| CODE | MRT5102 | ||||||||||||||||
| TITLE | The Relational Human Subject and Cultural-Ecological Responsibility | ||||||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Moral Theology | ||||||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This is the core study-unit that will introduce students to the ethical framework that will support the programme. It will introduce the encyclical of Pope Francis on ecology Laudato Sì and unpack it for its vision of integral humanism and environmental ethics. Scientists and politicians alike have hailed this text for its analysis of the interconnectedness of economic, political and ecological dynamics, but also for its vision of environmental ethics. More specifically, in its third and fourth chapters, the encyclical highlights not only what it deems to be the core moral issue that has led to ecological degradation, the “dominant technocratic paradigm”, but in its fourth chapter it presents a vision of “ecological conversion” and therefore a foundation for environmental responsibility. The study-unit will unpack the philosophical and ethical considerations that are necessary to understand this vision. First, the study-unit will present the human being as a moral agent. While different “ethical theories” rest on different understandings of human freedom, reason, and even relationality, emphasis will be put on a pedagogy of moral development as growth in virtue. Next, the study-unit will focus on a specific way of how we understand human agency: our ability to be creative, that is, our ability to make tools and highly sophisticated technologies. The human being as maker of tools has the ability to change his or her environment, and this carries the responsibility to do so with prudence. The third aspect will be a presentation of media ecology as a mode of interpreting the effects of human creations, whether tools or technologies. What gives the human the ability to act responsibly is his or her ability to understand and even predict the likely outcome of the systemic effects of his or her actions and even of his or her “creations.” Media ecology, in particular the so-called “laws of media”, introduce a mode of systemic reflection on the possible impact of all human technologies, enabling us to take responsibility for our impact on the environment. Lastly, the study-unit will reflect specifically on how we must take responsibility for our technologies and actions, by nurturing an ethic of stewardship and “ecologic prudence.” This will stress the importance of virtues, but also of political deliberation as we together seek to articulate what our common good can look like in a world increasingly marked by “the work of human hands” that can both destroy the environment as well as steward it to health and flourishing for future generations. An ethic of human stewardship rests on the basis of the uniqueness of the human as moral agent and therefore as carrying the responsibility to not only understand, to our best ability, the complex cultural-ecological reality that we all live in, but to appreciate the social and environmental effects of one’s decisions, actions and use of technique. Of course, this ethic, grounded in a virtue approach and critical realism, that puts human responsibility at its centre, is not uncontested. Environmental ethics philosophies and political movements that have emerged since the 1960s tend to be based on a radical critique of “anthropocentricism” and thus propose different forms of “environmentalism” as a more ethical stance. Thus, the merits of these different stances will also be presented and contrasted. Study-Unit Aims: - To introduce students to different understandings of the social human subject, his or her moral reasoning and ability to act responsibly as emerging from different philosophical, scientific, religious, and other wisdom traditions; - To present in greater depth the classic Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue approach to moral reasoning, grounded in critical realism, personalism and a desire for self-transcendence, and how it can be re-appropriated in the contemporary context of ecological degradation; - To articulate the relationship between human self-transcendence, technology and culture, but also how this relationship can deteriorate to a "dominant technocratic paradigm"; - To explore the notion of “stewardship” as the collective responsibility for integral ecological flourishing; - To create a community of active learners; - To facilitate collaborative learning in a scaffolded approach. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - describe the human being as a moral subject and maker of tools; - analyse the anthropology behind different ethical theories; - present media ecology as a hermeneutic for understanding the impact of new technologies; - apply virtue theory to environmental ethics; - set up a personal blog to showcase one's ideas and work; - present a personal opinion in an online blog. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - appropriate critical realism through Lonergan's transcendental method: to experience, understand, judge and decide as foundational to critical realism and ethics; - apply civic virtues, in particular self-restraint, resilience, justice, and the importance of political deliberation as essential for a culture that is increasingly "glocal" and mediated by technologies; - critically reflect and evaluate various theories of environmental ethics; - to debate within a community of engaged learners, articulating and defending one's position; - to engage critically with different opinions. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Guardini, Romano (2001). The End of the Modern World (Rev Ed). Isi Books. - Nardi, Bonnie A & Vicki L. O'Day (2000). Information Ecologies: Using Technology with Heart. MIT Press. - Scheid, Daniel P. (2016). The Cosmic Common Good: Religious Grounds for Ecological Ethics. Oxford University Press. - Pope Francis (2015). Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. Supplementary Readings: - Ip, King-Tak (2009). Environmental Ethics: Intercultural Perspectives. Rodopi. - Keller, David R. (Ed.)(2010). Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions. Wiley-Blackwell. - Jenins, Willis (2013). The Future of Ethics: Sustainability, Social Justice, and Religious Creativity. Georgetown University Press. - Nash, Roderick Frazier (1989). The Rights of Nature: A History of Environmental Ethics. University of Wisconsin Press. - Mathews, Freya (2005). Reinhabiting Reality: Towards A Recovery Of Culture. State University of New York Press. - Sandler, Ronald (2009). Character and Environment: A Virtue-Oriented Approach to Environmental Ethics. Columbia University Press. Additional articles will be made available on VLE. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Independent Study and Online Learning | ||||||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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