| Introduction
Setting
the Stage: Questions to Think About
Integrity,
honesty, and the pursuit of excellence are the central themes
of the overall module.
What
defines a well-lived life?
Are
there essential virtues that must be practiced in order to lead
a good life?
What
are the themes of your life?
Introduction
Henry
David Thoreau’s Walden is a classic of American Literature
and is widely taught in U.S. high schools and colleges. The text
has been hailed as a seminal piece of nature writing, a foundational
document for the environmental movement, an inquiry into American
ideology, and as a perceptive exploration of the nature of the
individual and the self. This module will treat Walden as a presentation
of the ethics of excellence (virtue ethics) and of our ethical
relationship to the environment.
Educational Objectives:
1.
Students will understand the concept of virtue ethics.
2.
Students will understand environmental ethics.
3.
Students will be able to discuss Walden as a text which questions
and explores personal ethics, the good life, and our relation
to the environment.
4.
Students will be able to discuss their own conceptions of the
good life, a good character, and the value of the natural world.
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