University Studies Course Approval:
Department Program: Philosophy Department
Course Number: 232
Number of Credits: 3
Course Title: Environmental Ethics
Catalog Description:
232 - Environmental Ethics - 3 S.H. A critical investigation into our rights and ethical
responsibilities with respect to nature. Topics include, the moral status of nature, its
value, and the sustainability of our consumption, population growth, and pollution given
their effects on the environment and future generations. Offered each year.
This is a new course that is also being proposed for approval by A2C2.
Department Contact Person for this course: Kevin Possin
Email: kpossin@winona.edu
Unity and Diversity—Science and Social Policy
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
PHIL 232
University Studies—Science and Social Policy
The purpose of the Science and Social Policy requirement in the University Studies
program is to promote students' understanding of the interrelated concerns of
society and the sciences. These courses should integrate issues related to one of the
sciences with the social and government-policy decisions that stem from these issues.
Issues might include the environment, genetic testing and mapping, applications of
technology, etc. They should be treated from the perspective of the scientific
foundations of the problem and address ethical, social, historical, and/or political
implications of the issue.
Human activities have a tremendous impact on other human beings, animals, and the
entire ecosystem. And, as Shakespeare wrote, “One touch of nature makes the whole
world kin.” The goal of this course is to enhance student awareness of this, enabling
students to make more informed, ethical decisions concerning the sustainability of their
own habits of consumption and more global issues of population, consumption, and
pollution. By discussing the nature of science as an inductive investigation, students will
also learn to critically review the climate debate and better separate the “manufactured
uncertainty” from evidenced-based theories.
These courses promote students’ ability to:
a. understand the scientific foundation of the topic:
As with any ethical review of an issue, getting the facts right is crucial. And so it is with
investigating the ethical issues of our use and abuse of the environment. Through an
introductory text, e.g., Friedman’s, and various case studies, students will get a better
understanding of the effects the population, its consumption, and its pollution are having
on the ecosystem. By studying the nature of science, as an inductive method of
investigation, students will be better able to counter the “manufactured uncertainty” that
is generated about environmental science.
b. understand the social, ethical, historical and/or political implications:
The main thrust of the course is to develop an ethical understanding and evaluation of our
relation with nature. In the process, the ethical, social, and legal implications of the
following issues are discussed:








Property rights v. the environment
Intergenerational rights
Sustainability
Global warming
Poverty & population
Pollution
Restoration
Wilderness preservation
c. understand and articulate the need to integrate issues of science with social policy:
Much of the course will be dedicated to overcoming the denialism that is plaguing the
country, by seeing how science can and should be guiding our social policies concerning
our energy consumption and our disposal of waste.
d-e. evaluate the various policy options relevant to the social dilemmas posed by the
science and articulate, choose among, and defend various policy and/or scientific
options to cope with the challenges created.
This course will be constantly examining to what degree science and technology has
created our ecological ethical dilemmas and to what degree science and technology can
resolve those dilemmas, especially with respect to sustainability, global warming,
pollution, and solutions to poverty and overpopulation.
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By critically examining current scientific findings on each of the issues listed above and
the competing ethical positions on them, the arguments in favor of those positions, and
the criticisms of those arguments and those positions, the students will be in a more
informed position to advance and defend their own claims in class, in an op/ed piece, and
in the voting booth.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
PHIL 232
Curriculum, Outcomes, Policies, and Requirements
University Studies—Science and Social Policy
Course Syllabus
Prof.
Office: Minné Hall
Phone: 457-XXXX
This course may be taken as a University Studies course under the category of
Unity and Diversity—Science and Social Policy.
Course Requirements: The chosen requirements and means of evaluation for the course
are at the discretion of the instructor, but they would most likely be among the following:
exams, homework, papers, take-home exams, critical reviews, presentations, journals,
environmental research, and environmental enhancement or advocacy projects.
