Students are able to use an interdisciplinary approach to ecological practices and problems to address ethical issues in the context of human-environment topics. They develop normative skills and thus, are able to consider environmental issues and actions critically.
In this course, students develop competencies in the following way: They

• acquire a basic understanding of environmental ethical positions (anthropocentric, pathocentric, biocentric, holistic positions) for an interdisciplinary, multi-perspective view of issues
• acquire basic concepts of environmental ethics
• analyze and explain a specific environmental problem in terms of ethical positions and criteria
• evaluate options for action according to criteria of justice, legitimacy and effectiveness
• understand and take into account value and goal conflicts of different actors under conditions of risk and insecurity
• analyze institutions or companies in a practical context with regard to their ecological orientation and sustainable use of resources (based on a real institution / company in Carinthia)

• deal with different questions of environmental ethics in a self-critical and self-reflective way
• know and understand interdisciplinary relationships in terms of environmental aspects and positions (social, ecological and economic positions)
• consider specific environmental interventions through different ethical positions (anthropocentric, pathocentric, biocentric, holistic positions)

None

The course offers students the opportunity to consider environmental issues in different ethical contexts and positions and explores the following questions:

• What is the human responsibility in relation to the environment?
• How can environmental ethics support conflict solution of actual environmental problems?
• What is the role of environmental ethics in the social, ecological and economic context?
• Why is environmental ethics relevant to actual environmental issues?

recommended or required reading
Smith K.: Exploring Environmental Ethics. Springer International Publishing, 2018; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77395-7.
Rolston H.: A New Environmental Ethics: The Next Millennium for Life on Earth (2nd ed.). Routledge, 2020; https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003036746.
Droz L.: The Concept of Milieu in Environmental Ethics: Individual Responsibility within an Interconnected World (1st ed.). Routledge. 2021. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003172208.
Des Jardins J. R.: Environmental ethics. Cengage Learning, 2012.
Palmer C., McShane K., Sandler R.: Environmental ethics. In: Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Vol. 39: 419-442. 2014.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-121112-094434
Paslack R.: Umweltethik: Eine Einführung für Studierende und Lehrende. Meidenbauer, 2010.

• Lectures
• Accompanying practical exercises
• Interactive work
• Group work
• Problem-based learning

Immanent examination character:
Active participation, report and presentation, short tests