Lang 402, W 6:30-9:20 p.m.
Department of Philosophy and Religion
Studies
University of North Texas
Office: 330 Terrill Hall (565-2266) and Chestnut Hall #114 (565-2727)
Office Hours: MTW 45 p.m. and by appointment
To examine basic positions in the field of environmental ethics and their
relationship to animal iberation, moral and legal rights for nature, the
history of ideas behind environmental thought, and environmental economics.
These positions are taken from the writings of contemporar thinkers. They
will be explicated from a philosophical point of view in order to determine
what an environmental ethic is and should be and how they relate to and
are supported by Western traditions.
Aldo Leopold, Sand County Almanac: With Essays from Conservation from Round River,
Ballantine, 1970
Jan E. Dizard, Going Wild, University of Massachusetts Press, 1994
Eugene C. Hargrove, ed., The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate, SUNY, 1992
Eugene C. Hargrove, Foundations of Environmental Ethics, Prentice-Hall, 1989
Mark Sagoff, The Economy of the Earth: Philosophy, Law, and the Environment, Cambridge
University Press, 1988
Leopold, "The Land Ethic," "Thinking Like a Mountain," "Round River"
Dizard, Going Wild
Hargrove, The Animal Rights/Environmental Ethics Debate
Hargrove, Foundations of Environmental Ethics
Sagoff, The Economy of the Earth
The grade is based on a seminar quality paper, attendance, and class
participation. Regular attendance and class participation are required.
A grade of A will not be given without significant and regular class participation.
At the beginning of each class, students will be expected to turn in a summary
comment on the readings assigned for that night. These comments are part
of your class participation. Late comments will not be accepted.
The paper should be approximately 20-typed written pages, including footnotes. It should compare the views of two or more environmental ethicists on some subject and defend one position against the other(s) or offer an alternative position. Footnotes should be numbered consecutively in the text. Although they can be at the bottom of each page, placing them at the end of the paper is completely acceptable (and my personal preference). The footnotes should include the name of the author, the title of the book or article (and the name of the journal), and page number (and in the case of journals, volume and year). Subsequent references should include the last name of the author, short title, and page number. Students guilty of plagiarism will receive an F for the course.