Module PHL2055 for 2021/2
- Overview
- Aims and Learning Outcomes
- Module Content
- Indicative Reading List
- Assessment
Undergraduate Module Descriptor
PHL2055: Ecology, Environment and Conservation
This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.
Module Aims
You will learn about contemporary philosophical issues in ecological science, its relationship with conservation biology, and non-anthropocentric values. You will learn to think critically both about your engagement with the natural environment, and that of scientists and policy-makers, and express those conclusions with care precision. Reading and engaging with the philosophy of ecology, environment and conservation biology will develop your capacities for philosophical analysis and reasoning.
| On successfully completing the programme you will be able to: | |
|---|---|
| Module-Specific Skills | 1. demonstrate an understanding of contemporary debates concerning ecology, conservation biology and environmental ethics. 2. critically engage with an ecological case study. |
| Discipline-Specific Skills | 3. analyse and critique arguments and positions. 4. synthesize theoretical and empirical information. |
| Personal and Key Skills | 5. critically integrate different disciplinary approaches. 6. demonstrate clear, concise writing and analysis. |
Indicative Reading List
This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.
Mark Colyvan, Stefan Linquist, William Grey, Paul E. Griffiths, Jay Odenbaugh, and Hugh P. Possingham (2009) A Field Guide to the Philosophy of Ecology
Marc Lange (2005) Ecological laws: what would they be and why would they matter? Oikos, 110(2), 394-403.
Weiner, Jacob (1995) On the practice of Ecology. Journal of Ecology, 83(1), 153-158.
Godfrey-Smith, Peter (2006) The Strategy of Model-Based Science. Biology and philosophy, 21(5), 725-740.
Jay Odenbaugh (2005) Idealized, inaccurate but successful: A pragmatic approach to evaluating models in theoretical ecology. Biology and Philosophy, 20(2-3), 231-255.
Mark Colyvan (2005) Probability and Ecological Complexity. Biology and Philosophy 20:869–879
Kim Sterelny (2006) Local Ecological Communities. Philosophy of Science, 73(2), 215-231.
Kirchner, James W (2002) The Gaia Hypothesis: Fact, Theory and Wishful thinking. Climatic Change, 52(4), 391-408.
Mark Sagoff Animal Liberation and Environmental Ethics: Bad Marriage and Quick Divorce. Osgoode Hall Law Journal 22 (1984): 297-307.
Sahorta Sarkar (2002) Defining “Diversity”; Assessing Diversity. The Monist, 85(1), 131-155.
Sober, Elliot (1986) Philosophical Problems for Environmentalism. IN: The preservation of the species, Norton (ed). Princeton University Press.
Mark Colyvan & Katie Steel (2011), Environmental Ethics and Decision Theory: Fellow Travellers or Bitter Enemies? Philosophy of Ecology, 11, 285.
