Climate, Environment and Animals

First, we will introduce the module by defining what is climate ethics, environmental ethics and animal ethics, and how they are related to practical ethics.

Second, we will investigate key issues in climate ethics. For example, what are the ethical issues of geoengineering? Who is morally responsible for global warming? What are our individual duties in a warming world? Are there ethical emissions? Does antibiotic consumption matter morally in a warming world?

Third, we will examine central topics in environmental ethics. For example, does the environment have intrinsic moral value? What are the ethical issues in agriculture? What are the ethics of environmental sustainability? Are there ethical issues with terraforming other worlds?

Finally, we will consider some contemporary issues in animal ethics. For example, is it morally permissible to consume factory farmed animals? What are the ethics of genetically modifying livestock? What is speciesism? What are the ethics of de-extinction?