10/1 Introduction to the Theory of System Coherence as Unfolding Wholeness

Readings for class on Tues. Oct 1st:

1. Christopher Alexander, "New Concepts in Complexity Theory: arising from studies in the field of architecture"

2. Justin Good, "What is Beauty? Or, On the Aesthetics of Wind Farms"

3. Transition Culture Interview with Christopher Alexander

4. The Theory of Wholeness for Beginners, By J. Good (below)

§1. WHAT DISAGREEMENTS ABOUT WIND FARM AESTHETICS ARE ABOUT. 

Despite the beauty of their ecological rationality, large-scale wind farms still jar many visual sensibilities with their industrial look. The truth contained in that nimby response is that industrial infrastructure, and often modernist architectural icons, tends to have a fragmenting effect on the unity of natural landscapes and the systems which unfold that unity or wholeness in stable patterns following multiple patterns of least resistance through time. Everyone is in perceptual agreement: fragmentation is objectively ugly. Vice versa, wholeness is objectively beautiful. Life is objectively beautiful.

§2. A NEW CONCEPT OF BEAUTY: THE THEORY OF WHOLENESS. 

Construed ecologically, from the standpoint of the holistic science of natural, evolving systems, the perception of beauty is the perception of wholeness. Wholeness is an objective property of nature and natural systems. This is a very deep objective quality of a place, a work of art, an organism,that affects us deeply. For a place, it is a sense of belonging, a sense that everything feels right, natural, stable, alive – most especially a feeling of life, and a feeling of being yourself. The architect/complexity scientist Christopher Alexander has developed a comprehensive theory of wholeness in his revolutionary study, The Nature of Order. The following is an encapsulation of his theory as it pertains specifically to the Meaning of Beauty.

§3. OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT OF BEAUTY AS WHOLENESS. 

The new scientific/mystical understanding of beauty, as the cognizing of wholeness, can be explained in three, related ways. 

To be beautiful is: 

1. To be a coherent system (to exhibit a high degree of relatedness.) 

2. To exhibit living structure. (to come to exist through a continuous process of unfolding.) 

3. To manifest the (transpersonal) Self, to be “personal”.

§4. FIRST ASPECT: WHOLENESS AS COHERENCE. 

In a system which is good: (a) any identifiable subsystems would be in good condition, and (b) any larger systems which the system is a part of would be in good condition. That is, a system is good if its activity helps both the systems around it and those which it contains. Reciprocally, a good system is helped by the systems it contains and the larger systems which contain it. Wholeness is about the harmonizing of beings within a region of space/time. Such patterns of interaction are perceived as beautiful by us. The beauty is not in our eye, it is in the pattern. An example of a coherent system: a healthy ecosystem.

"When we speak of "healthy" eco-systems, we mean stable eco-systems: that is, both tending toward diversity and not subject to cataclysmic drops in diversity. Such conditions, also called balanced, create relationships--ever more intricate relationships-- that increasingly locate the inorganic elements necessary to life in cycles that make those inorganic elements increasingly available to life. The more extensive these relationships, the more consistently available the nutrient-elements will be to the life forms within those relationships. Expanding diversity of life forms is, relatively speaking, a low entropy enterprise. The more diverse the forms of life, the more matter and energy are kept available for use, or "work," and the less they are lost to use or work through either irretrievable dissipation or unresolvable mixing." - Abby Rockefeller

§5. SECOND ASPECT: WHOLENESS AS LIVELINESS. To exhibit wholeness is to exhibit living structure. The wholeness of a structure is the degree of life it has. 

What determines degree of life? 

(a) The difference between living and non-living form has to do with the process through which the form came to be. What kind of process? To have a living geometry is to come to exist through a continuous process of unfolding. One can see, just by looking, that something with living form came to be by way of a process of unfolding, where each step of the growing grew out of the prior steps, and where each development enhanced the structure (the wholeness) that already existed. What lacks living form has the look of something that was put together. Its structure did not unfold out of itself. (e.g. Frankenstein) Because something that is beautiful is alive, it makes one feel alive – feel deeply human. Industrially-produced structure seldom has this quality of being alive, and so of creating a sense of wholeness. 

