Overview Ethics is a critical and considered reflection of who we are and how we relate rightly and wrongly, to the good and bad, etc. This unit provides an overview of how ecological ethics fits into the study of ethics in general, and amongst other disciplines of academic study. We consider, as well, why ethics is not merely relative to cultural beliefs, though it is shaped by the plurality of cultures. ! Unit Objectives The learning activities in this unit are intended to help you: • begin to develop an ability to assess and formulate ethical arguments; • reflect on your own ethics and present a cogent line of reasoning for your conclusions; • anticipate responses or possible challenges to your position; • Think about how the distinction of human ethics from non-human ethics raises important questions that give a vantage point to look at ecological ethics. ! Unit 1 Required readings Week One • Please watch the slideshow: "Introduction to Phil3206" • Midgley, Mary. "On Trying Out One's New Sword," in Heart and Mind (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 1981), 69-75. ! Week Two • Kohák, Erazim. The Green Halo: A Bird's Eye View of Ecological Ethics (Chicago: Open Court, 2000), 1-49 (Introduction and Part 1). ! Week Three • Hursthouse, Rosalind. "Environmental Virtue Ethics," in R. L. Walker & P. J. Ivanhoe, eds., Working Virtue: Virtue Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems, 155–172 (London: Oxford University Press, 2007). ! Unit 1 Reference Material • Why ethics matter for climate change, a presentation by Donald Brown, part one • Why ethics matter for climate change, a presentation by Donald Brown, part two • Weston, Anthony. A Practical Companion to Ethics, Fourth ed. (London: Oxford University Press, 2011). This book could really help your final essay in the course. You may want to seek it out in a library or via inter-library loan. • Rolston III, Holmes. A New Environmental Ethics: The Next Millennium for Life on Earth (New York: Routledge, 2012). • Rosalind, Hursthouse. "Virtue Ethics." In Edward N. Zalta (ed.), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2013 ed.). • Ronald L. Sandler, Character and Environment : A Virtue-oriented Approach to Environmental Ethics (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007). • Peter Singer, "All Animals Are Equal," in T. Regan & P. Singer, eds., Animal Rights and Human Obligations, 148-162 (New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1989). • Academic Journals of note: 1• Environmental Ethics • Environmental Values • Environmental Philosophy • Ethics and the Environment • Ethics, Place and Environment • Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics ! ! Unit 1 Questions to help you focus on the readings' main points Week One • What is Midgley's primary point about the new sword? • Does her objection to ethical relativism ("moral isolationism") have a positive side? I.e., is there an argument in favor of actual ethical realities apart from human opinion? • Why do we want to give in to the idea of relativist ethics? ! Week Two • What is Kohák's actual definition of ethics? Whence does he get his definition? • In what way is ethics a science? In what is it not? • Why is the environment an object of ethical concern according to Kohák? • How are beliefs a form of knowledge, rather than opinion? For example, First Nations' beliefs about the natural world often end up being confirmed by ecological science, even though many people think they are simply stories and opinions. • Kohák's discussion of animal ethics takes place before he enters into his presentation of ecological ethics. Why is that? What is the value of animal ethics in relation to ecological ethics for Kohák? ! Week Three • What is the origin of virtue thinking? (you will need to look up academic definitions of "virtue ethics." In the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, it is found under "ethics—virtue") • What is character? How does this seem different from your usual understanding of ethics? How does it match up with what Kohák writes about ethics? • Why is character not personality? • What is a virtue and a vice? How many vices are there for every virtue? • What is humility? Would you normally think of humility as a good thing? An ethical word? • What are the two 'new' virtues she proposes? How are they ethical? How do they help you understand character? • Does virtue lead to action? Why is action not the sole concern of environmental virtue ethics? What is problematic with identifying ethics only with prescriptions attached to actions? • Feelings are important in virtue ethics. How are feelings related to knowledge by Hursthouse