PHIL 122 - Environmental Ethics

5 CR

Provides an introduction to the ethical and epistemological issues pertaining to our interaction with the environment. Students study the various conceptions of the value of the environment and how these bear on environmental policy debates. Topics may include the intrinsic and instrumental value of wilderness, animal rights, pollution, over-population and more specific applied topics such as global warming or saving salmon in the Pacific Northwest. Note: Fulfills social science or humanities course requirement, not both, at BC.

Course Outcomes

Formulate, clarify, and evaluate arguments.
Define the basic concepts of environmental studies.
Explain the available theories of the value of the environment.
Assess theories of the value of nature by evaluating arguments in support of those theories, or providing counterexamples to those theories.
Apply theories of value in support of or against environmental policy proposals.
Explain some specific environmental problems, and how to go about formulating and supporting policies that address those problems.

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