Tuesday, May 22, 2012

MetaPsych: What's Good on TV? (cartoon)



Jamie Watson and Robert Arp clearly put a lot of time and effort into this rather ambitious book that seeks to bridge the synthetic split between philosophy and "the real world" (not the MTV show).
  
Following on the heels of the trendy Philosophy and Popular Culture book series (published both by Wiley-Blackwell and Open Court Press), What's Good on TV incorporates excellent examples from a variety of television shows.
 
It does this in order to illustrate philosophical concepts. The book is fun and informative. It is clearly meant as a teaching tool... More

Series III - What's Right When…?  Practical Ethics
Episode 8. Environmental Ethics

...Watson and Arp begin this section by explaining the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic worth. Then they ask whether nature or the environment should be protected for its own sake or for some instrumental reason.

  

They refer to the former "biocentric" position that "all living organisms deserve the same moral consideration" as "biological egalitarianism" (157). This is followed by a rather brief, and unfortunately superficial, explanation of pantheism and Theravada Buddhism...

No comments: