4 issues,
is $36.00): http://www.cep.unt.edu/
8) Films:
b) Waters of Destiny (on the Kissimmee River Restoration Project)
c) Bill Moyers, Earth on Edge. See the
PBS Website for the program: http://www.pbs.org/earthonedge/
d) Butterfly
e) In
Light of Reverence
f) Nova: The Gaia Hypothesis
g) Al Gore An
Inconvenient Truth
h) Frontline: Hot Politics
Links for Further
Reflection:
Union
of Concerned Scientists Periodic Table of Scientific Abuses
Living on Earth Public Radio Environmental
Journalism
Wangari
Maathai: A Watering Can, Some Seedlings, and the Greening of a Nation /
Ingrid Lobet
Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment 2005
Nova: World in the Balance 2005
The Online
NewsHour: Rebuilding the Gulf Coast | PBS
Holistic
Darwinism by Peter A Corning
Enemy
of the Planet - New York Times
Ecological Footprints of
China, India, Japan, Europe, and US
Arundhati
Roy on Politics and Environment
United States
Supreme Court Ruling on Wetlands 2006
"Earth
Faces 'Catastrophic Loss of Species'"
Climate
change and global justice: a letter to Al Gore by Camilla Toulmin - openDemocracy
Europe's Underwater Chemical Dump--Der
Spiegel
President Bush's UN
speech: Full text
Chavez
Calls Bush 'Devil,' Assails U.S. Policies
Global
Warming Update: Siberia is Melting
The Politics of
Climate Change
Environmentalists
Reconsider Nuclear Energy
Wars Hamper
Social Progress Across Africa
Forsaken
Mermaids: the Manatees from Living on Earth
BBC:
Climate Costs, the Global Picture
Climate
Scientists say its time for Plan B
Two Lectures by Peter Singer at Edward
Skrod's Web Page’s
Exposed:
The long, cruel road to the slaughterhouse
1) Jan.
6-8
Introductory
perspectives: Schmidtz and Willott, “Why Environmental
Ethics?” EE xi—xxi; Easterbrook, “A
Moment on the Earth,” Leopold, “Thinking Like a Mountain,” White: “The
Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis”[1]
in EE, ch. 1. Film and discussion: Waters of Destiny (on the Kissimmee
River Project).
Reading Presentations: Manussos
Marangudakis: “The Medieval Roots of Our Environmental Crisis,” Environmental
Ethics 23 (Fall 2001).
2) Jan. 13-15
Animal Liberation and the Land Ethic: Singer, “All Animals are Equal,” Leopold,
“The Land Ethic,” Rolston III, “Values in and Duties to the Natural World,”
Sagoff, “Animal Liberation and Environmental Ethics” EE, Ch. 2;
EE ch. 3, Extending the Realm
of Rights; “Stone, “Should Trees
Have Standing?” Film: Butterfly.
Reading Presentations: Feinberg, “The Rights of Animals,” Attfield,
“The Good of Trees,” Midgley, “Duties Concerning Islands,” EE ch. 3; Elisa Altola, “Personhood & Animals,” Environmental Ethics vol. 30, no. 2
(Summer 2008).
3)
Jan. 20-22
Species Equality,
Respect for Nature and Consumer Society: “
Reading Presentations: Kimberly
K. Smith, “Animals & the Social Contract,” Environmental Ethics vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 2008); “Nietzsche's
Environmental Philosophy: A Trans-European Perspective” Environmental Ethics
27 (Spring 2005): COPENHAGEN
Climate Conference 2009
4)
Jan. 27-29
Environmental Holism: Film: Nova: The Gaia Hypothesis. Regan, “How to Worry About Endangered
Species,” “Varner, “Biocentric Individualism,” Devall and Sessions, “Deep
Ecology,” Sober, “Philosophical Problems for Environmentalism,” EE ch. 5; WW 2009: Chapter 2. Safe
Landing; Reading
Presentations: Emily Brady,
“Aesthetic Character and Aesthetic Integrity in Environmental Conservation,” Environmental Ethics 24 (Spring 2002);
Dana Anderson, “Ethical Sight,” Environmentalism
29, no. 2 (Summer 2007): NPR Special Report: Global
Warming Is Irreversible.
