DEBATING SCIENCE:
PRACTICAL REASONING AND THE BIOTECHNOLOGY DEBATE
(PRELIMINARY SYLLABUS)
EVST 595 (Graduate credit only)
Instructor: Dane Scott, Director, Center for Ethics, The University of Montana, Associate
Professor of Environmental Studies
Workshop: August 4—8
Online: August 18—November 14
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
This course is an in-depth study of the international debate over the potentially epoch-making
technology of agricultural biotechnology. The course has three objectives. The first is for students
to become better informed about the many ethical, social and political issues arising from
agricultural biotechnology. For example, can transgenic crops and livestock help make
agriculture more sustainable? Is this technology a significant breakthrough that can help reduce
world hunger? The second is for students to become adept at engaging in informed, deliberative
dialogue on the scientific, ethical, social and political issues arising from this new technology.
The final objective is to help students develop the skills of practical reasoning in relation to social
and ethical controversies surrounding agricultural biotechnology.
COURSE STUCTURE
This project is structured around a model for practical reasoning and deliberative dialogue. The
course will be organized around this model. Practical reasoning and deliberative dialogue is
concerned with making real-life decisions, setting and prioritizing goals and selecting the most
appropriate to achieve these goals. There are 5 areas to be considered in this model: (1)
Articulating, establishing and prioritizing goals, (2) Identifying the available alternative
technologies and research programs for achieving these goals, (3) Anticipating and evaluating
unwanted side effects that might undermine the pursuit these goals via the various alternative
technologies, (4) Identifying and evaluating major obstacles that could prevent reaching these
goals via various alternative technologies, (5) Arriving at a policy recommendation for each of
the alternative technologies being considered.
GENERAL COURSE OUTLINE & SCHEDULE
Biotechnology Topics
General Introduction to the Debate Science Program
The Responsibility of Scientists as Citizens
Technological Fixes, Magic Bullets and Junk Science
Risk, Precaution and Ethics
Characterizing Goals
Food Security
Sustainability
Deliberating Alternatives
Bt Cotton
Enviropig
Golden Rice
To be decided by students
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
Course Participation (20%): The 5 day workshop in Missoula (approximately 15-20 hours of
instruction), will put in place some of the theoretical pieces for the on-line semester. Participation
and enthusiasm in this portion of the course will be part of the grade. After returning to their
home institutions, students will have a number of on-line participatory requirements, including a
virtual meeting time each week, discussion threads, and responding to specific requests and
inquiries from the instructor and from other students. Part of the grade will be determined by the
quality of the overall virtual participation over the semester.
Course Readings and Thought Papers (20%): There will be approximately 20-30 pages of
course readings per week for the first 6-8 weeks of the on-line portion of the course. Readings
will consists of scholarly articles, book chapters and popular essays written by scientists, activists,
philosophers, public policy experts, and material drawn from various websites. There will be two,
4-5 page (double-spaced) papers assigned. The papers will assess the first learning objective of
the course. They will be directed at the workshop and the course readings and will probe how
well informed students are about the major ethical, social and political issues in the debates
surrounding agricultural biotechnology.
Discussion Boards (10%): There will be asynchronous discussion boards to help students master
the course readings and policy questions. Each discussion board will be directed at a particular
topic taken from the course readings. A one-week time period will be provided for contributions
to each discussion topic. Student activity on the discussion board will be measured in part relative
to the second learning outcomes of the course, namely, the ability to participate in informed,
reasonable deliberation about the important scientific, ethical, social, and political issues.
Contributions to the Online Deliberation Center (50%): A major portion of this course will be
a group project culminating in policy recommendations. It consists of your contributions to a
Web based document summarizing our deliberations about biotechnology. These contributions
are tied to both the second and the third learning outcomes of the course, for students develop the
relevant skills of practical reasoning in order to make appropriate policy decisions concerning
agricultural biotechnology. Dissenting opinions will be allowed as appendices to the document
but the document as a whole must be written with clear enough conclusions that it might be
usable by policy makers.
