1. Topic 5: Environmental Ethics Discussion: Wed 9/12 & Fri 9/14 Homework Due: Mon 9/17

2. Questions for homework Does a river have rights? How do we determine the ethical status and value of a river? What is morally right and wrong with respect to a river? How do you decide? EXPLAIN your answers. Due Monday, September 17

3. Philosophy & Environmental Ethics What are morals and values?  morals - right vs wrong  values - ultimate worth of actions or things

4. Ethical status moral agents  can act morally and immorally  responsible for actions moral subjects  have moral interests - can be treated rightly or wrongly  not responsible for actions Which is nature?  agent  subject  resilient background  delicate system

5. Groups Does a river have ethical status? What is it? (agent, subject, something else) Why?

6. Value intrinsic/inherent - because it exists instrumental - because it has a use humans vs living things vs physical things

7. Questions for homework Does a river have rights? How do we determine the ethical status and value of a river? What is morally right and wrong with respect to a river? How do you decide? EXPLAIN your answers. Due Monday, September 17

8. For Friday What is your environmental ethic? What in your personal background informs this ethic? Consider this  How much pollution can be put in a river before your personal ethic is violated?

9. Groups Is it OK to pollute a river? If yes, how much is OK? Why/why not? On what do you base you decision?

10. Ethical viewpoints Universalist  fundamental principles  unchanging  eternal  universal  modernists: develop universal laws through science Relativist  vary by person, society, situation  right and wrong must have a context  postmodernist: all viewpoints are equal Utilitarian  action is right that produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people for the longest time (added by early environmentalists)  can justify terrible actions  difficult to weigh options Nihilist  everything is arbitrary  no right or wrong  power, strength, survival  uncertainty, pain, despair

11. Environmental worldviews domination  humans may do as they want  anthropocentric stewardship  responsible caretakers  somewhat anthropocentric ecocentric  ecological processes are the most important animal rights  each individual has inherent value biocentric  biodiversity has the highest values  species and populations have inherent value ecofeminism  everything is interconnected  nothing occupies the high ground  focus on relationship, kinship, and reciprocity  for the good of all  relativistic awareness

12. Questions for homework Does a river have rights? How do we determine the ethical status and value of a river? What is morally right and wrong with respect to a river? How do you decide? EXPLAIN your answers. Due Monday, September 17