(b) Biological versus geometrical concept of Life. This theory implies a broad concept of life: The narrow biological concept of life is: To be alive is to be a kind of Mechanism (Reactive, constructed, reducible) - Life as mechanical structure explicable in terms of chemistry, physics and: either a) god, or b) natural selection –organized chance, and/or c) symbiosis. Machine behavior which is reactive (vs. active) and constructed (vs. self-generated). A broader systems theory concept of life is found in General Systems Theory - Life as any self-organizing structure. A still broader concept is the geometrical/spatial concept of life: To be alive is to exhibit a certain kind of geometrical structure. Life is a metaphysical process intrinsic to space/time, not something that begins with biology, but which reaches a new and higher level of intensity and harmonization with biological systems. 

(c) The specific geometry of Life. Degree of life in a structure has to do with the ways it embodies the geometrical properties of stable natural systems. 

There are fifteen properties universally found in stable, natural processes. In fact, they are actually geometrical properties of reality found in any complex system: 

1. LEVELS OF SCALE, 2. STRONG CENTERS, 3. BOUNDARIES, 4. ALTERNATING REPETITION, 5. POSITIVE SPACE, 6. GOOD SHAPE, 7. LOCAL SYMMETRIES, 8. DEEP INTERLOCK AND AMBIGUITY, 9. CONTRAST, 10. GRADIENTS, II. ROUGHNESS, 12. ECHOES, 13. THE VOID, 14. SIMPLICITY AND INNER CALM, 15. NON-SEPARATENESS.

§6. THIRD ASPECT: WHOLENESS AS BEING FILLED WITH SELF. 

To be beautiful is to manifest the (transpersonal) Self. Not ‘Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder’ but rather ‘The Eye of the Beholder is in (is an extension of) the Beauty’. Beauty does not exist because there is a consciousness there to perceive it. The consciousness is an extension of the Beauty which already exists. Consciousness is created by the Beauty in order for the geometry underlying the Beauty to be fully actualized. At the level of physical nature, every being (e.g. an electron, planet, cat, galaxy) is attracted to every other by the force of gravitation. This mysterious ability of two entities to exert an instantaneous force on each other, even if they are billions of light years away from each other, is still unexplained by cosmology and fundamental physics. At a different dimension of reality, every point of space/time embodies a degree of consciousness, of selfness as an intrinsic feature of the universe. And like the law of gravitation, there is a cosmological law of the integration of awareness: every point or ‘center’ of space/time has an instantaneous impulse to bond with every other center, to attain a more comprehensive, deeper level of cosmological awareness. Beauty is the perception of a moment of integration of awareness of centers of space/time.

"The environment is good, or bad, according to the degree that its thousands and thousands of centers are pictures of the self, what we might call ‘beings.” The practical matters of fire, cost, family structure, wall construction, structural efficiency, ecology, solar energy, wind, water, pedestrian traffic – all these have their place. Function must be at the core of everything. But what governs the life of the buildings is not to be found in these matters, alone, but in a single question, always built on the foundation of these matters, but elevating them to a different level of understanding: To what extent is every building, and the whole building, and every garden, and the whole street, all made of beings?... Every center in the matter of the universe starts this tunneling towards the I-stuff. And the stronger the center is, the bigger the tunnel, the stronger the connection to the I. That means, that every beautiful object, to the extent it has the structure which I have described, also begins to open the door towards the I-stuff or the self." – Christopher Alexander, The Nature of Order

Goat Meditation at the Sanctuary

Dear Philosophers,

The Sanctuary's weekly mindfulness group will be meeting this Sunday, September 29th from 3-5 pm. Open sitting mindfulness meditation from 3-4 pm, followed by A Course in Miracles discussion led by Justin Good from 4-5 pm.

All beings welcome.

Sliding scale donation $0-$10.

Om shanti. :)

      Justin

Goats may or may not join us, but they will be beaming love and curiosity from nearby, they are very sweet.

The Sanctuary

59 Bogel Road, East Haddam

www.oursanctuary.org

First Paper Topics

Length: 4 pages min.

Due: Wed, Oct 2nd by midnight

Submit: via email to justin@oursanctuary.org

Format: Any

1. E. F. Schumacher argues that a Buddhist perspective on human happiness is incompatible with the premises of classical economics. What is his argument, and is his argument valid? If so, why? If not, why not?

2. How does the issue of sentience relate to the question of moral standing when determining our moral obligations to nature? What is the most plausible way to determine the concept of sentience?

3. How is pricing natural resources as stocks of ‘natural capital’ intended to help humans overcome environmental degradation? What problems does it pose? Is it an effective strategy?

4. Does value require a valuer? If so, why? If not, why not? How does question relate to the philosophical problem of understanding our moral duties to the natural world?

5. Do ecosystems have moral standing? If not, why not, If so, why?

6. Is it wrong to cut down a tree?

7. Explain the similarities and differences between sentientism, biocentrism and ecocentrism. Which position most plausibly captures our moral obligations to the natural world? Why?

8. Do rivers have rights? Examine and evaluation Jens Benohr and Patrick Lynch’s argument in "Should Rivers Have Rights?

9. Is the Earth Sacred? If so, what does that mean? If not, why not?

10. Choose your own topic, just run it by me first.

9/24 Special Guest: Hans Lohse, Green Architect

Dear Philosophers,

Our field trip to the Sanctuary is going to happen this Thursday, Sept. 26th. The bus will be picking you up next to Downey Hall on the side street side off High Street at 10:15, leaving promptly at 10:20. The Sanctuary is approx. 20 min away, so we’ll arrive there (59 Bogel Road, East Haddam) around 10:40, have about an hour to tour the Sanctuary, meet Jen (my wife and co-executive director of the Sanctuary) and see Hans’ tiny houses in the forest, before we catch the bus back to Wesleyan at 11:40, and then get back to campus by 12:30.

In preparation for this trip, the architect Hans Lohse is going to come to class tomorrow, Tues. Sept. 24th to give a presentation on his work, philosophy of architecture and building, and a synopsis of his current project, the Tiny Hermitages at the Sanctuary. In preparation for this class, please check out his website http://lifespacearchitects.com and bring questions to class.

Hans' presentation: Small is Beautiful 

A Government's Guide to Tiny House Regulation

Hans Lohse's Tiny Hermitage Project at the Sanctuary

Permaculture Graphs

4. CASE STUDY: The Ecology of Sewage Treatment Plants vs. Composting Toilets

5. “Waste Water” - September 9th, 2019 / SPRINGFIELD — An equipment malfunction resulted Monday in the release of an estimated 90,000 gallons of untreated wastewater into the Connecticut River, according to an announcement by the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission. The commission is notifying area residents and downstream communities of the malfunction at the York Street pump station. The 90,000 gallons is a preliminary estimate, a spokeswoman said.”

6. “It is in the nature of sewering and sewage treatment to compound environ- mental problems in the process of moving sewage and in attempting to remove from sewage the pollutants it carries. Spreading sewage sludge on land is but the latest in the compounding of environmental damage from sewerage. This practice must be banned and there must be a federal reorientation of all technology dealing with human excreta and the waste materials from industry and society that now are carried away by sewers. The reorientation must center on biologically based on-site pollution prevention and resource recycling technologies mandated through a revised Clean Water Act.”

- Abby Rockefeller, co-inventor of the composting toilet and director of RILES (Resource Institute for Low Entropy Systems)

7. Many sanitation experts believe that standard toilets are poorly designed  technologies. In their seminal book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution, Paul Hawken and engineers Amory and L. Hunter Lovins discuss the engineering virtues of the standard American toilet: “In an effort to make them ‘invisible’ a toilet mixes pathogen-bearing feces with relatively clean urine. Then it dilutes that slurry with about 100 times its volume in pure drinking water, and further mixes the mess with industrial toxins in the sewer system, thus turning ‘an excellent fertilizer and soil conditioner into a serious, far-reaching, and dispersed disposal problem. Supplying the clean water, treating the sewage, and providing all the delivery and collection in between requires systems whose cost strains the resources even of wealthy countries, let alone the 2 billion people who lack basic sanitation.” Centralized sewage treatment - is costly, energy intensive, not as effective as nature’s own way of breaking down harmful pathogens, chemicals and heavy metals through microbial digestion, and produces a toxic waste (sewage sludge) for which there is currently no environmentally safe way to dispose of. This is what you call a high entropy technology, since a lot of energy – both the energy used in the treatment, and the organic energy contained in the human “waste” - are lost in the treatment process. In contrast, a composting toilet helps nature’s own digestive processes to breathe more deeply, closing a nutrient cycle and returning human excreta back to condition the soil.

