This course introduces students to the ethical dimensions of the relationship between human beings and the natural world. Beginning with traditional and contemporary theories of morality and value, students will develop their own sense of what it means to have a “respect for” and “responsibility to” nature. From Western, Non-western, and Indigenous perspectives, this course explores animal rights, food and ecological ethics, population and consumption, environmental justice, climate change, and sustainability. 

By the end of this course, students will be able to...

1. Explain the difference between various moral theories that apply to issues regarding humankind's dealings with the natural world;

2. Identify the relative strengths and weaknesses of these moral theories, and apply these theories as well as other appropriate argumentative techniques to the analysis of contemporary moral issues dealing with the environment;

3. Critically assess alternative approaches to, and defenses of, a code of responsibility to nature (i.e., an "environmental ethic"); and

4. Explain and defend a moral position using appropriate terminology and compelling argumentation, and then communicate effectively to an audience that may include individuals who disagree with that position.

ALL REQUIRED READINGS PROVIDED FOR FREE ON CANVAS Prefer your own book? Readings will be pulled from a variety of texts, primarily:

Pojman, Louis P., Paul Pojman, and Katie McShane. Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application. 7th ed. (Cengage, 2016) ISBN: 9781285197241 

BUY / RENT Cengage Publishing

Schmidtz, David and Elizabeth Willott. Environmental Ethics: What Really Matters, What Really Works. 3rd ed. (Oxford, 2018) ISBN: 9780190259228 

BUY / RENT Vital Source