>Jim's post includes an interesting question:
>
>"Should teaching environmental ethics entail the promotion of
>a position of commitment to an environmental ethic?"
I'll go out on a limb here and say (provisionally), no. At least not
necessarily
Part of the problem is defining what exactly is an "environmental
ethic." The most extreme form of a high exploitation ethic as
regards nature is itself a type of "environmental ethic." There are
moderate and extreme forms of anthropocentric environmental ethics;
moderate and extreme forms of biocentric environmental ethics;
radical environmental ethics, pragmatic environmental ethics, and
everything else in between.
Another concern is the pedagogical issue as Paul suggests of teaching
values. There are better and worse ways of doing this. If your
"teaching" is simply indoctrination, *especially* at the college
level, then I'd say it might be best to avoid teaching environmental
ethics altogether. Stick to teaching human ethics. At lower
educational levels indoctrination may have more of a (generally
accepted) place, but indoctrination at early ages sure makes it more
difficult to "re-educate" when people get older. :-) It's a real
puzzle.
These are good questions, Paul. What do YOU think?
:-)
An analogy that came to mind was teaching about abortion
ethics/ethics of abortion. I'm not sure that teaching abortion
ethics would entail the promotion of a commitment to a particular
abortion ethic. Once could remain essentially agnostic on the
question of abortion and still do an absolutely fine job of teaching
what various philosophers have argued on the question of abortion.
And that would similarly be the case in other areas of applied ethics
. . . .
Good questions, good questions.
Jim T.
>
>What do we think?
>
>Should values be taught?'
>Since we are human is it possible to teach without our personal values
>colouring what we do?
>What would a society become if it did not teach values?
>But How do we decide who's values should be perpetuated?
>Should education be about how to think rather than what to believe?
>
>Any takers?
>
>Yours PK
>
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