Module Code and Title:       ETH202          Environmental Ethics

 

Programme(s):                      BSc Environmental Management

 

Credit Value:                         12

 

Module Tutor(s):                   GP Sharma (Coordinator)

Tshering Dolkar

Leishipem Khamrang

Radhika Chhetri

 

General objective(s) of the module:

 

This module provides an overview of environmental ethics, the field of study that analyses ethical responsibilities for the natural world. The module explores the diverse responses to the concerns raised by environmental problems, analysing the ethical underpinnings of a wide variety of perspectives. Students will explore the history of contemporary philosophical and religious beliefs regarding nature. The module will be introductory, covering a wide range of perspectives, and is designed to give students an overview of major issues and players in the current debates concerning the environment. The module will help equip students with ethical perspectives on environmental management.

 

Learning outcomes – Upon successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

 

·         Recall the prominent themes in philosophy and ethics.

·         Identify the broad categories of ethical views towards the natural environment.

·         Debate major ethical approaches in the field of environmental philosophy.

·         Discuss the history of contemporary philosophical and religious beliefs concerning nature.

·         Identify major approaches in religious environmental ethics.

·         Describe the major players and philosophical and religious traditions represented in current debates concerning the environment.

·         Analyse concrete environmental problems and cases from a variety of ethical perspectives.

·         Explain the role of ecofeminism in conservation and management of the environment for socio-economic improvement and development.

 

Learning and teaching approaches used:

 

The module will be conducted over 15 teaching weeks as follows:

·         3 hrs/wk lecture & discussions.

·         1 hr/wk for tutorial, reading and analysis of articles.

·         4 hrs/wk outside of class, on average, for independent study.

 

Assessment:

 

Semester-End Examination (SE):40%

Continuous Assessment (CA):     60%

CA Assessment	Weight	Assessment Detail
Individual assignment	20%	Researched written paper of 1000 words on local beliefs and ways of thinking about the natural environment, in the context of major themes in philosophy and ethics and global worldviews.
Project work	20%	Case study in groups of 3, along with 2000 word report, on different approaches for conservation and management of environment: ecofeminism, deep ecology, animal rights, social ecology, environmental pragmatism, environmental aesthetics, religious approaches, etc.
Midterm exam	20%

 

Pre-requisite knowledge: ENV101 Introduction to the Environment

 

Subject matter:

 

              I.        Introduction

a.    Role of ethics in environmental management

b.    Brief review of the field of ethics; nature and scope of environmental ethics

c.    Overview of the recent growth in environmental awareness in industrial and post-industrial nations

            II.        Prominent themes of philosophy and ethics

a.    Philosophical tools: facts & values, rights & duties, utility, autonomy & responsibility

b.    Cognitivism: facts & logic

c.    Anthopocentrism/Ecocentrism debate

d.    Morality: limits on behaviour

e.    Reductionism vs Holism

f.     Principles, preferences, and policies

           III.        Emergence of Environmental ethics

a.    Historical roots of ecological crisis

b.    Racism and environmental justice

c.    Aesthetics and value of Nature

d.    Planetary management vs. stewardship vs. environmental wisdom

e.    Western vs. Eastern philosophies on the environment

f.     Gaia hypothesis

g.    Deep Ecological Movement

h.    Natural law of tradition

a.    Telecology and virtues and contemporary  perspective on utilitarianism

b.    Deontology  and contemporary  perspective on deontological ethics

i.      Monism, Holism, Pluralism

j.      Instrumental value, intrinsic value

k.    Ecocentrism – The Land Ethic (Aldo Leopold)

l.      Animal Rights- Sentience, sufferings, interests, respects and rights; meditations on wilderness

          IV.        Ecofeminism

a.    Environmental change and women

b.    Women’s attitudes and the environment

c.    Gender and perception of the environment

d.    Women environmentalists, and their contributions

                                                  i.    Mei Ng

                                                 ii.    Vandana Shiva

                                                iii.    Wangari Muta Maathai

                                               iv.    Maria Cherkasova

                                                v.    Rachel Carson

e.    Role of ecofeminism in conservation and management of the environment for socio-economic improvement and development

            V.        Environmental ethics for sustainable development

a.    Development vs. preservation

b.    Why put a value on biodiversity

c.    Individual vs. collective responsibility

d.    Cost-benefit analysis in policy-making

e.    Corporate access and uses of public resources

f.     Obligations to future generations

g.    Prominent environmental groups, their development and strategies

          VI.        Environmental ethics and the role of religion

a.    Buddhism and the environment in Bhutanese context

                                                  i.        Land, water, air and fire (Sachhulungmey)

b.    Hinduism and the Environment

                                                  i.        Land, water, air and fire and existence

c.    Comparison with other major global religions

d.    Environmental Philosophy Case studies from Bhutan and the region.

e.    Politics and Ethics to support Environmental management: regional and global.

 

Essential Readings

 

1.    Boylan, M. (2013). Environmental Ethics, 2^nd Ed. John Wiley & Sons.

2.    Brundtland, G. H., 1987. Our Common Future. Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. New York: Oxford University Press.

3.    Enger, E.D. and Smith, B.F. (2010). Environmental Science, 12th Ed. McGraw-Hill.

4.    Mies, M. and Shiva, V. (2010). Ecofeminism. Rawat publications.

5.    Miller, G.T., and Spoolman, S.E. (2014). Environmental Science 14th Ed. New Delhi: Cengage Learning.

6.    Royal Society for the Protection of Nature, 2006. Buddhism and Environment, Published with support from Royal Netherlands Embassy, India and Sustainable Development Secretariat, Thimphu

7.    Varner G.E. 2002. In Nature’s Interest? Animal Rights and Environmental Ethics, Oxford University Press, U.K.

8.    Wright, R.T, and Boorse, D.F, 2011. Environmental Science – Towards a Sustainable Future, 11^th Edition, PHI Learning Private Limited, New Delhi.

 

Additional Readings

 

1.    Armstrong, Susan J., and Richard G. Botzler.1993. Environmental Ethics: New Divergence and Convergence. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.

2.    Gottlieb, Roger S., ed. 1996.This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment. New York: Routledge

3.    Hargrove, E.1992. The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate. Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, USA.

4.    McAuley, D., 1996.Minding Nature: The Philosophers of Ecology. Guilford Press, New York

5.    Minteer, B.A. 2009. Nature in Common- Environmental Ethics and the Contested Foundations of Environmental Policy, Retrieved from http://www.temple.edu/tempress  website on 11th September 2013:

6. Pojman, L.P. and Pojman, P. (2011) Environmental Ethics, 6th Ed. Cengage Learning.

7.    Saberwal, V.K.  Rangarajan, M. 2009. Battle over Nature, - Science and Politics of Conservation, Published by Permanent Black, New Delhi.

8.    Sessions, G. 1985. Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered, Gibbs Smith Publisher, Salt Lake.

9.    Tietenberg, T. 2006. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, 5^th Ed., Published by Pearson Addison-Wiesley. Boston.

10.  Withgott, J, 2009. Essential Environment: The Science Behind the Stories, 3^rd Edition, Pearson Education Inc, USA, UK.

 

Date last updated: May 30, 2015