Natural Resources 494.3 / 694.6
Logic and Method in Environmental Debate
Spring Semester 2003 (3 credit hours) Jim Tantillo, Instructor
Monday 1:25 – 3:50 pm Office: 8-A Fernow Hall
Fernow 304 email: jat4@cornell.edu
Phone: 255-0704
A. OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE
Offering a seminar for the first time is exciting, and if the class is to be fruitful each participant will have to contribute a great deal to its success. This will be a working seminar with emphasis on reading and discussion. The overall focus is on the interactions between science and politics, with close attention being paid to how science and/or scientific claims are used in public debate. Students will gain insights from the philosophy of science and from informal logic in order to evaluate the quality of such debate.
The broad subject areas to be covered in the course will include:
1) An introduction to epistemology and the philosophy of science, including philosophy of social science and philosophy of ecology;
2) An introduction to basic precepts of logic, especially informal logic; and
3) Analysis and argumentation in environmental debate, focusing on critical issues in environmental policy.
We will consider such questions as: Is there such a thing as “the scientific method”? Does ecological science provide any guidelines for how humans should behave ethically toward the environment? How well do the arguments employed by environmentalists, scientists, and others in policy debates hold up under scrutiny? In the latter half of the semester, we will study specific case examples of environmental debates drawn from current controversies.
The seminar is open to upper division undergraduates and graduate students and meets once a week, Monday afternoons from 1:25 to 3:50. 3 credit hours.
B. EXAMS, PAPERS, AND GRADING
Course requirements: regular attendance and reading/discussion of the materials. May be taken S/U. A writing assignment (or assignments) of some type will be required. The details of these assignments will be worked out by the class participants and on an individual basis with the instructor. In some cases, students may wish to write a seminar paper (approx. 15-20 pages) on a specific topic, or a series of shorter papers (3-5 pages each) on specific case examples.
Required books to buy:
The following books have been ordered at the campus store. Pending any last minute adjustments we may make due to student interests you are required to buy the following and bring them to class for discussion:
Bauer, Henry H. Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1992.
Douglas, Mary, and Aaron Wildavsky. Risk and Culture: An Essay on the Selection of Technical and Environmental Dangers. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982.
Kennedy, J. S. (John Stodart). The New Anthropomorphism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
Rosenberg, Alexander. Philosophy of Social Science. 2d ed. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.
Shrader-Frechette, K. S. Risk and Rationality: Philosophical Foundations for Populist Reforms. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991.
Shrader-Frechette, K.S., and E.D. McCoy. Method in Ecology: Strategies for Conservation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Walton, Douglas N. Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Optional Books to Buy:
Lomborg, Bjørn. The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Ziman, John. An Introduction to Science Studies: The Philosophical and Social Aspects of Science and Technology. London: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Xeroxed Materials and Electronic Reserve:
All short readings, book excerpts, articles, etc. will be on electronic reserve via Mann Library. http://catalog.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=rbSearch. Please print a copy of each reading for your own use and bring the appropriate readings to seminar for discussion.
Read:
John Hospers, “Words and the World.” In An Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, pp. 1-85. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1953.
Addelson, Kathryn Pyne. "Why Philosophers Should Become Sociologists (and Vice Versa)." In Impure Thoughts: Essays on Philosophy, Feminism, and Ethics, pp. 108-32. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991.
Dan W. Brock, "Truth or Consequences: The Role of Philosophers in Policy-Making." Ethics 97, no. 4, July (1987): 786-91. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0014-1704%28198707%2997%3A4%3C786%3ATOCTRO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-V
Ellis, Brian David. The Philosophy of Nature: A Guide to the New Essentialism. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002.
Read: Bauer, Scientific Literacy and the Myth of the Scientific Method
Suggested:
Ziman, An Introduction to Science Studies
Read: Kennedy, The New Anthropomorphism
Read: Rosenberg, Philosophy of Social Science
Suggested:
Throgmorton, J. A. "Survey Research as Rhetorical Trope: Electric Power Planning Arguments in Chicago." In The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning, edited by Frank Fischer and John Forester, 117-44. Durham: Duke University Press, 1993.
