80-244 Environmental Ethics
Professor Nicole Hassoun:
Office Hours: Wednesday 5pm
Location: Baker Hall 161C
E-mail: kikseven@gmail.com
Teaching Assistant: Robin Stoller
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 12-1:30
Location: Baker Hall 135F
Email:
Description of the Course:
The aim of the course is to provide students with an introduction to environmental ethics. The course will
cover topics that should help us assess what the best relationship between humans and the rest of the
natural world should be. I hope that by the end of the course you will be able to evaluate the positions
presented and defend a position of your own. This is important because everyday each of us face choices
about how to interact with our environment and collectively these choices determine the future of the world
we live in.
We will begin by considering whether non-human animals have rights. We will then consider what this
means, if animals have rights is it okay to eat meat or have pets? What impact does what we eat have on the
natural world? The second part of the course will extend this inquiry by considering whether what we eat
(or, more precisely, how much we eat) is part of a larger problem. After all, some people argue that overconsumption is the root of our environmental problems. Others, however, argue that overpopulation is the
real cause of these problems. Who is right? How do our answers to this question influence how we should
go about solving environmental problems? Is making everything private property or creating more laws
likely to help? Or is something more radical called for? Finally, we will consider environmental ethics from
global and local perspectives. What should we do when not everyone agrees that we should preserve the
environment? What do we do when protecting animals or plants harms people? To protect the rainforest,
for instance, we must decide what to do with the poor people who live there. And, not only do we have to
deal with the affects of conservation and preservation on other humans but we also have to deal with its
effects on the environment itself. If we save elephants we may be killing trees and smaller animals. It even
seems like some of the underlying principles for saving individuals conflict with those for saving whole
communities. If we save ecosystems we are sometimes required to kill individuals and people. Can these
issues be resolved and are some ways of resolving the issues morally wrong? And, what can all of this tell
us about the environmental problems here in Pittsburgh?
By considering what to believe about animal rights, conservation, and human interaction with the natural
world in the present day context, we will work toward developing a strong philosophical perspective to lay
the groundwork for dealing with the important environmental issues that confront us everyday.
Conduct of Course:
There will be a reading assignment and a (single-sided 1 page) outline for every lecture. There will be a
reading assignment for every lecture, outlines/short assignments, three writing assignments, and a final
exam. Your performance on these outlines/short assignments, writing assignments, and a final exam will
constitute the majority of your grade. The outlines/short assignments are due in the digital drop box at 5pm
the day before the class on which we do the relevant reading. The writing assignments must be emailed to
turnitin.com by 5pm on the day they are due. turnitin.com provides a plagiarism report based on a thorough
search of billions of pages of internet sources, papers, articles, and other sources (see academic integrity).
Outlines/short assignments
First writing assignment
Second writing assignment
Third writing assignment
Final
Participation/professionalism/
Other assignments
Final Grade
20%
10%
15%
20%
25%
10%
-----100%
Please be advised that barring documented emergencies, late work will receive only ½ credit if turned in
within a week of the deadline. You can miss three outlines for free or get 3 extra credit points for doing
them all. Otherwise, you must submit a makeup outline to your TA with a copy of the documentation
stapled to it within one week of returning to class. You are expected to take the final exam at the assigned
time.
I expect all students to be punctual and professional. This means being attentive, considerate, and prepared.
Please turn off all cell-phones and pagers before class, do not read the newspaper, or surf the web, and be
ready to participate. I also expect students to respect others in this classroom. Professionalism will be a
factor in your participation grade.
Objectives:
I hope that by the end of this course you will be able to 1) relay and analyze some of the main arguments
about environmental ethics in the readings, 2) create, consider objections to, and defend your own views on
these important topics orally and in writing, and 3) demonstrate an understanding of how moral and
political considerations can shape individuals views on environmental issues.
Grade Appeals:
Your TA is in charge of grading all of the work for this class. If you have a question about any of your
grades please see your TA. If you want to have your paper or final re-graded you must present a one page
written appeal explaining in detail why it is you believe that your paper should be re-graded. Your TA will
then re-grade the paper. Please be advised that your grade can go up or down when a paper is re-graded. If
you still have questions I will review your paper.
