PHIL 230 Environmental Ethics

This course introduces students to philosophical debates in environmental ethics. We will explore questions such as: What aspects of the non-human world are morally considerable? Are trees or ecosystems just as morally considerable as sentient animals? If so, how should we adjudicate between competing moral claims in the natural world? Do high-emitting nations have a greater moral obligation to mitigate the effects of climate change than poorer nations? Are we morally obligated to consider the impact our current environmental behavior will have on future humans? Topics to be studied include anthropocentrism, animal welfare, the moral status of nature, population growth, climate change, feminist and anti-racist approaches to environmental justice, and more. Offered every other year.