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Teaching and Learning Resource (TLR)

1. Title

Introduction to Personal Environmental Values

2. Keywords

Environmental ethics, environmental values.

3. Introduction

Most people profess to care for 'the environment' but there is considerable diversity in terms of exactly what it is they care for, and the reasons they offer for their concern. Moreover, it would seem that many people have never systematically examined the nature of their own environmental values - either in terms of their internal consistency, or consistency between what they believe and the practice of their everyday lives.

4. Aim

The aim of this TLR is to help students develop a systematic approach to analysing questions of environmental value; and to provide them with a framework for thinking critically about their own personal environmental values. The TLR is not intended, however, to put students in a position where they feel pressurised to change their values or practices - even where apparent inconsistencies are revealed.

5. Learning outcomes

After using this TLR, students should:

• be aware that concern for 'the environment' can take many (potentially conflicting) forms, and that many different reasons (again, potentially conflicting) can be offered as a basis for environmental concern;
  
• have examined their own personal environmental values - both in terms of their internal consistency, and consistency between what they believe and the practice of their every day lives.

6. Pre-requisites

There are no formal pre-requisites for this TLR. (See Links with other TLRs below.)

7. How to use TLR

The TLR has been designed to be used broadly as follows:

1. Introduce the TLR, explaining the nature of the content, the learning outcomes, and the way in which the TLR will be used. (15 mins)
2. Ask the students to brainstorm their own, personal list of 5-10 environmental issues about which they are particularly concerned (ie 'things' that they think should be conserved, preserved, protected, improved, restored, etc.) This list should be produced quickly, creatively and, as far as possible, without discussion or self-censorship. A worksheet (attached) is provided for this purpose. (5 mins)
3. Ask the students (still working individually) to write down on the worksheet the reasons behind each one of the 'concerns' they have just listed. (5 mins)
4. Go around the whole class, asking each student to contribute one item ('concern' plus 'reason') to a collective list of items. These should be recorded (ideally on a large whiteboard or blackboard) in a Matrix of Environmental Values, in which: each new 'concern' is entered in a list down the left hand column; each new 'reason' is entered in a list along the top row; and some kind of sign is entered into the cells to indicate which reasons are applicable to which concerns. (See the attached Illustrative Matrix of Environmental Values.) Invite students to contribute additional items from their lists that have not yet been suggested - or additional reasons for concerns that have already been suggested - until all listed items have been brought forward. (20 mins)
5. Seek clarification wherever the reasons for particular concerns are unclear. For example, if 'valuable ecosystem' has been suggested as a reason for concern about rainforests, find out why the ecosystem is thought to be valuable. Is it for instrumental reasons (ie it is in some way useful to humans)? Is it supposed to have intrinsic value (ie value in itself) as an ecosystem? Is it important for the protection of certain species which are supposed to have intrinsic value? Is it important for the protection of individual organisms which are supposed to have intrinsic value? (15 mins)
6. Invite the students to comment on whether the matrix can be used to develop any general principles that can be applied to questions of environmental value. For example, if they are opposed to whaling because it is cruel (or because whales have a 'right' to life), would they apply this principle more generally to other situations such as: the slaughter of farm animals for food, hunting for pleasure/food, hunting/culling to protect crops or animal food stocks? (15 mins)
7. Invite the students to comment on whether this kind of systematic analysis has any implications for the ways in which they live their own lives. Would any of them actually change they way they live as a result of this kind of exercise? (15 mins)

As described above, the TLR can readily be used with a wide range of class sizes (from a minimum of, say, several students to maximum of thirty), and the whole exercise can be completed in about ninety minutes. The time required for completion of the exercise could be reduced by simply reducing the time available for each part of the exercise, but it would be difficult to achieve the learning outcomes in less than about one hour.

8. Instructions to students

As directed by tutor.

9. Stimulus Material

None.

10. Degree stage

The TLR has been developed for use with students who are encountering the study environmental values (or environmental ethics) for the first time, regardless of degree stage.

11. Resource requirements

The TLR has no special resource requirements.

12. Preparation

None.

