04/06/06

COURSE TITLE:           Philosophy 1130-01 Environmental Ethics

CREDITS:                      3

PREREQUISITES:       None

TIME:                             11am-12:15, Tuesdays/Thursdays

PLACE:                         S105

INSTRUCTOR:              Doug Knapp (Office: Business Building, 2nd Floor, Room B217)

                                        Phone: 651-450-8560 (Includes voice mail); Background/Interests

                                        E-mail: dknapp@inverhills.edu

OFFICE HOURS:        1-2pm Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday; or by appointment.

TEXTBOOKS:              Ethical Reasoning by Richard Paul and Linda Elder Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond Supplemental (not required): Studying Philosophy: A Guide for the Perplexed by John Arthur

OBJECTIVES:

            1.  Survey a few environmental problems in light of influential ethical ideas.

2.  Work hard and enjoy the reading, writing and discussion.

3.  Notice some of the varieties of activism.

SCHEDULE OF CLASS MEETINGS:  (date, tentative reading assignment which should be completed before class on the listed date):

1/10     Introduction     

1/12     Ethical Reasoning, p. 1-12

1/17     Ethical Reasoning, p. 13-33

1/19     Diamond, Prologue, p. 1-23

1/24     Diamond, 27-53

1/26     Diamond, 53-75

1/31     Diamond, 80-99

2/2       Diamond, 99-119

2/7       Student Success Day

2/9       Diamond, 120-156

2/14     Diamond, 157-177

2/16     Test

2/21     Diamond, 178-197

2/23     Diamond, 197-210

2/28     Diamond, 211-226

3/2       Diamond, 227-247

3/7       Spring Break – No Class

3/9       Spring Break – No Class

3/14     Diamond, 248-276

3/16     Diamond, 277-308

3/21     Diamond, 311-328

3/23     Diamond, 329-345

3/28     Diamond, 345-357

3/30     Diamond, 358-377

4/4       Diamond, 378-398

4/6       Diamond, 398-416

4/11     Test

4/13     Diamond, 419-440

4/18     Diamond, 441-459

4/20     Diamond, 459-473

4/25     Diamond, 473-485

4/27     Diamond, 486-503

5/2       Diamond, 503-525

5/4       Diamond, p. 555 (last paragraph)-560

5/9       Tuesday, Final Test, 12 noon-2pm

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES:  Some lecture and small and large group discussion; some writing outside and within class; tests and some quizzes; short paper; some panel discussions and in class summaries.

METHOD OF EVALUATION:  For purposes of grading the approximate weight for each method of evaluation is as follows:

           Three Tests                                                       60%

            Attendance/Participation/Staying    

            Focused/Avoiding Tardiness/

            Following Ground rules                                    20%

            Occasional Writes/Quizzes                             15%

            Summaries/Panel Discussions                         5%

TESTS:  Tests will have both objective (multiple choice, true/false) and essay components.  Students are expected to take tests and turn in assignments when they are scheduled.  If an extraordinary circumstance or emergency does arise, the possibility of a makeup test must be cleared with the instructor in advance of the scheduled test.  In that circumstance the student must be prepared to makeup the test promptly.  Plus, only one emergency situation is permitted.  Tests may not be made up after they have been returned to the class.  Grades will be given approximately as follows:  A (90-100%); B (80-89%); C (70-79%); D (60-69%); F (59% or below).

ATTENDANCE:  The class isn't set up to be a correspondence course.  Attendance and participation are important components of the class.  By the way, if you intend to withdraw from the course for any reason, then it is important to know that the student usually has to initiate and complete the formal withdrawal procedure.

OCCASIONAL WRITES (outside and inside class) and QUIZZES:  Writes will be used occasionally throughout the semester.  The primary goal of this writing is to help you improve your mastery of the subject matter.  Occasionally such writes are used just prior to small group discussion.  Occasional quizzes will provide an incentive to do the reading before coming to class.

SUMMARIES/PANEL DISCUSSIONS:  Many of the textbook selections, both those dealing with theoretical as well as applied ethics, are quite clear and understandable, and can be adequately summarized by students who are coming to the subject matter for the first time.  Sure, some of the readings are difficult, but then the summaries can still be accomplished simply by taking more time.  Such summaries may be required of each individual student and sometimes of panels where the summary work is divvied up.

SMALL & LARGE GROUP DISCUSSION:  Following the guidelines for small and large group discussion is very important.  Not following this guideline could be a factor in lowering your grade.  One of the most important guidelines concerns the avoidance of side-conversations.

DISABILITY SERVICES:  I would like to make sure that all the materials, discussions and activities that are part of the course are accessible to you.  If you would like to request accommodations or other services, please contact me as soon as possible.  It is also possible to contact the Disability Services Office, L-224; phone, 651-450-8628; TTY, 651-450-8369.

HONESTY/DISHONESTY:  Be honest.  For example, give credit where credit is due in your essay work.  Don't misrepresent your attendance.

SOME SUPPLEMENTARY SOURCES:  Silent Spring by Rachel Carson;  The Elements of Moral Philosophy by James Rachels; Making Better Environmental Decisions: An Alternative to Risk Assessment by Mary O'Brien; Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence by Peter Newman and Jeffrey Kenworthy; Pandora's Poison: Chlorine, Health, and a New Environmental Strategy by Joe Thornton;  People, Penguins, and Plastic Trees by Christine Pierce and Donald VanDeVeer; Environmental Ethics: Readings in Theory and Application edited by Louis Pojman (This anthology has several good pro/con articles on the degree of seriousness of major environmental problems by both 'doomsayers' and 'cornucopians'); Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic, 2nd Ed. by Dennis Avery;  The True State of the Planet: Ten of the World's Premier Environmental Researchers in a Major Challenge to the Environmental Movement, Ronald Bailey, Editor (as the above two titles suggest, these express opposition to much mainstream environmentalism).  Generation at Risk: Reproductive Health and the Environment by Ted Schettler, M.D., Gina Solomon, M.D., Maria Valenti, and Annette Huddle; Living Downstream:  An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment, by Sandra Steingraber.  Home From Nowhere, James H. Kunstler; The Long Emergency, James H. Kunstler; Studying Philosophy: A Guide for the Perplexed by John Arthur.

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