The Philosophy and Economics of the Environment & Philosophy)

Course goals

Students who complete this course are able to:
• Identify normative and economic challenges with regard to particular environmental issues;
• Develop ethical arguments which support a standpoint on environmental issues;
• Critically analyze the interactions between the natural environment and human lives and other living species;
• Critically analyze the value of the environment for current and future generations;
• Describe the main factors which socially desirable decisions regarding the use of natural resources should consider;
• Apply economic theory to environmental problems;
• Understand the interdisciplinary nature of environmental challenges, in particular regarding philosophical and economic perspectives;
• Form a well-founded position with respect to current environmental problems, practices and policies, while integrating ethical and economic aspects;
• Reflect on professional integrity and how whistle-blowing can be an instrument to improve ethical behavior within organizations.

Content

The relation between human action and the natural environment poses complex challenges for the present and the future. Should we focus on mitigating climate change, or on helping people to adapt to its consequences? Are natural resources like water goods that can or should be commodified? Do we owe future generations a safe environment? Why should we preserve nature – or should we? Do we have obligations towards nature itself? How can we fairly share the costs of tackling climate change?

From a philosophical perspective, students will learn to reflect upon deeper issues related to nature and the relationship between humans and the non-human environment. We will focus in particular on the problem of climate change, examining the relationship between present and future generations, the value of nature, fairness in global climate policy, and individual responsibility. From an economic perspective the course introduces a set of tools to motivate human behavior towards a “greener” society, e.g. through taxation and subsidies. Students will learn a few methodological approaches in economics which suggest how society can reach an economic efficient outcome. The methodologies encompass welfare analysis, cost-benefit analysis and economic valuation.

The two disciplines are presented together in the course, by tackling and approaching the same problems. Philosophical concepts, such as, intrinsic value, are placed side-by-side to economic concepts such as property rights and externalities. While analysing global environmental problems such as climate change and natural resources depletion, a central standpoint from the course will be to incorporate the impact to future generations in the analysis. We will discuss, among other things, the role of the discount rate in formulating environmental policy. Within the far-reaching objective to incorporate future generations into the analysis, the course discusses dynamic efficiency and sustainable development.

This course has priority rules and a waiting list.

Additional information

This course is only open to students from the Faculty of Humanities and the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Governance.

This course has priority rules and a waiting list. Your enrolment is guaranteed if you are: 

• a student in the BA PPE enrolled in the thematic package Global Pathways to a Sustainable Future.

In all other situations, you will be placed on a waiting list if you enrol in this course. For any remaining slots in the course, lots are drawn among the students on the waiting list.   

This course is equivalent to PP2V19008 (Crafting Effective and Fair Sustainable Policies).