Links on Waste Water and Composting Toilets

1. John Stauber, Excerpt from "Toxic Sludge is Good for You"

2. The Sanctuary Eco-temple Composting Toilet

3. Abby Rockefeller, "Sewers, Sewage Treatment, Sludge: Damage Without End"

4. "Composting Toilets could be the way of the future"

9/18 Introduction to Permaculture Ethics

Texts for this class
1. David Holmgren, "The Essence of Permaculture"
2. Permaculture Documentary: "In Danger of Falling Food"

9/16 Virtue Ethics and Buddhist Economics

Readings for this class
1. Simon James, Environmental Philosophy, Chapter V
2. E. F. Schumacher, "Buddhist Economics"

Vandana Shiva on the Shipko Movement, the original "Tree Huggers"

“Soil is ours. Water is ours. Ours are these forests. Our forefathers raised them. It’s we who must protect them.” A song from the Chipko Movement in India

Notes on Value and the Environment

A. Value based on moral standing & moral significance

1. Moral duties pertain to entities recognized to have moral standing. There is a philosophical question regarding the relevant criteria for moral standing: rationality, self-consciousness, sentience, etc. How we determine the criteria results in relatively narrower or wider spheres of moral consideration, e.g. anthropocentrism, biocentrism, ecocentrism, etc.

2. Moral standing has an indeterminate relation to moral significance, i.e. an entity may have moral standing but relatively very little moral significance, e.g. a tapeworm. 

B. Value based on natural capitalist accounting: ecosystem services / natural capital

3. Provisioning Services:  A provisioning service is any type of benefit to people that can be extracted from nature. Along with food, other types of provisioning services include drinking water, timber, wood fuel, natural gas, oils, plants that can be made into clothes and other materials, and medicinal benefits.

Regulating Services: A regulating service is the benefit provided by ecosystem processes that moderate natural phenomena. Regulating services include pollination, decomposition, water purification, erosion and flood control, and carbon storage and climate regulation.

Cultural Services: A cultural service is a non-material benefit that contributes to the development and cultural advancement of people, including how ecosystems play a role in local, national, and global cultures; the building of knowledge and the spreading of ideas; creativity born from interactions with nature (music, art, architecture); and recreation.

Supporting Services: Ecosystems themselves couldn't be sustained without the consistency of underlying natural processes, such as photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, the creation of soils, and the water cycle. These processes allow the Earth to sustain basic life forms, let alone whole ecosystems and people. Without supporting services, provisional, regulating, and cultural services wouldn't exist.

4. Issues with pricing: 

Economic incentives to preserve resources, e.g. Gulf of Thailand mangroves.

$33 Trillion to buy the world’s ecosystems?

The cost of something that is irreplaceable, the water cycle.

The devaluation caused by putting a price on something.

C. Value connected to the concept of the Commons

5. We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.

  —Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (1949)

Concept of the Commons

“By the law of nature these things are common to mankind — the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shore of the sea. — Institutes of Justinian (535 A.D.)

6. The Commons: The sum of all we inherit together and should pass on, undiminished, to our heirs. The Romans distinguished between three types of property: res privatae, res publicae and res communes. The first consisted of things capable of being possessed by an individual or family. The second consisted of things built and set aside for public use by the state, such as public buildings and roads. The third consisted of natural things used by all, such as air, water and wild animals. 

7. KEY FUNCTIONS OF THE COMMONS

Basic sustenance - supplies everyone’s food, water, fuel and medicines.

Ultimate source -  of all natural resources and nature’s many replenishing services.

Ultimate waste sink - recycles water, oxygen, carbon and everything else we excrete, exhale and throw away.

Knowledge bank and seedbed - holds humanity’s vast store of science, art, customs and laws, seedbed of all creativity.

Communication - through shared languages that are living products of many generations.

Travel - the commons for land, sea and air travel.

Community - the village tree, the public square, Main Street, the neighborhood and the Internet. 