Read:
Walton, Informal Logic: A Handbook for Critical Argumentation. Read chapter 5 first on “Valid Arguments”; then go back and skim chap. 1 on Walton’s theory of argumentation. Spend the bulk of your time and concentrate on chaps. 2-4 and 6-7. We’ll do chap 8 on induction next week
Suggested:
Douglas N. Walton, Ad Hominem Arguments. University of Alabama Press, 1998; available online to Cornell students at http://campusgw.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/ebooks.cgi?bookid=26953
Murphy review of Walton from Argumentation and Advocacy
Week 7 March 3 Induction and Probabilistic Thinking
Read: Other readings to be assigned
Walton, Informal Logic, chaps. 8 and 9
Harsanyi, John C. "Can the Maximin Principle Serve as a Basis for Morality? A Critique of John Rawls's Theory." The American Political Science Review 69, no. 2, June (1975): 594-606. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0554%28197506%2969%3A2%3C594%3ACTMPSA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G
Suggested:
Hacking, Ian. An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Harman, Gilbert. "The Inference to the Best Explanation." Philosophical Review Vol. 74, no. 1, January (1965): 88-95. Stable URL: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0031-8108%28196501%2974%3A1%3C88%3ATITTBE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-A
Howson, Colin. Hume's Problem: Induction and the Justification of Belief. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2000.
Howson, Colin, and Peter Urbach. Scientific Reasoning: The Bayesian Approach. 2nd ed. Chicago: Open Court, 1993.
Miller, Richard W. Fact and Method: Explanation, Confirmation and Reality in the Natural and the Social Sciences. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987.
O'Riordan, Timothy, and Andrew Jordan. "The Precautionary Principle in Contemporary Environmental Politics." Environmental Values 4 (1995): 191-212.
Part Four: Method
Week 8 March 10 Method in Ecology
Read: Shrader-Frechette and McCoy, Method in Ecology, chaps. 1-5
Suggested:
Wilson, John. Thinking with Concepts. Cambridge: University Press, 1963.
SPRING BREAK March 15-23
Week 9 March 24 Method in Ecology
Read: Shrader-Frechette and McCoy, Method in Ecology, chaps. 6-10
Read: Douglas and Wildavsky, Risk and Culture
Suggested:
Hoffer, Eric. The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements. New York: Harper & Row, 1966.
Wildavsky, Aaron B. But Is It True?: A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Health and Safety Issues. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.
Read: Shrader-Frechette, Risk and Rationality
Suggested:
Hacking, Ian. The Social Construction of What? Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1999.
Breyer, Stephen G. Breaking the Vicious Circle: Toward Effective Risk Regulation. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Read: Cahen and papers from Environmental Values
Cahen, Harley. "Against the Moral Considerability of Ecosystems." Environmental Ethics 10 (1988): 195-216.
Callicott, J. Baird. "The Value of Ecosystem Health." Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 345-62.
Hammond, Michael, and Alan Holland. "Ecosystem Health: Some Prognostications." Environmenta Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 283-86.
Jamieson, Dale. "Ecosystem Health: Some Preventive Medicine." Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 333-44.
Nelson, James. "Health and Disease as 'Thick' Concepts in Ecosystemic Contexts." Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 311-22.
Norton, Bryan. "Objectivity, Intrinsicality, and Sustainability: Comment on Nelson's 'Health and Disease as "Thick" Concepts in Ecosystem Contexts." Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 323-32.
Rapport, David. "Ecosystem Health: More Than a Metaphor?" Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 287-310.
Russow, Lilly-Marlene. "Ecosystem Health: An Objective Evaluation?" Environmental Values 4, no. 4 (1995): 363-70.
Week 13 April 21 Political Arguments: Lomborg et al.
Read: Selections from Lomborg and Lomborg’s critics; other readings to be assigned, e.g.,
Pimm, Stuart, and Jeff Harvey. "No Need to Worry About the Future." Nature 414, no. November 8 (2001): 149-50.
