MISSOULA, MT — What does it mean to be 'natural'? How did 19th century painters and writers shape American fascination with rugged wilderness? The University of Montana's Center for Ethics presents two online courses that will answer these questions and more. The courses combine the relaxed, work at your own pace, format of the internet with enthusiastic discussion leadership and a community of fellow participants devoted to deepening their understanding of the history, philosophy, and aesthetics behind our ideas of nature, wilderness, and the environment.

The modern environmental movement has, in just forty years, has gone from the fringe interest of under-funded, counter-cultural groups to being a major and non-negotiable focus of American domestic and international policy. "The History and Philosophy of Environmental Ideas" examines the historical and political context for that development. That sets the stage for participants to fully understand environmentalism today, including how recent events such as Hurricane Katrina and the scientific consensus on global climate change will force us to reexamine the meaning of 'nature' in America.

Our second course, "From Wilderness Aesthetics to Ethics" will focus on the development of our particular American notions of wilderness and nature, beginning with recent philosophical criticisms of these ideas. Participants will then read excerpts from German philosopher Immanuel Kant along with key works from Emerson, Thoreau, and John Muir, the father of the American preservationist movement and founder of the Sierra Club. The course will then examine the more recent literary works of Catholic writer Annie Dillard and Buddhist 'Beat' poet Gary Snyder before spending a week working through selected essays from The Great New Wilderness Debate. Participants will conclude with the three great contemporary thinkers: Holmes Rolston III, Yuriko Saito, and Allen Carlson, all of whom work to go beyond the powerful criticisms levied against the wilderness idea over the past thirty years.

The instructor, Christopher J. Preston, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at The University of Montana as well as a Fellow of the Center for Ethics. Among his publications are Grounding Knowledge: Environmental Philosophy, Epistemology, and Place (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2003) and Nature, Value, Duty: Life on Earth with Holmes Rolston, III, Co-Edited with Wayne Ouderkirk, (Springer 2007). Dr. Preston has worked many summers outside of his academic environment in the fishing, park, and conservation industries in Alaska, giving him a fairly unique hands-on perspective relative to other philosophers.

The Center for Ethics has recently positioned itself on the cutting edge of environmental thought, hosting two Environmental Ethics Institutes (EEI) with courses and lectures offered by, among others, Holmes Rolston III, Yuriko Saito, Andrew Light, Ben Minteer, and Paul Thompson. These courses will build from the hugely successful EEI courses use of the internet to cover material. Participants will be encouraged to continue thinking about and discussing these ideas after the course and will be invited to join us in Missoula, Montana for our 3rd annual Environmental Ethics Institute. The University of Montana's department of philosophy has recently launched an environmental ethics emphasis, and the University boasts exceptional programs in environmental studies as well as environmental writing and wilderness institutes.

Contact Info:

Justin Whitaker
Program Coordinator
The Center for Ethics
Tel : 406-243-5744
E-mail : justin.whitaker@mso.umt.edu

Website : the Center for Ethics