Module 1 Natural resources

Week 1 Evaluating moral arguments

01-27-25

• No required readings

01-29-25

1. J. Rachels and S. Rachels. “What is Morality?” In: The Elements of Moral Philosophy . McGraw-Hill New York, 1993. Link

Week 2

02-03-25

1. M. Ridley. “Ecology as Religion.” In: The Origins of Virtue . Penguin UK, 1997. Link

2. Optional: J. Diamond. “Easter’s End.” Discover (1995). Link

02-05-25

1. Daniel Kahneman. “The Characters of the Story.” In: Thinking, Fast and Slow . New York: New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. Link

2. Daniel Kahneman. “Availability, Emotion, and Risk.” In: Thinking, Fast and Slow . New York: New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011. Link

Week 3 Prophets versus wizards

02-10-25

1. P. Ehrlich. The Population Bomb (Excerpts) . New York: Ballantine Books, 1968. Link

2. J. Simon. The Ultimate Resource (Excerpts) . 1981. Link

3. Washington Post Editorial Board. “The world’s population is 8 billion and rising. That’s probably a good thing.” The Washington Post (Nov. 2022). Link

4. N. Oreskes. “Eight Billion People in the World Is a Crisis, Not an Achievement.” Scientific American (Mar. 2023). Link

02-12-25

1. C. Mann. “Can planet earth feed 10 billion people?” The Atlantic 23 (2018). Link

Week 4 The commons

02-17-25

1. G. Hardin. “The tragedy of the commons.” Science 162 (1968), pp. 1243–1248. Link

02-19-25

1. J. Ausubel. “Nature Rebounds.” In: Long Now Foundation Seminar . San Francisco, Jan. 2015. Link

Week 5 Prices

02-24-25

1. R. Roberts. “Incentives Matter.” Econlib (2016). Link

2. M. Munger. “They Clapped: Can Price-Gouging Laws Prohibit Scarcity?” Econlib (2007). Link

3. M. Sandel. “It’s Immoral to Buy the Right to Pollute.” New York Times (1997). Link

4. L. Gross. “A human taste for rarity spells disaster for endangered species.” PLoS Biology 4 (2006), e439. Link

5. Optional: M. Friedman and R. Friedman. “The Power of the Market.” In: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. Link

02-26-25

1. “Handout: Externalities and Government Intervention”. Link

2. M. Valo. “Guadeloupe and Martinique threatened as pesticide contaminates food chain.” The Guardian (2013). Link

3. E. Rosenthal and A. Lehren. “Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas.” The New York Times (2012). Link

4. Optional: D. Arnold and K. Bustos. “Business, ethics, and global climate change.” Business & Professional Ethics Journal 24 (2005), pp. 103–130. Link

Week 6 Ownership

03-03-25

1. H. Baetjer. “Free Market Incentives Foster Service to Others.” In: Free Our Markets . Jane Philip Publications, 2013. Link

2. M. Heller and J. Salzman. “How the Salvation of New York City Drinking Water Can Be a Model for Saving the Planet.” LitHub (2021). Link

3. Optional: E. Stokstad. “Deep deficit.” Science (2020). Link

03-05-25

• No required readings (review)

Week 7

03-10-25

• Exam #1

03-12-25

1. TBA

Week 8 Spring break

03-17-25*

• No class

03-19-25*

• No class

Module 2 Expanding the moral circle

Week 9 What is wrong with inequality?

03-24-25

1. J. Boyce. “The environmental cost of inequality.” Scientific American 319 (2018), pp. 72–77. Link

2. H. Frankfurt. “Economic Equality as a Moral Ideal.” In: On Inequality . Princeton University Press, 2015. Link

3. Optional : S. Bowles and A. Jayadev. “One nation under guard.” The New York Times (2014). Link

03-26-25

1. R. Shafer-Landau. “Consequentialism.” In: The Fundamentals of Ethics . 2009. Link

Week 10 Global poverty

03-31-25

1. P. Singer. “The Logic of Effective Altruism.” Boston Review (2015). Link

2. P. Singer. “Good charity, bad charity.” The New York Times (2013). Link

04-02-25

1. E. Hoel. “Why I am not an effective altruist.” The Intrinsic Perspective (2022). Link

Week 11 Growth

04-07-25

1. J. Sachs, A. Mellinger, and J. Gallup. “The geography of poverty and wealth.” Scientific American 284 (2001), pp. 70–75. Link

2. M. Hanna-Attisha. “How a Pediatrician Became a Detective.” The New York Times (2018). Link

04-09-25

1. D. Acemoglu. “The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.” Cato Policy Report (2012). Link

2. D. Acemoglu. “Response to Effective Altruism.” Boston Review (2015). Link

3. Optional : D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson. “The problem with U.S. inequality.” The Huffington Post (2012). Link ; D. Acemoglu and J. Robinson. “Why foreign aid fails—and how to really help Africa.” The Spectator (2014). Link

Week 12 Animal welfare

04-14-25

1. I. Kant. “We have no duties to animals.” Lectures on Ethics (1930). Link

2. F. De Waal. “Animal rights.” In: Primates and philosophers: How morality evolved . Princeton University Press, 2009. Link

04-16-25

1. P. Singer. “All animals are equal.” In: Animal Liberation . Harper Collins, 1975. Link

Week 13 Ecosystems

04-21-25

1. J. Diamond. “Must we shoot deer to save nature?” Natural History 101 (1992), pp. 2–6. Link

2. N. Hettinger. “Conceptualizing and Evaluating Non-Native Species.” Nature Education Knowledge (2012). Link

04-23-25

1. M. Sagoff. “Animal liberation and environmental ethics: Bad marriage, quick divorce.” Osgoode Hall Law Journal 22 (1984), pp. 297–307. Link

Week 14

04-28-25

1. N. Hettinger and B. Throop. “Refocusing ecocentrism.” Environmental Ethics 21 (1999). Link

04-30-25

1. TBA

Week 15 Uncertainty

05-05-25

1. M. Pollan. “Precautionary Principle.” The New York Times (2001). Link

2. A. Stirling. “Why the precautionary principle matters.” The Guardian (2013). Link

3. T. Brown. “The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument.” The Guardian (2013). Link

05-07-25

• No required readings (review)

Week 16

05-12-25

• Exam # 2