Philosophy of the Environment

Catalog description

This course offers a critical examination of a variety of current ways of thinking about the environment, aimed at developing a satisfactory philosophical approach. Regardless of how we have lived on the earth, how ought we to live? How should we go about deciding that question? Specific issues to be addressed include: Do things other than human beings have value in themselves, or only because humans value them? Do non-organic entities (water, rock 'landscapes') possess value? If so, what sort? How should we construe the relationship between economics and the environment? What is the nature of 'Nature'? What, if any, political or cultural factors underlie environmental exploitation? What are some alternative visions of how humans can or should relate to their environments?