Module 7 Discussion

Everyone

One reply is due by Thursday (100-350 words, 5 points)

Discussion Leaders: 

Answer the prompt below. Then post two replies . 

• Your answer is due by Tuesday (150-400 words, 10 points)
• Two replies are due by Thursday (100-350 words, 5 points each). 

To see which discussions you are leading (and to sign up), go to Collaborations and complete the google document there. 

Discussion Board Grading Criteria

Initial posts and replies earning most or full points will do all or most of the following:

1. Timing
1. Be on time or early so others can reply and engage in conversation.
2. Content
1. Add something new to the conversation
2. Be meaningful and substantial (quality matters, not quantity)*
3. Give complete answers to the Discussion Prompt (for initial posts)
4. State facts that are true. Present accurate description of others’ views
3. Logic & Reasoning-  Includes one of the types of comments listed AND says what kind of comment it is:
   • Clarification question
   • Clarification of someone else's argument or terms (such as an example or story)
   • Reasons to support a claim
   • Objection
   • Response OR
   • Application
4. Tone & Style
1. Use respectful and kind language
2. Clearly explain which part of a post you are replying to (for replies)
3. Acknowledge other people’s ideas
4. Cite sources when you can. (Ideas you get from the reading should mention the reading. Include page numbers if you can, but due to time constraints this isn’t necessary. Ideas you get from an online websearch should mention which pages you visited. Ideas you get from fellow students should mention those students.)

*Ideas on how to make your post meaningful:

• Share your own personal or professional experience to add insight to the conversation
• Describe how the lectures have changed your mind in important ways
• Make connections between several different posts and build on the conversation
• Incorporate a moral framework 
• Incorporate the reading
• Object to claims made in other posts, or respond to objections
• Mention the details of the examples under discussion and explain how these details are relevant
• Connect with material from previous Modules, or other classes you have taken

For more details and grading criteria, see Discussion Board Guidelines for Phil 122 

Prompts

Choose one prompt to answer. 

Prompt 1 Stuff

(answer all the parts)

1. Look around at the “stuff” in your home. What are some items that you have that will be turned into something else useful when you are done with them? What will they turn into? Are any of these items part of a cyclical process?
2. Next, what are some items that will go to a landfill when you are done, and not turned into anything useful? (They are part of a linear process). Brainstorm for a moment what kind of resources went in to make those items (energy, money, materials, time). How many days will you use the items for? What will happen to them when you are done?
3. Based on this exercise, how would you define a cyclical process versus a linear process? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using each kind of process? (I understand these questions and terms are vague and open-ended, at the moment. Interpret them however you wish). (See Story of Electronics Links to an external site. (8 min) and Story of Stuff Links to an external site. (20 min).

Prompt 2. Energy

(This prompt has a long introduction)

In Module 6, we each took a rough measurement of our consumption. We have been studying Kant’s Formula of Ends (treat everyone with respect and don’t use other people as a mere tool for your own purposes) and Kant’s Kingdom of Ends (Act as if everyone else is following the Formula of Ends).

Kant’s third moral rule is the “Categorical Imperative.” In essence, it states it is wrong to make an exception of ourselves. So, if you want to do something, Kant’s says, first do this test:

1. Ask: “What is everybody did it?What if everybody did it?” Links to an external site. (links to an optional 2 min kids’ music video from the Treeschoolers).
2. Predict: Would the outcome be very bad? Or a contradiction?
3. Judge: If you answer yes to either question, then Kant says the action you are considering is immoral. If not, then it is morally permissible.

(Note: There are many philosophical puzzles raised by this test! These are studied in more detail in Intro to Ethics courses.).

When we measured our personal consumption in Module 6, many of us learned that if everyone lived like us, then we would need multiple Earths to supply all the resources! We also learned that the Earth’s “overshoot” day has been in the middle of the year recently -- that is the day when humanity collectively uses more resources or creates more pollution than the Earth produces or processes in one year. Effectively, we are drawing from the “bank” of Earth’s resources, without replenishing it. This implies that sometime in our lifetimes we will start running out of important resources.

However, Mark Sagoff disagrees. He argues that the whole idea of an “overshoot” day is misleading, and we do not need to be concerned about running out of resources. On page 83, Sagoff points out that from 1980 to 1990 the available “reserves of most raw materials increased” even though we were consuming them. He lists three reasons for this.

For this prompt, list Sagoff's three reasons. Then pick one reason and explain it (Be sure to provide an example). Do you agree with Sagoff that this is a good reason to not worry about running out of resources? How might someone object to this reason, or its connection to Sagoff’s conclusion? (You can brainstorm an objection, or use an objection from someone else, such as Partridge, Ehrlich et al, Purdey, or Benton.) Finally, how could Sagoff respond to this objection? Which view do you find most convincing?

Prompt 3 Food

What was Norman Borlaug’s Green Revolution, started in the 1940s? What was Borlaug’s goal? Vandana Shiva argues that the cost of the Green Revolution has been too high, and the promises not all fulfilled. What are some of those costs? How could supporters of the Green Revolution respond? 

See The Green Revolution: Waging A War Against Hunger (10 min video)The Green Revolution: Waging A War Against Hunger Links to an external site. 

The Mythology of the Green Revolution, Vandana Shiva, (8 min video),

The Mythology of the Green Revolution Links to an external site.

India’s Green Revolution: More Harm Than Good" by Vandana Shiva (9 min video).
India’s Green Revolution: More Harm Than Good Links to an external site.