CS 247: Environmental Ethics
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CS 247 — Environmental Ethics — Spring 2002 Professor: Sizer Office: ASH 103 Phone: 559-5619 E-mail: lsizer@hampshire.edu Office Hours: M, W: 3:00 — 4:30pm. Course Objectives Most ethical debates concern the moral obligations of human beings. But what moral obligations — if any — do we have towards non-human entities? Do non-human animals have rights? Do trees and rivers? What about entire ecosystems? What might ground such rights and obligations? We will discuss how traditional ethical theories have approached questions about moral obligations towards non-humans, and see whether these views can be extended to include some or all of the non-human natural entities mentioned above. We will also discuss other approaches that explicitly include natural entities such as ecosystems within the sphere of moral concern. Vegetarianism, hunting and vivisection will also be explored. Note that this is not a class for building advocacy but for rationally exploring philosophical arguments. Students will read and critically analyze philosophical positions and will be able to articulate arguments on several different sides of the issues. Short and longer argument papers are required. Course Texts: Required:
Available at Atticus Books in Amherst. Available at Atticus Books in Amherst
Course Requirements: Short writing assignments/ response papers: Five short (2-3 pages, typed) writing assignments focused on the readings are due at various times throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester you will sign up for five days. You are responsible for a short writing assignment commenting on the readings scheduled for each of those days — due in class on that day. For each of these assignments you must a) briefly summarize the reading, focusing on the thesis or theses being argued for and how the author argues for that thesis; b) comment on the reading. Your comments should be formal and philosophical in content — focused on the arguments and positions presented in the reading. Work on presenting arguments (reasons, justifications) in support of your claims, not simply stating opinions. Longer paper #1: This will be a longer (approximately 5-6 pages), formal philosophical paper on an assigned topic (you will have a choice of topics). This paper will go through a rough draft process. See schedule for due dates. Even Longer paper #2: This paper is similar to the first in most respects, but will be longer (6-8 pages). Too, I will distribute several paper topic suggestions, but you are encouraged to formulate your own topic. You must have your topic approved by me at least one month before the due date. This paper will also go through a rough draft process. See schedule for due dates. In-class presentation: Each student will give a brief presentation of his/her final paper to the rest of the class. Minimum requirements for receiving an evaluation:
Requirements for receiving Division I credit: Your work must show sufficient effort and mastery of basics of ethical principles and philosophical reasoning and analysis.
Rules and Requirements — read carefully! I do not accept late work. All assignments are due in class on the date specified in the syllabus. Any changes in due date will be announced in class. It is your responsibility to keep track of when things are due and any changes to the schedule. Note that since I do not accept late work, failure to hand an assignment in on time entails no credit for the assignment. This, in turn, entails no evaluation. You are expected to attend class and arrive on time. If you are more than 5 minutes late for a class, don’t bother to show up. Arriving late is rude and interrupts the class. If you miss a significant number of classes this will affect your final evaluation. If, because of religious or family obligations, serious illness or tragedy, you cannot hand an assignment in on time, or if you must miss the class day for which the peer review is scheduled, you must come talk to me about it before that day so that we can make other arrangements. Plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated. If a student is found guilty of plagiarism he or she will not receive an evaluation for this class, and the case will be brought before the Dean. If you use the words or ideas of others (including text posted on a website) you must clearly identify the source in your work. Direct quotations must be placed in quotation marks and their sources cited. If you have questions about what constitutes plagiarism, get them answered before you turn an assignment in. Ignorance of what counts as plagiarism is not a defense. It is your responsibility to be sure. Tentative schedule of readings, topics and due dates Note that this is a tentative schedule and hence subject to change. You are responsible for keeping track of any changes announced in class. R 1/31: Introduction to course T 2/5: Ethical theories: Relativism vs Realism, Kant Read: Rachels, "Created from Animals" (X) R 2/7: Ethical theories: Aquinas, Darwin, Bentham Read: TBA (X) T 2/12: Cost-Benefit Analysis: Read: Baxter, "People or Penguins" (X) Freeman, "The Ethical Basis of the Economic View of the Environment" (EEP) R 2/14: Cost-Benefit Analysis: Read: Sagoff, "At the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima…" (EEP) Midgley, "Duties Concerning Islands" (X) T 2/19: Animal Rights: Read: Singer, "Animal Liberation" (EEP) R 2/21: Animal Rights: Read: Regan, "The Case for Animal Rights" (EEP) Frey, "The Case Against Animal Rights" (X) T 2/26: Animal Rights: Read: Van deVeer, "Interspecific Justice" (EEP) R 2/28: Animal Rights: continuing discussion Due: Rough Draft of Paper #1 T 3/5: Rights for trees, rivers, etc. Read: Stone, ‘Should Trees Have Standing?" (EEP) R 3/7: Rights for trees…: Read: Attfield, "The Good of Trees" (X) T 3/12: Rights for trees…: Read: Varner, "Functions and Interests" (X) R 3/14: Rights for trees…: continuing discussion Due: Final Draft of Paper #1 SPRING BREAK T 3/26: Do Species Matter? Read: Gould, "What Is A Species?" (EEP) Russow, "Why Do Species Matter?" (EEP) R 3/28: Do Species Matter? Read: Rolston, "Why Species Matter" (EEP) T 4/2: Native American Perspectives on the Land R 4/4: Ecosystems & Biotic Communities: Read: Leopold, "The Land Ethic" Due: Last possible date to submit final paper topics T 4/9: Advising Day — No class R 4/11: Ecosystems & Biotic Communities: Read: Callicott, "Animal Liberation: A Triangular Affair" (EEP) T 4/16: Hunting and Vegetarianism: Read:Varner "Can Animal Rights Activists Be Environmentalists?"(X) Due: Rough Draft, paper #2 R 4/18: Eco-Terrorism Read: Foreman, "Strategic Monkeywrenching" (EEP) Scarce, "The Sea Shepherds…" (EEP) T 4/23: Eco-Terrorism Read: Shrader-Frechette, "An Apologia for Activism…" (EEP) R 4/25: Eco-Terrorism Read: TBA T 4/30: In-class presentations R 5/2: In-class presentations Due: Final Draft, paper #2 and portfolio |