8. E.g. Peter Barnes’ Sky Trust model: based on the premise that the sky belongs to everyone and must be held in trust for future generations. It requires polluters to purchase emission permits from a trust representing all citizens. The trust’s income can be used for public purposes and/or rebated to citizens through equal dividends. (based on the model of the Alaska Permanent Fund)

9. Spiritual Version: Indigenous View of the Environment as a Gift of Pachamama - to be cherished, protected, stewarded. A gift calls for gratitude and for sharing the gift.

D. Metaphysics of Value: Does value require a valuer?

10. Two contrasting intuitions:

Yes: Nature is valuable (a) only if valued by humans, (b) only if it would have been valued by humans had they been present, (c) only if valued by any human or non-human entities present. 

The fact that different observers can value the same thing differently shows that the thing in question is value-neutral. 

No: Sacredness - inherent value - exists independently of any specific valuer.

E. Value as an objective, measurable aspect of unfolding wholeness or system coherence.

11. Christopher Alexander’s systems-theoretic definition of value:

A system which is good if:

  (a) any identifiable subsystems would be in good condition, and

  (b) any larger systems which the system is a part of would be in good condition.

12. Transpersonal/Panpsychist view of value: Wholeness as a picture of the transpersonal self.  

“How is it metaphysically possible for you as an individual self to feel (to be) related to the Whole

of the universe? The hypothesis: The I of your (personal) self and the I-ness or self-like feeling

of living structure are two aspects of one single, universal, timeless I.”

9/12 Value

Reading for this class:
Simon James, Environmental Philosophy, Chapter 4 (pp.64-77)

Remote Viewning: Evidence that consciousness has a non-local dimension?

Notes on Biocentrism and Ecocentrism

A. Def. Biocentrism - the question of sentience and duties to non-sentient beings

Anthropocentrism: Kant argued that we have no direct duties to animals. For example, in “Duties to Animals and Spirits” Kant writes, “[So] far as animals are concerned, we have no direct duties. Animals are not self-conscious and are there merely as the means to an end. That end is man.” He reiterates this point later by writing: “Our duties towards animals are merely indirect duties towards humanity”

Peter Singer's utilitarian critique extends moral standing to all sentient beings via the principle of utility and the Greatest Happiness Principle. 

Dogs and cats, cows and cows yes, but plants? Mycilium? Barnacles?

Q: Is it wrong to cut down a tree? 

Q: If it is wrong to harm a sentient animal because that animal can have conscious interests (namely, the interest in not being harmed), can living beings have morally-relevant non-conscious interests? 

Yes. Something can be in something’s interest without that being’s taking a conscious interest in it. Living individual organisms have “goods of their own” - they can be benefited or harmed in themselves.

The ethical perspective of Biocentrism is that all living beings, whether sentient or not, have moral standing, meaning we have direct duties to them.

Two standard objections: (1) moral overload - how can we identify all these duties? (2) It is impossible to do right by all these beings.

How do we negotiate these duties? How do we decide between competing duties? How do we decide a hierarchy of significance?

               Moral standing versus moral significance

What about collections of beings? A superorganism like a beehive or termite colony.

What about viruses? Just because something can be harmed, does that mean we have a duty not to harm it?

Failure to identify with non-sentient or nonhuman entities as a failure of moral-spiritual (transpersonal evolution). - the perspective of Deep Ecology (Arne Naess) as well as Indigenous Worldview.

Chief Seattle’s Letter (1854)

"The President in Washington sends word that he wishes to buy our land. But how can you buy or sell the sky? the land? The idea is strange to us. If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?

Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore, every mist in the dark woods, every meadow, every humming insect. All are holy in the memory and experience of my people.

We know the sap which courses through the trees as we know the blood that courses through our veins. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters. The bear, the deer, the great eagle, these are our brothers. The rocky crests, the dew in the meadow, the body heat of the pony, and man all belong to the same family.

The shining water that moves in the streams and rivers is not just water, but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you our land, you must remember that it is sacred. Each glossy reflection in the clear waters of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.

The rivers are our brothers. They quench our thirst. They carry our canoes and feed our children. So you must give the rivers the kindness that you would give any brother...

