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Lecturer(s)
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Vendra Maria Cristina Clorinda, Mgr. PhD.
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Course content
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Course Outline Part 1 - (Week 1- Week 5) Theories 1 Introduction: environmental ethics, singular or plural? 2 Anthropocentrism 3 Biocentrism 4 Ecocentrism 5 Deep Ecology 5 Ecofeminism Part 2 - (Week 6 - Week 9) - Teleological and Deontological Perspectives 6 Environmental virtue ethics 7 Environmental virtues and vices 8 Environmental justice 9 Environmental rights Part 3 - (Week 10 - 14) - Contemporary Practical Problems 10 Population and environment 11 Sustainability 12 Food ethics 13 Laudato Si': on care for our common home 14 Recapitulation and conclusion: environmental ethics for the future
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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unspecified
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Learning outcomes
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The course will identify the main currents of principled positions in environmental ethics, it will focus on classical teleological and deontological moral philosophy as offering conceptual frameworks for environmental ethics, and it will consider some current environmental ethical issues. It will provide students with knowledge about the ethical positions taken in environmental ethics and with the skills and categories to identify and articulate answers to environmental ethical problems. Consequently, students will develop their critical thinking concerning the moral judgement on environmental realities. They will be confronted with the fact that although there can't be no definitive answers to the major environmental problems, environmental ethics provides a range of conceptual tools useful to discuss and to offer solutions to environmental issues in ethically acceptable ways. The course will be divided into three parts. (1) The first part will present some of the major approaches in the field of environmental ethics: anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, deep ecology, and ecofeminism. The course will explain the differences among these perspectives with reference to their respective conceptions of the relation between human being and nature. It will, then, explain their different views of nature, as well as their ethical attitudes and implications towards the environment. (2) The second part will discuss the teleological and the deontological ethical traditions within the context of environmental ethics. More precisely, it will consider the importance of environmental virtues and duties. (3) Whereas the first two parts focus on the theoretical aspects of environmental ethics, the third part of the course will deal with some contemporary practical issues such as the impact of population growth on the environment, ecological sustainability, and food ethics. The third part of the course will also propose a critical reading of Pope Francis' landmark encyclical letter "Laudato si': on care for our common home," in which the Church and the world are called to recognize the environmental challenges and to look forward to the common future.
Communication, dialogical skills, ability to read and discuss in English, adaptability to different methodologies and perspectives
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Prerequisites
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None
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Assessment methods and criteria
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unspecified
Evaluations of students in this course will be based on: (1) participation, which includes active discussion in class, attendance (80%), class assignments. In case of absence, the student has to communicate it and to ask the professor for any assignments or key discussions concerning the missed lesson. (2) An in-class presentation (15 minutes) and a final paper (max. 8 pages). Additional information will be provided at the beginning of the course. Bibliography Mandatory ---- Selected pages, Chapters of the following books: 1) David R. Keller, Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010). 2) Joseph R. Desjardins , Environmental Ethics. An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy (5th edition) (Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2013). 3) Andrew Kernohan, Environmental Ethics. An Interactive Introduction (Buffalo, NY: Broadview Press, 2012). 4) Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato Si' of the Holy Father Francis on Care for our Common Home (Rome: Vatican Press, 2015). Recommended 1) Stephen Gardiner, Allen Thompson, The Oxford Handbook of Environmental Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017). 2) Rob Boddice, Anthropocentrism: Human, Animals, Environments (Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2011). 3) Paul Taylor, Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2011). 4) Treanor Brian, Emplotting Virtue: A Narrative Approach to Environmental Virtue Ethics (New York, State University of New York Press, 2014). 5) Rodierick Frazier Nash, The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics (University of Wisconsin Press, 1989).
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Recommended literature
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Andrew Kernohan. Environmental Ethics. An Interactive Introduction. 2012.
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David R. Keller. Environmental Ethics. An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. 2010.
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Joseph R. Desjardins. Environmental Ethics. An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. 2013.
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Paul Taylor. Respect for Nature: A Theory of Environmental Ethics. 2011.
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