July 2017

Hello SUSI Students!

Welcome to Missoula and the University of Montana! We are so delighted to have you here with us during our lovely Montana summer.

I am looking forward to having two class sessions with you on Monday, July 10th9:30—11:00 am and then the next afternoon on Tuesday, July 11th 1:30—3:00 pm to discuss current issues in Environmental Ethics. We’ll be reading some chapters from a book that two friends and I recently published, Earth Ethics: A Case Method Approach. While the case we will analyze together is set here in Montana, I would also like for you to related environmental ethics to the issues you see about the environment in your home country.

To that end, as you read the Introduction and Chapters 1-3 in Earth Ethics for our first class, ask yourself if the framework we develop for “an ethic of ecological justice” is relevant to analyzing environmental issues in your home country. Here are some questions to think about:

  1. Do you see the Causes of Environmental Degradation we list on pages 4-13 as being similar to causes in your home country, or are there different causes?
  2. Are the Attitudes toward Nature we discuss on pages 13-20 similar to attitudes in your own country, or are there different attitudes? How would you describe your own attitude toward nature, and what has influenced it?
  3. Do you think nature has value for its own sake (intrinsic value), or only value for how it can help human beings (instrumental value)?
  4. Consider the 4 North American Perspectives described in Chapter 2. Are they similar to or different from the main perspectives in your home country?
  5. Think about the 4 Global Perspectives described on pages 30-35. Which of these do you think are most important for trying to resolve global environmental issues, and why?

Have fun with the readings, and be ready for an interactive class together to discuss these and other issues on Monday, July 10th. Then we’ll be doing acase on “Moral Eating” (chapter 5) together on the following afternoon, Tuesday July 11th. This case is based on the University of Montana’s PEAS Farm which I believe you will be visiting later in your program. I’ll be sending the Farm Director, Josh Slotnick, the case on Moral Eating so you can follow up on some of our discussion with him on the farm if you like.

Have fun getting settled into Montana, and I’ll see you on Monday, July 10th!

Warmly,

Dan Spencer

Professor, Environmental Studies