ENVS*2070 - Environmental Ethics and Perspectives

Course Description

This is an interdisciplinary approach to environmental issues which offers opportunities to investigate social processes and philosophical considerations with respect to the position and influence of humankind, and the development of social conditions, values and economic activities that have led to our present situation. These investigations are carried out within the context of physical environmental considerations, such as the state of the earth, forests, air water and our use of energy, and will lead the student to a detailed consideration of the future.

Note: This course can be taken individually or as a part of a certificate program

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:

1. Distinguish the fundamental approaches to moral reflection;
2. Explain the range of influential alternatives to addressing the environment as a moral problem;
3. Examine the fundamental assumptions of value and obligation found in environmental discourse;
4. Advance and develop more refined and persuasive normative positions to guide your personal contributions to environmental discourse; and
5. Read and evaluate research to express evidence-based opinions on environmental topics in written and verbal formats.

Course Topics

• Introduction, moral relativism, science and moral reflection
• The moral status of animals
• The moral status of life
• The moral status of ecological systems
• Markets, morality, and the environment
• Aesthetics and the environment
• First Nations
• Climate Change
• Population and Consumption
• Biodiversity
• The Precautionary Principle

Assessment

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Certificate in Environmental Citizenship : Required Courses