5)
Feb. 3-5
How Wild Does Nature Have to Be?—How are we to interact with ecosystems? Krieger, “What’s Wrong with Plastic Trees?”, Katz, “The Call of the
Wild,” Light, “Ecological Restoration and the Culture of Nature,” EE ch. 6. Reading Presentations: J. Baird Callicott, “What ‘Wilderness’ in
Frontier Ecosystems?” Environmental
Ethics, vol. 30, no. 3 (Fall 2008) [Nicole
1]; Robert Froderman, “Philosophy Unbound,” Environmental Ethics, vol. 30, no. 3 (Fall 2008) [Ed 1].
6)
Feb. 10-12
Ecofeminism in Theory and Practice:
Hessler and Willott, “Feminism and Ecofeminism,” Warren, “The Power and the
Promise of Ecological Feminism,” Sen, “Women, Poverty, and Population,” Rao,
“Women Farmers of India’s Deccan Plateau: Ecofeminists Challenge World Elites”,
EE ch. 8.
Reading Presentations: Vrinda Dalmiya, “Cows and Others: Toward
Constructing Ecofeminist Selves,” Environmental
Ethics vol. 24 no. 2 (Summer 2002) [Elizabeth
1]; Elizabeth Skakoon, “Nature and Human Identity,” Environmental
Ethics vol. 30, no. 1 (Spring 2008)
[Abbie 3]; Annie L. Booth, “Beyond Mothering Earth”
(Book Review), Environmental Ethics vol.
30, no. 1 (Spring 2008).
7)
Feb. 17-19
Multicultural
Perspectives:
Film: In Light of Reverence. Cultural conflict between Native and Euro America over the significance
and use of the land: http://www.pbs.org/pov/inthelightofreverence/thefilm.html.
Reading Presentations: Thompson:
“Environment as Cultural Heritage,” Environmental Ethics 22 (fall 2000);
Foltz: “Is There an Islamic Environmentalism?” Environmental Ethics 22
(spring 2000) [Abbie 2]; Eugene C.
Hargrove, “A Traditional and Multicultural Approach to Environmental Ethics at
Primary and Secondary School Levels,” Environmental
Ethics vol. 30, no 3 (Fall 2008) [Nicole
2].
8)
Feb. 24-26
Environmentalism, Multiculturalism,
Religion, Tradition
Bookchin,
“Social Ecology vs. Deep Ecology,” EE, pp. 126-136; Lloyd Steffen, “What Religion Contributes to Environmental Ethics,” Environmental Ethics 29, no. 2 (Summer
2007). Reading Presentations: So-Young
Lee, “Korean Environmental Thought and Practice: A Case Study of the Indramang
Community,” Environmental Ethics vol.
30, no. 2 (Summer 2008) [Abbie 1];
Sung-Hae Kim, “The Immortal World: The Telos
of Daoist Environmental Ethics,” Environmental
Ethics vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 2008).
Spring Break,
March 2-8
9) March 10-12
Rethinking the Good Life: Film: Earth on Edge; Hill, “Ideals of Human Excellence and Preserving Natural Environments,”
Milbrath, “Redefining the Good Life in a Sustainable Society,” Sagoff, “Do We
Consume Too Much?” Matthews, “Letting the World Grow Old,” EE ch. 7. WW 2009: Chapter
3. Using Land to Cool the Earth.
Reading Presentations: Cassandra Y. Johnson and J. M. Bowker, “African-American Wildland Memories,”
[Laura] Environmental Ethics 26 (Spring 2004); Sudhir Chella Rajan, “Automobility, Liberalism, and
the Ethics of Driving,” Environmental
Ethics 29, no. 1 (Spring 2007); J.
