Environmental Studies

Charlotte Brown is an Associate Professor of Philosophy. Her Environmental Studies course, Ethics and the Environment (PHIL 302), examines different ethical theories to see whether they provide an adequate basis for an environmental ethics--a basis for deciding whether and how we are to treat non-human entities, including non-human animals and "nature." One central question is what kind of value non-human entities have. Another is whether we have moral duties to non-human entities. Charlotte Brown's research areas include ethical theory and moral psychology. She specializes in the moral and political philosophy of David Hume, a philosopher who has inspired some recent environmentalists.