Sustainability Research Through the Lens of Environmental Ethics

Two core courses in the curriculum of the University of Dayton’s Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment minor, Sustainability Research I and II, were developed out of the frustration one author, Daniel Fouke, experienced while teaching a traditional course on environmental ethics for the Department of Philosophy. The often-overwhelming nature of environmental problems tended to demoralize both the instructor and the students. Seeking a way to integrate ethical analysis of complex problems with the search for solutions, two courses were proposed that would be team-taught by a philosopher and a scientist or an engineer. Development of the courses was initially funded through a course-development fellowship from the college of Arts and Sciences. The rationale for these courses is the recognition that technical and scientific knowledge cannot, by itself, provide reasons for utilizing that knowledge for ethical purposes. Similarly, ethical reasoning cannot operate in a vacuum. That is, individuals cannot have a duty to do what it is impossible to achieve. The courses facilitate understanding of how science, technology, and ethical analysis have a symbiotic relationship in assessing solutions to environmental problems—knowing our duties toward the natural world requires understanding what science tells us about the nature of environmental problems and then evaluating the strengths and limitations of technological solutions

Twenty-One Acres of Common Ground: A Philosophical Memoir

Having purchased a moldy, concrete-walled underground house built in the 1970s on a 21-acre parcel infested with invasive plants but overlooking a national scenic river, a philosophy professor and his wife undertake a decades-long effort they didn’t predict. In this memoir, still in manuscript form, Daniel Fouke looks back at their first day on the land and recounts the journey. He writes, “Since I am a professional philosopher who has concentrated on environmental philosophy in the later part of my career, I will both provide a narrative of our journey and attempt to describe the philosophical lessons I’ve drawn from it—lessons about what we are, the nature of this amazing planet, and where we fit in its rare and precious system of life. Much of what I say will, I’m afraid, be tinged with sadness about what we have done, how we have fashioned ourselves, and what we are losing. However sad these things make me, I write this book in the hope that we can find a way to change, understand our place in the natural order, and discover a more constructive and wise path forward.”https://ecommons.udayton.edu/books/1043/thumbnail.jp