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Our discussion is not about just any question,
but about how one should live one's life.
--Plato

A closed mind is a dying mind
--Edna Ferber

Class Syllabus / Fall 2003

We will examine the meaning of happiness, otherwise known in philosophy as "the search for wisdom or truth." Beginning with the 5^th century Greeks, we'll examine Plato's distinction between philosophical happiness vs. conventional happiness. We will continue to discuss the ways in which philosophers have examined the study of ethical values, and the values we choose to live by, from the Classical Greek period to contemporary ethical issues. 

The question of ethical values will be examined from the philosophical content of our constitutional principles: liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the protection of individual rights -- with the primary focus on environmental ethics. This theme of environmental ethics will be analyzed via the textbook readings.  I will also include hand-out material from Thom Hartmann's book Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights and from Dr. Helen Caldicott's book If You Love This Planet.   Hartmann is not opposed to corporations; however, the central point of this book reveals that corporations have been treated as "persons" with full constitutional protections that have led to "far-reaching consequences that were never intended.  Constitutional mechanisms that were designed to protect humans got turned inside out, so today they {our representatives} do a much better job of protecting corporations, even when the result is harm to humans and other forms of life...Hiding behind the legal shield of government regulations...they have embarked on courses of action that are now collectively wiping out life forms across the planet even as they imperil the humans who created them." In short, Hartmann advocates for stricter environmental regulations and that corporate owners and stock-holders be held accountable for their actions. 

Raising the Ethical Questions: "Given that poisoned waterways, clear-cut rainforests and redwoods, and dying oceans aren't healthy or aesthetic for humans (much less any other life form), why are they happening?  Why are our air, food, and water so toxic that about a third of Americans will develop cancer in their lifetimes?  Why are Third World nations being turned into toxic wastelands around industrial sites too dirty to exist in developed nations?

It's not just a problem of population or too many humans.  It is, instead, a problem of values and law, a recent story in our culture."

--Thom Hartmann

 

Court battle for orca survival WebPosted May 27 2003 06:23 PM PDT

Terry Milewski reports for CBC TV VANCOUVER - Environmentalists from both sides of the border are going to court in the U.S. in an effort to protect killer whales off the coast of B.C. The orcas that range from Vancouver Island to Puget Sound in Washington State, are threatened by toxic pollution in the ocean and a lack of salmon. So the environmental groups want the group of whales, known as the southern residents, listed as an endangered species. In Canada, they already are. But not in the U.S., where such a designation could trigger a costly cleanup of toxic wastes. "It will mean the U.S. government will have a responsibility to address the threats which are driving this orca population into extinction," says Gwen Barlee of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee. LINK: Orca Conservancy "If the southern residents are not listed, it's our feeling that it's very likely that they're on the road to extinction," says Michael Harris of the Orca Conservancy. There was dramatic evidence three years ago that the southern resident orcas are being poisoned. A killer whale, named J-18, that washed up dead near Tsawwassen turned out to be so contaminated with toxic PCBs, its body qualified as "pathogenic waste" – which made it illegal to dump it at sea. Federal fisheries spokesperson Peter Ross says the number of southern resident orcas has dropped dramatically in the past few years down to about 80 animals. "It has declined by 20 per cent over the last six or seven years. They are among the most PCB-contaminated marine mammals anywhere on the planet," says Ross.

Course Requirements:

The most important requirements for this course are regular class attendance, participation, and preparation. You should come prepared to ask and answer questions and to discuss the readings each day. The formal grading requirements are as follows:

Class Participation, objective tests, quizzes, and short in-class essay questions. The class participation portion of your grade will be based on regular class attendance and participation as well as on periodic quizzes. Four absences are allowed during the semester, each additional absence will lower your class participation grade by one letter grade. More than six absences and/or failure to complete any of the written assignments detailed above are grounds for failing this course. For 4-7 or 7-10, once a week classes: no more than two absences, since two classes are the same as missing six classes.

Late papers will be docked one-third of a letter grade for each day late. More information on these assignments will be made available later in the semester.

Make-up exams are not normally given. Exceptions may be made for genuine medical emergencies or other similarly serious personal difficulties, although in such cases the format of the exam may be changed. Quizzes will be given at any given time. If you miss a quiz, you cannot make it up under any circumstances. Quizzes check on attendance and how well you’ve kept up on the readings.

I do not have exact dates for the examinations for the reason that I don’t want to limit class discussion or explanations; I expect everyone to keep up with the readings and to participate in giving answers. I will inform you well in advance, however, when I’ve arrived at a date for the exam.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS FOR THIS COURSE:
                       

Stumpf-Fieser, Introduction to Philosophy

John Stuart Mill: On Liberty

             RECOMMENDED BOOKS:

Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, Sophie's World,
The Greeks, If You Love This Planet,
And We The Creatures, The Trial of Socrates

 

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Links to philosophy websites

STANFORD ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY

GUIDE TO PHILOSOPHY ON THE INTERNET:

PHILOSOPHY E-TEXTS:

INTERNET ENCYLEPEDIA:

PHILOSOPHY GLOSSARY

PHILOSOPHY DICTIONARIES AND GLOSSARIES

BIG EYE PHILOSOPHY CENTER

www.TruthOut.org  (an excellent site for current political articles)
 

A Biographical Note on Jacqueline M.

Close to the Shore
Poems
by Jacqueline M.

If you need to ask any questions on homework assignments or class material, you can contact me through e-mail:

Email Me

 

Stay Informed! Visit MoveOn.org
Truthout.org and CommonDreams.org