GRADING
The +/- grading system will be used as follows: 93-100 = A; 90-92 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B;
80-82 = B-; 77 - 79 = C+; 73 - 76 = C; 70 - 72 = C-; 67 - 69 = D+; 63 - 66 = D; 60 - 62 = D-;
Below 60 = F
Preliminary issues
General Introduction to the Debate Science Program
The Responsibility of Scientists as Citizens
Characterizing Goals
Food Security
Sustainability
Deliberating Alternatives
Bt Cotton
Enviropig
Golden Rice
EVST 595
DEBATING SCIENCE:
PRACTICAL REASONING AND THE BIOTECHNOLOGY DEBATE
(ON-LINE)
Course Schedule and Assignment Schedule
Part I: Basic Concepts and Characterizing Goals
A. The Meaning and Significance of Agricultural Biotechnology
B. The Technological Fix Criticisms of Agricultural Biotechnology
C. Agricultural Biotechnology and Sustainability
D. Agricultural Biotechnology and Food Security
Week I: August 18-22
Getting Started; Writing for the ODC
Assignment: Two Short Essays
1. Summary of Research
2. The Meaning and Significance of Agricultural Biotechnology
Week II: August 25-28
Technological Fix
Assignment: Answer discussion questions on Leo Marx’s essay.
Leo Marx, “Are Science and Society Going in the Same Direction?”
Week III: September 1-5
Assignments: Discuss essays on the meaning and significance of agriculture
biotechnology & the essays below.
Scott, “The Technological Fix Criticisms of Agricultural Biotechnology”
Recommended:
Trewavas, “Malthus foiled again and again” http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Norman E. Borlaug, “Ending World Hunger. The Promise of Biotechnology and the
Threat of Antiscience Zealotry,” Plant Physiol, October 2000, Vol. 124, pp. 487-490,
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/124/2/487
Week IV: September 8-12
Assignment: Complete writing the main page and read the essays below.
Tillman, et al. “Agricultural Sustainability and Intensive Production Practices"
http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Trewavas, “The Population/Biodiversity Paradox. Agricultural Efficiency to
Save Wilderness,” Plant Physiol, January 2001, Vol. 125, pp. 174-179
http://www.plantphysiol.org/cgi/content/full/125/1/174
Recommended:
Evenson and Gollins, “Assessing the Impact of the Green Revolution: 1960 to 2000,”
Science 2 May 2003: Vol. 300. no. 5620, pp. 758 – 762
http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/reprint/300/5620/758.pdf
Gordon Conway and Gary Toenniessen, “Feeding the World in the Twenty-First
Century” http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Wolfgang Lutz, et al, "The end of world population growth"
http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Jonathan Rauch, “Will Frankenfood Save the Planet?”
http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=7455
Week V: September 15-19
Assignment: Continue working on characterizing the goal of sustainability.
Altieri, “The Myths of Agricultural Biotechnology, Some Ethical Questions”
http://www.agroeco.org/
Additional readings TBA
Week VI: September 22-26
Assignment: complete work on characterizing the goal of sustainability and begin work
on the concept of food security.
FAO (1996) World Food Summit: Rome Declaration and Plan of Action. October 1996.
www.fao.org/wfs
FAO, “Food Security Concepts and Measurements”
FAO, Distance Learning, Sample Lesson, “What is Food Security”
http://www.foodsec.org/DL/dlintro_en.asp
Week VII: September 29-October 3
Assignment: Complete work on characterizing the goal of food security and discuss the
essays below.
Garrett Hardin, “Carrying Capacity as an Ethical Principle”
Trewavas, "Much food, many problems" http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Jonathan Latham, "There's Enough Food for Everyone, but the Poor Can't Afford to Buy
It" http://www.nature.com/nature/food/
Part II: Deliberating over Alternatives (Readings and exercises TBA)
Bt Cotton
Enviropig
Golden rice
Week VIII: October 6-10
Bt Cotton
Week IX: October 13-17
Bt Cotton
Week X: October 20-31
Bt Cotton
Enviropig
Week XI: November 3-7
Enviropig
Week XII: November 10-14
Enviropig
Golden Rice
Week XIII: November 17-20
Golden Rice