Academic Integrity:
I really want you to succeed in this class. If you feel like you are not going to do as well as you would like
please talk to me and we may be able to arrange something. If you cheat and get caught this may entail
such penalties as failure in the class or even dismissal from the university. You are responsible for knowing
university
policies
on
cheating
and
plagiarism
available
at:
http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html. You can also refer to “University Policies” in The
Word: Undergraduate Student Handbook.
Keys to Success:


Attendance – Nationally 85% of students who come to class every day get an A or a B. That is
why attendance is required. I also ask that everyone be on time as latecomers disrupt the flow of
the class.
Participation – it may seem obvious that asking questions when you are confused is a good idea,
however I understand that it is very difficult for some people to speak in front of others. As this
class will concentrate on argumentation it is important to practice giving and critiquing arguments
in front of others. Please feel confident that if you are confused there is probably someone else
who is also confused. I need to know what is confusing in order to explain it, so please speak up. I
have included a 10% incentive to do this.

Come to my office hours – if you are confused either meet with fellow students who seem to be
“getting it” or come and talk to me. I can help you develop better study skills or answer questions
for you.
Required Materials:
All articles are from the following unless indicated with a star (those so indicated will be put on
blackboard).
David Schmidtz and Elizabeth Willott (Eds.) 2001. Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What
Really Works. Oxford University Press.
Peter Singer. 2001. Animal Liberation. Harper Perennial.
Course Content:
First Topic: Meet Your Meat
August 26th Leopold, “The Land Ethic” and *Carlson, Excerpts from Silent Spring
August 28th *“Introduction to Arguments” and *Introduction to Environmental Ethics: What Really
Matters, What Really Works
September 2nd Rawles, “The Missing Shade of Green”
September 4th Singer, “All Animals are Equal” - Ch. 1 from Animal Liberation
September 9th Schmidtz, “Are all Species Equal?”
September 11th Case Study: Meet your Meat (Read: Lyman and Merzer, “Mad Cowboy: The Cattle
Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat,” and Singer, “Down on the Factory Farm” - Ch. 3 from Animal Liberation)
September 16th Case Study: Of Fish and Dams (Read: Watson, “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and check out:
http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/sfw_issues.asp)
September 18th How to Write a Paper in Philosophy (Do the first and second introduction to arguments
assignments instead of an outline for today – you will find this under “Assignments” on blackboard)
Second Topic: The Global Commons
September 23rd Case Study: The Jewelmer Corporation (*Watch a movie TBA)
September 25th Mathews, “Letting the World Grow Old: An Ethos of Countermodernity”
September 30th Garrett Hardin, “The Tragedy of the Commons”
October 2nd David Schmidtz, “The Institution of Property”
October 7th Willott, “Population”
October 9th Sagoff, “Do we Consume too Much?” (Do the http://www.earthday.net/Footprint/index.asp
quiz as well as the outline and bring your quiz results to class)
October 10th First paper due by 5pm
Third Topic: Consumption and Climate Change
October 14th Case Study: Consuming Corn (Read: *Pollan, excerpt from The Omnivore’s Dilemma pp. 184 and *Oxfam, Summary of “Cultivating Poverty”)
October 16th *Hassoun, “Energy Issues”
October 21st*Gardiner, “Ethics and Global Climate Change”
October 23rd Shue, “Global Environment and International Inequality”
Fourth Topic: Saving People vs. Nature
October 28th Case Study: Smokey Mountain (*Watch a movie TBA)
October 30th *Nickel a Human Right to a Safe Environment
November 4th Singer, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality”
November 6th Schmidtz, “Natural Enemies an Anatomy of Environmental Conflict”
November 7th Second paper due by 5pm
November 11th Rolston III, “Feeding People Versus Saving Nature”
November 13th Schmidtz, “When Preservationism Doesn’t Preserve”
Fifth Topic: Context and Resolving Conflict
November 18th Rao, “Women Farmers of India’s Deccan Plateau: Ecofeminists Challenge World Elites”
November 20th Norton, “The Environmentalists’ Dilemma: Dollars and Sand Dollars”
November 25th Norton, “Fragile Freedoms”
December 2nd The World in Review: Student Presentations on Global Environmental Problems and
Solutions
December 4th Bringing it Home to the Steel City: Pittsburgh’s Environmental Problems and Solutions –
Field Trip?
December 9th Review
December 10th Final paper due by 5pm
Final Exam
*I will attempt to inform you as soon as possible if I make changes to this syllabus.