M. Dieterie, “Unnecessary Suffering” Environmental
Ethics vol. 30, no. 1 (Summmer 2008). [Jessie]
10)
March17-19
Global Warming
Update. Film: Al Gore: An
Inconvenient Truth. Human Population
and Environmental Preservation: Feinberg, “Future Generations,” Wolf,
“Population, Development, and the Environment,” Guha: “Radical American Environmentalism
and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique,” EE chs. 9-10. Reading
Presentations: Mark Michael,
“Ramachandra Guha: How Much Should a Person Consume?” Environmental Ethics vo. 30, no. 1 (S;ring 2008); Sergio
Guevara and Javier Laborde, “The Landscape Approach: Designing New Reserves for
Protection of Biological and Cultural Diversity in Latin America,” [Laura] Environmental Ethics vol. 30, no. 2 (Fall 2008); Christopher Be
Anderson et al., “Integrating Science & Society through Long-Term
Socio-Ecological Research,” Environmental
Ethics vol. 30, no. 2 (Fall 2008); WW 2009: Chapter 4. Harnessing Low-Carbon Energy on a Grand Scale.
11) March 24-26
Sustainable
Use, Institutional Structure, and Poverty:
Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons,”
and “Living in a Lifeboat”; Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” Shue,
“Global Environment and International Inequality,” Schmidtz, “Natural Enemies:
Anatomy of an Environmental Conflict,” EE
11-12. WW 2009: Chapter 5.
“Building Resilience”; Reading Presentations: Christopher J. Preston and Steven H. Corey:
“Public Health and Environmentalism: Adding Garbage to the History of
Environmental Ethics,” Environmental Ethics 27 (spring 2005);
1
March 31-April 2
1.
Vanishing
Resources, Cost-Benefit Analysis, and Environmental Policy: Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment
Wolliams, “Designing Cities as if They Were Ethical Choices,” Kelman, “Cost-Benefit Analysis: An Ethical
Critique,” Leonard and Zeckhauser, “Cost-Benefit Analysis Defended,” Brennan,
“Moral Pluralism and the Environment,” EE, chs. 13-14; WW 12 “Development from the
Ground Up”: NOW
Learn about one town's plan to make all
of its buildings energy-efficient: Save Energy, Save Money,
Save the Planet . WW 2009: Chapter 6. Sealing the Deal to Save the Climate.
Reading Presentations: Daniel White, Modernity/Post-Modern
Environmentalism,” The Encyclopedia of Global Environmental Change. Volume 4 (in our library). Stephen Vogel,
“Environmental Philosophy after the End of Nature,” Environmental Ethics
24 (Spring 2002).
13) April 7-9
Group Presentations:
April 9th: Daniel & Edward; Nicole & Andrew
Environmentalism in Practice: Norton, “The Environmentalists’ Dilemma” and “Fragile
Freedoms,” Rawles, “The Missing Shade of Green,” Light, “Taking Environmental
Ethics Public.” Bookchin, “Social Ecology versus Deep
Ecology,” EE 126-136; WW 2009:
Conclusion: Climate
Connections.
Reading Presentations: Eileen
Crist, “Against the Social Construction of Nature and Wilderness” Environmental Ethics 26, spring 2004; Richard J. Evanoff, “Communicative
Ethics and Moral Considerability,” Environmental
Ethics 29, no. 3 (Fall 2007). Video: NOW
on PBS: "Paradise Lost Revisited"
14) April 14-16
Group Presentations
& Discussion: April 14th: Eva & Elizabeth; Allison &
Laura
April 16th: Jessie & Abbie
15) April 21: Group Presentations
& Discussion: Jan &
April 23 by Final Exam Period:
10:30 AM FINAL ESSAY DUE,
Group Presentations
(as needed) & Discussion
[1] Lynn
White’s “Historical Roots of the Ecological Crisis” was originally published in
the journal Science; it may be located under the database JSTOR in FAU’s
Electronic Collection. The full citation
is Lynn White, Jr., “The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis,” Science, New Series, Vol. 155, No.
3767. (