The Greatest Good for the
Greatest Number
“The Tragedy of the Commons”
Integrative Learning Model
Key Objectives from Our
Action Plan
• Integrate Instruction and Student
Services
• Expand and maintain course offerings
and increase faculty participation
Accepting Some Limitations
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No capstone
No semester abroad
No real curricular changes
No way to target groups such as entering
freshmen
• Little coherence or predictability in students’
progress
• No common transfer curriculum for all
students
• Rigid requirements for transfer
But Challenging Others
• The problems of marketing and filling
hard-linked classes
• The problem of pairing interested
instructors
• The small numbers of students
benefiting from the integrative learning
in the linked classes
A Solution: The Confluence Model
• The success of Movie Night with an hour-by-arrangement
add-on
• The potential of “The Tragedy of the Commons” with a
shared class hour
“The Tragedy of the Commons”
Learning Community
Students enrolled in this course will participate,
during special meetings scheduled during
regular class hours, in "The Tragedy of the
Commons” Learning Community, an exciting
opportunity to meet with other classes, hear a
variety of speakers, discuss different viewpoints,
and gain interdisciplinary perspectives on
important questions of our times.
• “At the end of a thoughtful article on the future of nuclear
war, Wiesner and York concluded that : “Both sides in the
arms race are . . . confronted by the dilemma of steadily
increasing military power and steadily decreasing national
security. It is our considered professional judgment that this
dilemma has no technical solution. If the great powers
continue to look for solutions in the area of science and
technology only, the result will be to worsen the situation.”
• “Specifically, can Bentham’s goal of “the greatest good for
the greatest number” be realized? No--for two reasons, each
sufficient by itself. . . It is not mathematically possible to
maximize for two (or more) variables at the same time . .
.The second reason springs directly from biological facts. . .”
• “We can make little progress in working toward optimum
population size until we explicitly exorcize the spirit of Adam
Smith in the field of practical demography. In economic
affairs, The Wealth of Nations (1776) popularized the
‘invisible hand’….”
• “We may well call it “the tragedy of the commons,”
using the word “tragedy” as the philosopher
Whitehead used it: ‘The essence of dramatic tragedy
is not unhappiness. It resides in the solemnity of the
remorseless working of things.’”
• “The National Parks present another instance of the
working out of the tragedy of the commons.”
• “Analysis of the pollution problem as a function of
population density uncovers a not generally
recognized principle of morality, namely: the morality
of an act is a function of the state of the system at the
time it is performed. . . . That morality is systemsensitive escaped the attention of most codifiers of
ethics in the past.”
The Structure
Classes participating for Spring Semester, 2006
Math 251 Calculus
Philosophy 244 Contemporary Social and Moral Issues
Sociology 105 Social Problems
English 100 Freshman Composition (2 sections)
English 165 Advanced Composition (2 sections)
Photography (?)
Economics (?)
10 Instructors are collaborating on this project,
with approximately 200 + students to be involved
Scheduling and Technological
Aspects
• All classes meet during a common time slot
(MWF or M-F 12-1)
• On Fridays, we will have use of the CSM
theater
• Some classes will be scheduled in SMART
classrooms or will be able to use class sets of
laptop computers
• We hope to have digital cameras for students
to document their perception of “the
commons.”
Student Support Strategies
• Reading needs
Solution: Our floating reading
instructor
• Counseling needs
Solution: Our designated counselor
The Curriculum & Teaching
Strategies
• Main reading: Garrett Hardin “The Tragedy of
the Commons”
• Ancillary readings:
– Wendell Berry “Private Property and the Common
Good”
– Thomas Malthus “An Essay on the Principle of
Population”
– Aldo Leopold “The Land Ethic”
– Jonathan Rowe “The Common Good” (Sierra
Magazine)
– Pierre Loiselle “Looting the Commons”
– Peter Barnes “Sharing the Wealth of the Commons”
More Curriculum and
Teaching Strategies
• Friday mini-lectures:
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Jeremy: Programs vs. Visions
Mike: Exponential Growth and Carrying Capacity
Minu: Prostitution
Anne: The Commons of Yosemite
Jean: The Meanings of Tragedy
John: Adam Smith
Richard: Visual Perception
• President’s Lecture Series: Paul Ehrlich
• Common Assignment
The Commons of Yosemite
The Benefits We Expect
• Students will see instructors making
disciplinary connections with a common text
• Students will collaborate with students from
other disciplines in fulfilling an integrative
assignment
• Students will participate in a significant
intellectual challenge with adequate support
• Instructors will have a ball (they already are)