C. Def. Ecocentrism

There are no “individuals” in nature but ecosystems of interdependency and “inter-being” 

Aldo Leopold’s “thinking like a mountain” - preserving the long-term balance of an ecosystem means: don’t kill wolves to save the deer. 

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” From A Sand County Almanac.

The worth of any particular member of a biotic community is a function of the contribution it makes to the good of that community as a whole. (James, p. 53) - a justification for killing invasive or destructive species. 

Are humans an invasive species requiring pruning? Ecocentrism versus Ecofascism (e.g. the new version of Godzilla)

Can a species have moral standing as opposed to individual members of the species?

e.g.the indigenous perspective of looking after populations of creatures, vs. individual members of a population. Hunting as a way of managing, securing long-term sustainability and flourishing of a population

Or a keystone species with a special ecosystem function, e.g. bison. 

Does an endangered species have greater moral weight than a non-endangered species?

The Question of Sentience and Moral Standing

1. Are Plants sentient?

Cleve Backster's famous polygraph experiment with plants.

2. Vis a vis ecocentrism, should rivers have rights, i.e. moral standing?

Jens Benohr and Patrick Lynch, "Should Rivers Have Rights?

3. Are mycilium sentient, intelligent, morally-relevant?

Paul Stamets on mycilia and their dimensions of sentience and consciousness

9/10 Anthropocentrism, Biocentrism & Ecocentrism

Reading for this class:
Simon James, Environmental Philosophy, Chapter 3 (pp. 42-63)
And if you don't have the text yet, read Paul Taylor's essay "The Ethics of Respect for Nature"

9/5 Animals

Reading for this class:
Simon James, Environmental Philosophy, pp. 1-42.

If you have not been able yet to access this text, you can read the core arguments we are going to discuss in this article by Peter Singer called "Equality for Animals?"

Bread and Puppet Circus at the Sanctuary

Dear Philosophers, unfortunately there are no Wesleyan vans available tomorrow for the circus show at our land trust. There are several students in the class with vehicles and so some of you can still make it. See you tomorrow! :) Justin

Here's a link to more information about the show and The Sanctuary

Syllabus

Wesleyan University • Fall 2019

PHIL 270 Environmental Philosophy

Justin Good and Jennifer L. Taylor

Tues/Thurs 10:20 - 11:40 @ DWNY113 (294 High Street)

Office hours: Thursdays 12-1 pm 

or by appointment at a location TBA.

Contact: Professor Justin Good, Ph. D.  

justin@OurSanctuary.org  

(617) 733-9270

Course website: ecologyofperception.blogspot.com

§1. Description

This class offers an introduction to the philosophy of the environment, the environmental movement, concepts of nature, and the place of humanity in the age of the Anthropocene. We will explore a wide range of topics including: changing paradigms of nature from mechanism to biocentrism; the politics and ethics of climate change; environmental challenges to modern political philosophy from feminism; animal rights and land reform movements; ecological and gift economics; monetary reform for sustainability; Buddhist economics and permaculture models of development; media ecology and the transformative effects of technology on the natural world; environmental aesthetics; theory of wholeness and sustainable architecture; comparative epistemologies of nature including ecofeminist, indigenous, and transpersonal perspectives; the study of nonhuman intelligences in nature; nature-based spiritual traditions; and more.

§2. Learning Objectives  

1. Critical thinking and feeling skills.
2. Developing ability to write an argumentative, philosophical essay. 

3. Non-violent communication skills and openness to asking catalytic questions.
4. Grasp of basic problems of environmental philosophy.

5. Mindfulness and Non-judgment.

§3. Required Texts

1. Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition  

2. Simon James, Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction 

3. Alice Outwater, Wild at Heart: America's Turbulent Relationship with Nature, from Exploitation to Redemption  

4. Paul Thompson, From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone

There will also be some online readings to be found on the course website ecologyofperception.blogspot.com. Note that this is NOT part of the Wesleyan website but an independent blogspot site. All course information, including reading assignments for each class will be posted on this site one class in advance.

§4. Course Requirements  

1. Write Four Papers.

2. Participation in Offering Questions and Observations for class Discussions.

3. Being Actually Present in Class.

4. Willingness to Practice Mindfulness Meditation.

§5. Course Policies 

1. Writing Assignments. 

There are four paper assignments I will be giving out more detailed instructions for each assignment as we come to them. See schedule below for due dates.