Course Materials: Course Materials: An Anthology, of introductory articles and
excerpts, from among those appearing in the Reference List below, e.g., Light and
Rolston’s Environmental Ethics. A source book, such as Boundaries: A Casebook in
Environmental Ethics. Thomas Friedman’s Hot, Flat, and Crowded, and other timely
articles from various news sources, on immediately current issues and research
concerning our impact on the environment. A source book on alternative positions, such
as Taking Sides. Please see Reference List for various DVD resources.
Means of Evaluation: Those listed above would be the primary means of assessing
learning in this course. As with all courses in the Philosophy Department, the
Departmental Outcomes Assessment Survey would also be used.
Schedule of Topics:
1. Moral theories and argumentation
A. Relativism
B. Utilitarianism
C. Kantian
D. Virtue
E. Casuistry
F. Ecofeminism
2. Moral status, its scope, and its hierarchy
A. Persons and future generations
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B. Sentience
C. Biocentrism
D. Ecocentrism
3. Scientific argumentation
A. Inductive v. deductive reasoning
B. “Manufactured doubt”
4. Central issues
A. Sustainability
B. Global warming
C. Poverty & population
D. Pollution
E. Restoration
F. Wilderness preservation
G. Intergenerational rights
H. Ecosabotage
I. Property rights v. the environment
Statement on University Studies Courses:
All course activities and assignments simultaneously address all University Studies
required course outcomes in Environmental Ethics 232, by assessing your
understanding and appreciation of following goals, topics, and issues:
The purpose of the Science and Social Policy requirement in the University Studies
program is to promote students' understanding of the interrelated concerns of
society and the sciences. These courses should integrate issues related to one of the
sciences with the social and government-policy decisions that stem from these issues.
Issues might include the environment, genetic testing and mapping, applications of
technology, etc. They should be treated from the perspective of the scientific
foundations of the problem and address ethical, social, historical, and/or political
implications of the issue.
Human activities have a tremendous impact on other human beings, animals, and the
entire ecosystem. And, as Shakespeare wrote, “One touch of nature makes the whole
world kin.” The goal of this course is to enhance student awareness of this, enabling
students to make more informed, ethical decisions concerning the sustainability of their
own habits of consumption and more global issues of population, consumption, and
pollution. By discussing the nature of science as an inductive investigation, students will
also learn to critically review the climate debate and better separate the “manufactured
uncertainty” from evidenced-based theories.
These courses promote students’ ability to:
5
a. understand the scientific foundation of the topic:
As with any ethical review of an issue, getting the facts right is crucial. And so it is with
investigating the ethical issues of our use and abuse of the environment. Through an
introductory text, e.g., Friedman’s, and various case studies, students will get a better
understanding of the effects the population, its consumption, and its pollution are having
on the ecosystem. By studying the nature of science, as an inductive method of
investigation, students will be better able to counter the “manufactured uncertainty” that
is generated about environmental science.
b. understand the social, ethical, historical and/or political implications:
The main thrust of the course is to develop an ethical understanding and evaluation of our
relation with nature. In the process, the ethical, social, and legal implications of these
issues are discussed:








Property rights v. the environment
Intergenerational rights
Sustainability
Global warming
Poverty & population
Pollution
Restoration
Wilderness preservation
c. understand and articulate the need to integrate issues of science with social policy:
Much of the course will dedicated to overcoming the denialism that is plaguing the
country, by seeing how science can and should be guiding our social policies concerning
our energy consumption and our disposal of waste.
d-e. evaluate the various policy options relevant to the social dilemmas posed by the
science and articulate, choose among, and defend various policy and/or scientific
options to cope with the challenges created.
This course will be consistently examining to what degree science and technology have
created our ecological ethical dilemmas and to what degree science and technology can
resolve those dilemmas, especially with respect to sustainability, global warming,
pollution, and solutions to poverty and overpopulation.
By critically examining current scientific findings on each of these issues and the
competing ethical positions on them, the arguments in favor of those positions, and the
criticisms of those arguments and those positions, the students are in a more informed
position to advance and defend their own claims in class, in an op/ed piece, and in the
voting booth.
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