13. Links with other TLRs

This TLR is complete in itself, but can serve as a foundation for the more formal approach to environmental ethics adopted in the Approaches in Environmental Ethics TLR.

More generally, the aims and/or learning outcomes of this TLR are related to those of other TLRs listed in the following 'thematic cluster':

• Environmental ethics / values

14. Follow-up activities

See Links with other TLRs above.

15. Recommended reading

Books
For an accessible introduction to the field of environmental ethics, see:
Des Jardins, Joseph R (1993) Environmental Ethics. An Introduction to Environmental Philosophy. Wadsworth: Belmont, California.

For an anthology of works that provide a broad cross-section of approaches within environmental ethics, see:
Armstrong and Botzler (eds) (1993) Environmental Ethics. Divergence and Convergence. MacGraw-Hill, London.

For a work of historical importance in the development of environmental ethics see:
Leopold, Aldo (1968) A Sand County Almanac. Oxford University Press, Oxford (First published in 1949).

For works that systematically develop particular approaches to environmental ethics, see:
Attfield, Robin (1991) The Ethics of Environmental Concern (2nd ed.) (Athens: University of Georgia Press
Devall, William and George Sessions (1985) Deep Ecology. Peregrine Smith Books.
Regan, Tom (1984) The Case for Animal Rights (London: Routledge)
Rolston, Holmes (1988) Environmental Ethics: Duties to and Values in the Natural World (Philadelphia: Temple University Press)
Singer, Peter (1975) Animal Liberation (New York: Thorsons, Harper Collins)
Taylor, Paul (1986) Respect for Nature. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Journals
The longest-standing and, perhaps, most important journal in this field is:
Environmental Ethics. Published by the Centre for Environmental Philosophy, The University of North Texas, USA.

Other relevant journals include:
Environmental Values. Published by The White Horse Press, Cambridge, UK.
Ethics and the Environment. Published by JAI Press Inc, Stamford, Connecticut, USA.
Ethics, Place and Environment. Published by Carfax Publishing Ltd, Abingdon, UK.
Worldviews. Environment, Culture, Religion. Published by Brill Academic Press.

Internet Resources
The Centre for Environmental Philosophy at The University of North Texas maintains a World Wide Web server "dedicated to providing access to Internet resources throughout the world that pertain to or focus on environmental ethics and environmental philosophy." (http://www.cep.unt.edu/) Amongst other things, the site contains an extensive bibliography and links to the International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE) and the electronic discussion forum enviroethics.

16. Users' comments

“It’s great for getting students discussing; it encourages active participation as it is non-threatening and non-judgemental yet has enough scope for disagreement to keep students interested.”

“It combines a variety of activities (personal reflection, group work, Socratic questioning on the part of the teacher).”

“It encourages students to think about environmental concerns in a more coherent and systematic way, and to think about how these relate to their lives.”

“Deals with a critically important aspect of concern for the environment. If they really understand instrumental versus inherent value they have made a huge step forward in understanding relation to environment.”

“A good ice-breaker for discussion and student centred participation.”

“A good, contentious topic on which all students can express an opinion. Therefore very useful to get students speaking and discussing in a tutorial environment at an early stage of their degrees.”

“The 2 main learning outcomes should be achieved by most, if not all, students. In addition the role of science in understanding environmental problems can be emphasised.”

“Tutors should give some consideration to how they will record the ‘matrix of environmental values’ before beginning the tutorial.”

“Needs careful time management to be inclusive of all students without over-running.”

“Knowledge of ethical theory an advantage for lecturer as some belief systems can be very messy and confused.”

“Sets up healthy class dynamic.”

“Doesn’t require any preparation so ideal for a first class.”

• Some comments on a hybrid version of this TLR and Approaches in Environmental Ethics (used in a single three-hour teaching session):

“Readings need to be separable and in a common format.”

“Very feasible and very appropriate. The session went well.”

“We didn’t bother with assessment, but the enthusiasm of the students and their engagement with the material suggested that these TLRs offered a valuable learning experience.”

* The matrix below has been kept wider than the rest of the page to maintain its structure and coherence. To view simply use the scroll bar at the bottom of your browser.