Environmental Philosophy (INTD 425)
Welcome!
Welcome to these online materials for the Spring 2012 course on Environmental Philosophy (INTD 425, Manchester College).
This course meets the Core-5CC (“Critical Connections”) requirements, and is open to students with Junior and Senior standing only.
We will meet twice-weekly, for 75 minutes every Tuesday and Thursday — 12:30-1:45 PM — to explore environmental issues from a philosophical perspective.
In general, we will explore a number of competing perspectives on how we should distribute benefits (e.g., land, clean air and water, food, healthcare, iPods) and burdens (e.g., polluting factories, incinerators, toxic dump sites) among all those who enjoy moral standing. Doing this will involve examining two fundamental questions: “What determines this distribution of benefits and burdens?” and “What determines moral standing?”
Almost every issue in environmental philosophy turns on these questions of distributive justice and the limits of our moral community. The Reading Schedule offers a closer account of the specific topics.
The photos appearing on these pages are either of environmentalists we will be encountering, or authors whose writings we will be reading. To learn their name, hold your cursor over the image.
Contacting Me
Click on my name (above) to reach my home page with contact information and a link for my Spring schedule for 2012.
I will try to keep the office hours indicated on the weekly schedule, but I’m happy to meet at other times as well; just see me before or after class to arrange something. Otherwise, I am best reached by email or voice-mail left at my office (982-5041).
Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 9 Dec 2011