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.