HFIK03891U FILO, Module 4: Research Subject - Ethics and Political Philosophy: Climate Change - Ethical and Political Questions
Kandidatuddannelsen i Filosofi 2017-ordning
Climate Change - Ethical and Political Questions
Climate change may be the biggest challenge facing our
generation and the next to come. Climate change involve a range of
interrelated ethical and political questions, which are important
to address and understand no matter what one otherwise think of
climate change. In the course we will focus on 5 key concerns, and
invite students to study these concerns in depth:
(1) Climate change itself, and the policies that may be enacted in
response to climate change, are the subject of disagreement, both
factual and moral disagreement. This leads to general questions
about how one should respond rationally to disagreement, when
disagreement is reasonable and similar questions.
(2) Political decisions concerning climate change should, most people seem to think, be informed by science. However, this presuppose a particular view about the way that science should inform democratic decision-making, a view that is contestable. What is the proper role of science in democratic decision-making over contested issues such as climate change.
(3) Decisions regarding climate change will inevitably involve decisions under risk and under uncertainty. Decisions under risk are decisions where decision-makers know or have justified beliefs concerning probabilities of various outcomes of the decision. By contrast, decision under uncertainty, are decisions where we know that decisions have good or bad outcomes, but where nothing is known about the probabilities. How should we as a society make decisions under risk or uncertainty?
(4) Climate change affect people all over the world, but do so in asymmetrical ways. In the industrialised world we may be said to have contributed most to global climate change, and yet many of the severe harms will affect people living in the developing world, which is also giving rise to huge streams of migration. This raise the question about cosmopolitanism, migration and questions of moral responsibility towards individuals who are not one’s nationals.
(5) What we do now to prevent or alleviate climate change will not benefit us, but later generations. So, a crucial question in climate change concerns our moral responsibilities to future generations.
Readings: the syllabus will consist of core texts in ethics, political philosophy and (relevant parts of) epistemology addressing the main concerns. The five core questions will be addressed in the beginning of the course, and the students will then work in depth on an essay on one of the challenges.
- Category
- Hours
- Class Instruction
- 56
- Preparation
- 148,75
- Total
- 204,75
Self Service at KUnet
Gueststudents from outside UCPH:
Apply on form to mefstudieadmin@hum.ku.dk December 1, 2017 at the latest
Please submit your preliminary approval December 15, 2017 at the latest
UCPHstudents from outside the Humanities:
Apply on form to mefstudieadmin@hum.ku.dk December 1, 2017 at the latest
Please submit your preliminary approval January 15, 2017 at the latest
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Type of assessment
- Other
Criteria for exam assesment
KA i Filosofi 2017-ordning:
http://hum.ku.dk/uddannelser/aktuelle_studieordninger/filosofi/filosofi_ka.pdf
Course information
- Language
- English
- Course code
- HFIK03891U
- Credit
- 7,5 ECTS
- Level
- Full Degree MasterFull Degree Master choice
- Duration
- 1 semester
- Placement
- Spring
- Schedule
- .
- Study board
- Study Board of Media, Cognition and Communication
Contracting department
- Department of Media, Cognition and Communication
Course Coordinators
- Jens Borglind (5-6d6572756a436b7870316e7831676e)
Lecturers
Morten Ebbe Juul Nielsen