Suggested:
Pimm, Stuart L. The World According to Pimm: A Scientist Audits the Earth. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.
Simon, Julian. “My Critics and I,” from Ultimate Resource 2
Week 14 April 28 Final class: conclusions and wrap-up
Read: to be assigned
The following is a preliminary list of supplementary materials, and it is my hope that all seminar participants will help add to this bibliography throughout the semester.
Best, Joel. Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.
Birdsell, David S., and Leo Groarke. "Toward a Theory of Visual Argument." Argumentation and Advocacy 33, no. 1, Summer (1996): 1-10.
Blair, J. Anthony. "The Possibility and Actuality of Visual Arguments." Argumentation and Advocacy 33, no. 1, Summer (1996): 23-39.
Cohen, Joel E. How Many People Can the Earth Support? New York: Norton, 1995.
Czech, Brian. Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train: Errant Economists, Shameful Spenders, and a Plan to Stop Them All. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Farber, D. A., and P. A. Hemmersbaugh. "The Shadow of the Future: Discount Rates, Later Generations, and the Environment." Vanderbilt Law Review 46 (1993): 267-304. Available at http://www.ciesin.org/docs/010-291/010-291.html .
Fleming, David. "Can Pictures Be Arguments?" Argumentation and Advocacy 33, no. 1, Summer (1996): 11-22.
Gieryn, Thomas F. "Boundary-Work and the Demarcation of Science from Non-Science: Strains and Interests in Professional Ideologies of Scientists." American Sociological Review 48, no. December (1983): 781-95.
Hamblin, Charles Leonard. Fallacies. London: Methuen, 1970.
Sagoff, Mark. "Carrying Capacity And Ecological Economics." BioScience 45, no. 9 (1995): 610-20.
Seidemann, David E. "Insufficient Accountability: Case Study of the Recycling Plan of a Public Interest Research Group." Buffalo Environmental Law Journal 3 (1995): 221-47.
Shrader-Frechette, Kristin. "Biological Holism and the Evolution of Ethics." Between the Species, no. Fall (1990): 185-92.
———. "Ecological Theories and Ethical Imperatives: Can Ecology Provide a Scientific Justification for the Ethics of Environmental Protection?" In Scientists and Their Responsibility, edited by William R. Shea and Beat Sitter, 73-104. Canton, MA: Watson Publishing International, 1989.
———. "Practical Ecology and Foundations for Environmental Ethics." The Journal of Philosophy 92, no. 12, December (1995): 621-35.
———. Science Policy, Ethics, and Economic Methodology: Some Problems of Technology Assessment and Environmental-Impact Analysis. Boston: D. Reidel, 1985.
Shrader-Frechette, K. S., and Earl D. McCoy. "How the Tail Wags the Dog: How Value Judgments Determine Ecological Science." Environmental Values 3 (1994): 107-20.
Simon, Julian Lincoln. "My Critics and I." In The Ultimate Resource 2, 593-616. Princton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1996.
———. The Ultimate Resource. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981.
———. The Ultimate Resource 2. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Walton, Douglas N. Ad Hominem Arguments: Studies in Rhetoric and Communication: Tuscaloosa University of Alabama Press, 1998.
———. Appeal to Expert Opinion: Arguments from Authority. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997.
———. Appeal to Pity: Argumentum Ad Misericordiam. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.
———. Appeal to Popular Opinion. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
———. Arguments from Ignorance. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996.
———. Begging the Question: Circular Reasoning as a Tactic of Argumentation. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
———. Fallacies Arising from Ambiguity. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1996.
———. One-Sided Arguments: A Dialectical Analysis of Bias. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.
———. The Place of Emotion in Argument. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1992.
———. A Pragmatic Theory of Fallacy. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1995.
———. Scare Tactics: Arguments That Appeal to Fear and Threats. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000.
———. Slippery Slope Arguments. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Wildavsky, Aaron B. But Is It True?: A Citizen's Guide to Environmental Health and Safety Issues. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1995.