Course: Introduction to Enviromental Ethics

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Course title Introduction to Enviromental Ethics
Course code KBE/130
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminary
Level of course Doctoral
Year of study not specified
Frequency of the course In every academic year, only in the summer semester
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 3
Language of instruction English
Status of course unspecified
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Edwards Keith Raymond, doc. MSc. Ph.D.
Course content
The first few lectures will introduce the main ethical concepts, namely utilitarianism, ontological ideas and virtue ethics, by providing a historical context for each concept before giving examples of recent work in environmental ethics that is based on the particular historical concept. Middle lectures and readings will provide more detail about certain important topics concerning environmental views including deep ecology, animal rights and sustainability. The last lectures will discuss newer ideas such as Integrative Ecologies and what indigenous approaches may offer. The students will give a presentation on a particular environmental ethical topic of their choosing.

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to introduce students to the concepts and principles of environmental ethics, to show why we should care about the environment. These will be illustrated through lectures and discussions of readings concerning the main issues regarding environment ethics, namely utilitarianism, ontology and virtue ethics. These form the basis for the main topics of current environmental ethics including animal rights, sustainability and expanding rights to the non-human parts of the world.

Prerequisites
A good understanding of English will be helpful.

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
The students are expected to read the selected readings before class so that they may participate in discussions during each lecture meeting. The students will give a presentation on a topic of their choice dealing with an environmental ethic issue. Students must show that they understand the course material by answering well during the oral exam to pass the course.
Recommended literature
  • Blackburn, S. 2001. Ethics: A Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK..
  • Brennan, A and Lo, Y.S. 2015. Environmental Ethics, in: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/ethics-environmental/>..
  • Clowney, D. and Mosto, P. (eds). 2009. Earthcare: An Anthology in Environmental Ethics. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, MD, US..
  • Conche, M. 2014. Philosophizing ad Infinitum. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY, US..
  • Kimmerer, R. 2013. Braiding Sweetgrass. Milkweed Editions, Minneapolis, MN, US..
  • Leopold, A. 1949. A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK..
  • Naess, A. 1989. Ecology, Community, Lifestyle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK..
  • Sandler, R. 2007. Character and Environment: A Virtue-Oriented Approach to Environmental Ethics. Columbia University Press, New York, New York, US..
  • Stone, C.D. 1972. Should trees have standing? ? Toward legal rights for natural objects. Southern California Law Review 45 (1972): 450-501..
  • Yunkaporta, T. 2019. Sand Talk. Text Publishing, Melbourne, AU.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester