No required readings
J. Rachels and S. Rachels. “What is Morality?” In: The Elements of Moral Philosophy . McGraw-Hill New York, 1993. Link
M. Ridley. “Ecology as Religion.” In: The Origins of Virtue . Penguin UK, 1997. Link
Optional: J. Diamond. “Easter’s End.” Discover (1995). Link
The Tragedy of the Commons (definition). Link
R. Roberts. “Incentives Matter.” Econlib (2016). Link
Optional: G. Hardin. “The tragedy of the commons.” Science 162 (1968), pp. 1243–1248. Link
M. Munger. “They Clapped: Can Price-Gouging Laws Prohibit Scarcity?” Econlib (2007). Link
M. Sandel. “It’s Immoral to Buy the Right to Pollute.” New York Times (1997). Link
S. Shavell. “Emission Trading Will Lead to Less Pollution.” New York Times (1997). Link
L. Gross. “A human taste for rarity spells disaster for endangered species.” PLoS Biology 4 (2006), e439. Link
Optional: M. Friedman and R. Friedman. “The Power of the Market.” In: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement . Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1990. Link
“Handout: Externalities and Government Intervention”. Link
M. Valo. “Guadeloupe and Martinique threatened as pesticide contaminates food chain.” The Guardian (2013). Link
E. Rosenthal and A. Lehren. “Profits on Carbon Credits Drive Output of a Harmful Gas.” The New York Times (2012). Link
Optional: D. Arnold and K. Bustos. “Business, ethics, and global climate change.” Business & Professional Ethics Journal 24 (2005), pp. 103–130. Link
H. Baetjer. “Free Market Incentives Foster Service to Others.” In: Free Our Markets . Jane Philip Publications, 2013. Link
E. Stokstad. “Deep deficit.” Science (2020). Link
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
No required readings (review)
Exam #1
J. Boyce. “The environmental cost of inequality.” Scientific American 319 (2018), pp. 72–77. Link
P. Bloom. “Against Empathy.” Boston Review (2014). Link
Optional : H. Frankfurt. “Economic Equality as a Moral Ideal.” In: On Inequality . Princeton University Press, 2015. Link ; S. Bowles and A. Jayadev. “One nation under guard.” The New York Times (2014). Link
R. Shafer-Landau. “Consequentialism.” In: The Fundamentals of Ethics . 2009. Link
P. Singer. “The Logic of Effective Altruism.” Boston Review (2015). Link
P. Singer. “Good charity, bad charity.” The New York Times (2013). Link
E. Hoel. “Why I am not an effective altruist.” The Intrinsic Perspective (2022). Link
No class
No class
J. Sachs, A. Mellinger, and J. Gallup. “The geography of poverty and wealth.” Scientific American 284 (2001), pp. 70–75. Link
M. Hanna-Attisha. “How a Pediatrician Became a Detective.” The New York Times (2018). Link
D. Acemoglu. “The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty.” Cato Policy Report (2012). Link
D. Acemoglu. “Response to Effective Altruism.” Boston Review (2015). Link
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
No required readings (review)
Exam #2
I. Kant. “We have no duties to animals.” Lectures on Ethics (1930). Link
F. De Waal. “Animal rights.” In: Primates and philosophers: How morality evolved . Princeton University Press, 2009. Link
P. Singer. “All animals are equal.” In: Animal Liberation . Harper Collins, 1975. Link
No class
Special guest
J. Diamond. “Must we shoot deer to save nature?” Natural History 101 (1992), pp. 2–6. Link
N. Hettinger. “Conceptualizing and Evaluating Non-Native Species.” Nature Education Knowledge (2012). Link
M. Sagoff. “Animal liberation and environmental ethics: Bad marriage, quick divorce.” Osgoode Hall Law Journal 22 (1984), pp. 297–307. Link
N. Hettinger and B. Throop. “Refocusing ecocentrism.” Environmental Ethics 21 (1999). Link
M. Pollan. “Precautionary Principle.” The New York Times (2001). Link
A. Stirling. “Why the precautionary principle matters.” The Guardian (2013). Link
T. Brown. “The precautionary principle is a blunt instrument.” The Guardian (2013). Link
J. Norman et al. “Climate models and precautionary measures.” Preprint (). Link
J. Lofthouse. “Self-Governance, Polycentricity, and Environmental Policy.” In: The environmental optimism of Elinor Ostrom . Ed. by M. Jenkins, R. Simmons, and C. Wardle. 2020. Chap. 2. Link
No required readings (review)
Exam # 3