PHI 214
Environmental Ethics · 3 credits · Fall 2026
Requirements
Prerequisite: ENG 201
About this course
This course will explore the moral obligations of human beings to nature and nonhuman animals. Students will learn and apply various ethical theories to a consideration of nonhuman animals, inanimate objects, ecosystems and nature as a whole. Potential topics include but are not limited to: What sort of (moral) value do natural objects have? Is there intrinsic value in nature? Is sentience 'the ability to experience pleasure and pain', the primary moral rights conferring property; that is, the property that makes a being matter morally? Do ecosystems matter morally? Which has moral priority collective entities such as species or ecosystems or individual sentient beings? What are the obligations of present generations to future generations of human beings?
Seat status as of Sep 29, 10:50 PM ET. Seats change fast, so a class shown as open may be full by now. Watch a full class to be emailed the moment it opens.
Chill Rank compares professors using Rate My Professors reviews, from Chill to Brutal. What each rank means