Environmental Science Question

PHL 363 Final Paper Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

You will write a critical and evaluative paper in which you apply philosophical theories to a recent, controversial environmental issue that involves human agency. Using these theories, you will then create your own argument for how to assess the ethics of the actions surrounding the issue. Analyzing an environmental issue or event in terms of harm done and moral responsibility is a crucial skill needed for making policy decisions. In professional settings in which environmental issues are discussed, you will need to apply ethical theories to environmental issues and events and present your conclusions about how best to morally evaluate the situation.

The paper is supported by two milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Three and Five. The final paper will be submitted in Module Seven.

This paper will assess your mastery with respect to the following course outcomes:

• Appreciate the relationship between humans (especially yourself) and the environment
• Write and speak persuasively about ethics and be able to defend your own views, and the views of others, on topics and problems in environmental ethics (communication)
• Apply ethical principles to environmental related situations and problems (personal and social responsibility)
• Understand environmental issues, and critically evaluate positions and perspectives of representative philosophers – including the analysis and evaluation of ethical thinking (knowledge)
• Apply knowledge of basic principles, concepts, methods and arguments to support positions in environmental ethics

Directions

Your paper should answer the following prompt: What is the proper moral evaluation of the actions that led to the environmental disaster you chose as your topic? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the two ethical theories you applied to the environmental disaster?

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

1. Introduction: Background Information: Include an introduction with complete background information about the event, as well as the impact of the event.
   1. Include a brief summary of the environmental disaster you have chosen.
   2. Include the human actions that contributed to or caused the disaster.
   3. Include the harm resulting from the disaster.
2. Application of Approaches in Environmental Ethics: Theory I: Include a theory from the course and correctly apply it to assess moral harm and moral wrongdoing.
   1. Include an explanation of how Theory I would assess moral responsibility for the environmental disaster.
   2. Include at least one representative, peer-reviewed article that presents central ideas from the theory and use the article to illustrate how the theory would apply to the event.
3. Application of Approaches in Environmental Ethics: Theory II: Include a second theory from the course and correctly apply it to assess moral harm and moral wrongdoing.
   1. Include an explanation of how Theory II would assess moral responsibility for the environmental disaster.
   2. Include at least one representative, peer-reviewed article that presents central ideas from the theory and use the article to illustrate how the theory would apply to the event.
4. Critical Evaluation: Your submission analyzes both strengths and weaknesses of the theories applied, points out potential benefits and potential problems with using each theory, and defends claims with scholarly research.
   1. Include a discussion of which theory, in your view, provides the best analysis (If you conclude that neither theory adequately addresses the situation, you should explain this instead).
5. Ethical Argument Concerning Moral Harm: Your submission provides a clear argument concerning the assessment of moral wrongdoing in the event considered by applying central course concepts such as intrinsic and instrumental value.
   1. Provide an argument for the appropriate assessment of moral harm in this case. (For example, what objects, beings, or persons should be considered morally harmed?)
6. Ethical Argument Concerning Moral Wrongdoing: Your submission provides a clear argument concerning the assessment of moral wrongdoing in the event considered by applying central course concepts such as intrinsic and instrumental value.
   1. Provide an argument for the appropriate assessment of moral wrongdoing in this case. (For example, what person or persons should be considered morally responsible for the event, and what specific wrong was committed?)
7. Conclusions Regarding Ethical Theories: Your submission offers clear conclusions regarding the approaches applied to the environmental event. Use examples to substantiate claims.
   1. For example, is one of the theories clearly superior to the other? Are both theories flawed? Is one better suited for application to the kind of event you considered?
   Submit your paper as a 5- to 7-page Microsoft Word document with double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

I have attached paper from the previous milestone. I think it will help in answering some of the questions, but not all. Also the book we used to help was "environmental ethics" by Ronals Sandler. If you need any pages from the book let me know.