2. Serving as a Question Spur. 

Each class several students will be responsible for getting our discussion started by sharing their questions and their sketch of a key argument from the reading assignment for that class. These presentations will give the student the opportunity to develop the oral communication skills. Being able to articulate a philosophical position (whether one supports the position or not) is a central part of understanding that position, so discussion is a central part of the class. I will pick two students at the end of each class to prepare a short sharing for the following class. 

3. Participation, Attention & Courage 

Students are invited to come to class, to be mentally and emotionally present in class and absolutely no use of digital devices, no texting or cell phone use. You should be prepared to discuss the assigned reading, have a question to share, be willing to engage in friendly but spirited dialogue and to question their deepest assumptions and stories.

4. Willingness to Practice Meditation 

Beginning on the second week into the course there will be a short (5-10 min.) meditation at the beginning of each class. This practice helps the student to relax and focus, think more clearly, engage the material more deeply, and serves as a powerful remedy for the stress that the academic setting tends to generate. Students should be willing to engage this practice.

§6. Schedule

(1) 9/3 Introductions

Chapter One: Overview of the Problems of Environmental Philosophy

Primary Text: Simon James, Environmental Philosophy: An Introduction 

(2-7) 9/5-9/24

Chapter Two: Environmental Ethics of Food Production and Consumption

Primary Text: Paul Thompson, From Field to Fork: Food Ethics for Everyone

(8-11) 9/26-10/8

First Paper due: 9/26 (4 page min.)

Chapter Three: Ecology of Economy, Money and Value

Primary Text: Charles Eisenstein, Sacred Economics

(12-17) 10/10-10/29

Second Paper due: 10/24 (5 page min.)

Chapter Four: Comparative Epistemologies of Nature

Primary Text: Alice Outwater, Wild at Heart

(18-23) 10/31-11/19

Third Paper due: 11/14 (6 page min)

Chapter Five: Environmental Aesthetics and Sustainable Architecture

Primary Text: Christopher Alexander, “New Concepts in Complexity Theory”

(24-26) 11/21-12/3

(27) 12/5  Semester Debrief

Fourth and Final Paper is due at the scheduled time/date of the final exam for this course. (8 page min.)

§7. Some basic guidelines for writing assignments 

CONTENT & DEVELOPMENT 

1. Personal and philosophical 

A really good philosophy essay is both personally-meaningful and also theoretically-interesting. That is, a good paper draws on personal experiences and feelings and brings them to bear on theoretical questions listed in the assignment instructions. Note that a good essay does not need to give a definitive answer to any of the questions, and often a good philosophy reflection does just the opposite – it shows how difficult the question is answer. That is, it brings the question to life.  KEY: What is your question? What do you want to understand more deeply? 

What are you arguing against? What’s driving your curiosity or frustrating it?

2. It develops and has a point to make 

In terms of development, the paper poses a question at the beginning and then attempts to offer reflections, data, references, ideas, whatever, which are relevant to the question, and then ends with some statement about what has been established during the essay. That is, you want your essay to have a feeling of development, that it is going somewhere, as opposed to just listing or mentioning various ideas but in a disconnected way, so that your reader doesn’t really know what you are saying or what your point is. 

3. It is dialectical 

That is, it uses at least one example to focus on, and uses contrasting ways to analyze or interpret that example in order to better clarify one's position. KEY: Any argument is clarified hugely by contrasting it with what you are not arguing, or by contrast with what you are arguing against. 

4. It is effective as an exercise in philosophical therapy 

From a personal perspective, a good paper helps you to discover something about yourself and the material that you did not understand or were unclear about before your engaged the writing challenge. If you feel you haven’t learned anything from the exercise, something has gone wrong and you need to go back and dig deeper. 

READABILITY, STYLE & MECHANICS 

The writing in a first-rate paper is easy to read, engages the reader with a focused question, brings in relevant examples and makes a point. This is the hardest part about learning to write – making your ideas flow into each other. A good paper also follows the rules of grammar, usage and punctuation, has no spelling mistakes, is composed of well-constructed complete sentences, and has an appropriate tone to the content and message.