Module Directory

This module will introduce students to the key debates within environmental philosophy, looking at the history of environmental philosophy as well as at contemporary debates, including animal ethics, the ethics of climate change, environmental racism and the rights of future generations (the specific topics may change from year to year).

Throughout the course, we will actively engage with recent news stories and developments in environmental science, finding and discussing the conceptual questions and ethical dilemmas these give rise to. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of applying traditional ethical frameworks like deontology, virtue ethics and utilitarianism to these problems, and look at more recent attempts at attributing value to our non-human environment.

The aims of this module are:

1. To introduce students to key topics in environmental philosophy (e.g., climate change and ecological degradation).


2. To improve the students’ understanding of the environmental challenges we are facing today.


3. To enable students to identify and critically examine the presuppositions and assumptions we make when talking about environmental issues.


4. To familiarise students with the different ways in which philosophical insights and skills can be brought to bear on the complex environmental problems we are facing.


5. To give students a sense of what it can mean to deal with environmental challenges in creative and ethically defensible ways.

By the end of this module students will be expected to be able to:

1. Give succinct summaries of the philosophical positions in environmental philosophy that they have studied.


2. Understand and evaluate aspects of environmental policies, strategies and positions in the public debate drawing on philosophy and related disciplines.


3. Reflect on the philosophical positions in environmental philosophy that they have studied.


4. Begin to form their own opinions about, and suggest solutions to, the complex environmental problems that we face.

By the end of the module students should also have acquired a set of transferable skills, and in particular be able to:

1. Identify the arguments relevant for particular environmental issues.


2. Evaluate these arguments.


3. Present, both verbally and in writing, the key features of strategies and arguments as well as their presuppositions and implications.


4. Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them.

This compulsory module will introduce students to the key debates within environmental philosophy, looking at the history of environmental philosophy as well as at contemporary debates, including animal ethics, the ethics of climate change, environmental racism and the rights of future generations (the specific topics may change from year to year). Throughout the module, we will actively engage with recent news stories and developments in environmental science, finding and discussing the conceptual questions and ethical dilemmas these give rise to. We will consider the strengths and weaknesses of applying traditional ethical frameworks like deontology, virtue ethics and utilitarianism to these problems, and look at more recent attempts at attributing value to our non-human environment.

Syllabus (note: this is an example of the topics that may be covered and is subject to change):

• Introduction to Environmental Ethics: Philosophical questions and main fault lines


• Looking at nature: Anthropocentrism and nature in the history of Western philosophy


• Animal Ethics: Singer and Foer


• Animal Ethics: Regan, Donaldson and Kymlicka


• Hot-house Ethics: The ethical dilemmas of the climate emergency


• Traditional Responses (utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics)


• Alternative responses (1): Radical ecology and the ethics of deep adaptation


• Alternative responses (2): Eco-feminism, environmental racism and sexism


• Alternative responses (3): Non-Western philosophy

The module will be taught through nine two-hour sessions which will consist of a combination of a lecture by the module leader and a seminar with contributions from students and classroom discussion. Typically, students will read weekly assignments and engage in a range of assessments (e.g. presentations, commentaries, essay plans and essays). Module leaders will use a range of teaching methods: for instance, a lecturer might ask students to develop their coursework in peer groups and will submit one draft of their final submissions to their peer group for comments.