Environmental philosophy addresses the difficult questions of principle that underlie conflicting responses to the environmental challenges that face the world today, including climate change, the risks of new technologies, and our responsibilities to other species. Does nature have intrinsic value beyond its usefulness to humans? What are our responsibilities to future generations, or to the future in general? How should we make decisions in the face of deep uncertainty?

The Department offers the opportunity for advanced study and research in environmental philosophy. Graduate assistantships and fellowships are available.

The Department of Philosophy at Michigan State announces a new graduate focus in environmental philosophy.

503 S. Kedzie HallMichigan State UniversityEast Lansing MI 48824-1032

Department of PhilosophyContact Professor Lisa Schwartzman, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies

Office: (517)355-4490 Fax: (517) 432-1320

EnvironmentalPhilosophy

Philosophers at MSU are in active dialogue with the sciences education and other humanities disciplines on campus, nationally and internationally. The environmental philosophy faculty have also been involved in the public sphere as members of National Research Council’s Advisory Committee on Biotechnology, the Michigan Environmental Justice Working Group, and the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project.

Interdisciplinary commitment:

Seminars on environmental issues are available in other departments. Units that focus on environmental research and education include Fisheries and Wildlife, Community Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies, and Crop and Soil Sciences. Other departments have strong groups of faculty interested in environmental issues, including Writing, Rhetoric and American Culture, Sociology, and Anthropology. Students may explore related graduate specializations in Gender, Justice and Environmental Change (GJEC), Environmental Science and Policy (ESPP), Ecological Food and Farming Systems (EFFS), and Animal Studies.

A rich academic environment:

The Agrarian Vision (Thompson), The Great Wilderness Debate Rages On (M. Nelson), Moral Ground (Nelson), Across the Boundaries: Extrapolation in Biology and Social Science (Steel), Capabilities, Power, and Institutions: Toward a More Critical Development Ethics (Esquith and Gifford)

Books include:

Faculty work has been published in peer reviewed journals such as Environmental Ethics, Synthese, Knowledge, Technology & Policy, Conservation Biology, Environmental Philosophy, Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, Rural Social Sciences, History and Philosophy of Biology, Bioscience, Ethics, Place & Environment, Biological Conservation, Environmental Monitoring, Veterinary Medical Education, Environmental Justice, Environmental Values, and Bioscience

Cutting edge research:

Holds a joint appointment as Associate Professor of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. He is philosopher in residence of the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Project and co-director of the Conservation Ethics Group, a consultancy group fusing ethics with social and ecological science (www.conservationethics.org). He works closely with a variety of government agencies and conservation organizations to assist with understanding the ethical implications of natural resource management decisions.

Michael P. Nelson (Lancaster, UK,1998)

Is Associate Professor of Philosophy and is affiliated with the Environmental Science and Policy Program. His works in the philosophy of science, focusing on causation in social and biological sciences and on the problem of extrapolation. His current research addresses the precautionary principle in uncertain scientific inferences, such as extrapolations, that have implications for public policy.

Daniel Steel (Pittsburgh HPS, 2002)

Is Professor of Philosophy, Faculty Associate in the Center for Ethics and Humanities in the Life Sciences, and Director of the graduate specialization in Ethics and Development. His interests include philosophy of biology and bioethics, environmental ethics, ethics and development. He often leads a Study Abroad program on health and development in Costa Rica.

Fred Gifford (Pittsburgh HPS, 1984)

The W.K. Kellogg Chair in Agricultural Food and Community Ethics, is internationally known for his work on the environmental and ethical dimensions of farming and agricultural technology. He has served as a consultant for Genome Canada, the US National Research Council, an the Food and Agricultural Organization of the Unitized Nations. He is currently working on standards for farm animal welfare, as well as the environmental ethics of emerging technologies, including nanotechnology, biosensors and synthetic biology.

Paul Thompson (Stony Brook, 1980)

Is Assistant Professor in the Department Philosophy and affiliated faculty at the Center for the Study of Standards in Society (CS3) and in the American Indian Studies Program. He writes on issues in environmental justice, the philosophies of science and technology, and American Indian philosophy. He is a member of the American Philosophical Association Committee on Public Philosophy, Michigan Environmental and Natural Resources Governance Program, and Michigan Environmental Justice Working Group, and is a 2009 recipient of the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award from the Association of American Colleges & Universities.

Kyle Powys Whyte (Stony Brook 2009)

Judith Andre (global health care, bioethics), James Nelson (ethical theory and bioethics, including issues about the treatment of animals), Richard Peterson (critical social theory, theories of violence and nonviolence), James Roper (business ethics and philosophy of science), Lisa Schwartzman (feminist philosophy and challenges to liberal theory).

Other Philosophy faculty with environmental interests include:

The Department regularly sponsors colloquia on environmental matters and projects annual workshops on pressing contemporary issues. This year’s lecture by Professor J. Baird Callicott initiates an annual series of Distinguished Lectures in Environmental Philosophy.

Regular academic programming:

Dissertation topics have included: Development Ethics as Recognition, Reconsidering the Status of Animals in Kant’s Ethics, A Pluralist Humean Environmental Ethic, Environmental Philosophy: A Pragmatic Reconstruction, Moral Pluralism, Nonsentient Nature, and Sustainable Ways of Life, Environmentalism and Economic Development.

Five MSU Philosophy faculty focus considerable research and teaching in environmental themes while the work of others overlaps with environmental issues. Scholars at MSU focus on issues in the philosophy of ecology, wilderness ethics, environmental justice, animal ethics, ethics and development, food and agricultural ethics, environmental policy and American Indian environmental thought.

A strong faculty base:

In recent years, seminars have been given in Environmental Justice, Ethics and Animals, and Environmental Ethics. The Ethics and Development Graduate Specialization also includes many courses relevant to environmental philosophy in relation to international issues. Several former and current graduate students have concentrated on environmental themes.

A track record in environmental philosophy at graduate level:

The Department has cultivated new courses that create learning opportunities for undergraduates and teaching opportunities for graduate students: currently we offer Environmental Ethics (PHL 342), Biotechnology & Agriculture (PHL/HRT 486), Ethics and Animals (PHL 442), Ethics and Development (PHL 452), and Ethical Issues in Global Public Health (PHL 453). Other courses in philosophy of technology, philosophy of science, and many areas of ethics, social, and political philosophy provide further depth. Undergraduates may opt for a Philosophy major with an environmental emphasis and we are planning a minor in Environmental Ethics.

Part of a larger educational commitment:

Since 2008, the Department’s research in environmental philosophy has been sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, USDA, and the Sloan Foundation.

Extensive involvement in funded research:

Environmental Philosophers at Michigan State:

The Department views its environmental philosophy initiative as more than training for future academic philosophers. We wish to create opportunities for specialists in other fields to strengthen the philosophical aspect of their work and to provide resources and forums for groups beyond the university campus. An example of this commitment is the Agro-Environmental Justice Initiative, a network of 70 faculty and graduate students whose interests are at the intersection of justice, agriculture and the environment. The Initiative hosts workshops, speakers, and social events throughout the Fall and Spring semesters.

Community orientation: