Homework on Card, Environmental Atrocities


All answers must be in your own words.

1. What makes something evil, according to Card? There are several conditions that need to be met for an act to be evil; state all of them. (2pts)

2. What make a harm intolerable, according to Card? Give your own examples of harms that would be intolerable, and harms that would not be intolerable, on Card's view. (2pts)

3. What is the point of the lobotomy example, and how is it relevant to the overall topic of Card's paper? (2pts)

4. Is Card convinced that ecosystems can be intolerably harmed? She seems convinced that one can do intolerable harm to some beings by harming ecosystems, but that's not the question. I'm asking about whether the harm to an ecosystem can itself be intolerable, rather than about whether harm to ecosystems can cause intolerable harm to other beings. If she thinks that ecosystems can be intolerably harmed, why does she believe this? If not, what is she uncertain about? (2pts)

5. In your opinion, can it be evil to harm plants or ecosystems, where that evil is not simply due to harms to animals or humans? Give a real world example that seems most like such an evil. Is it really such an evil? Why or why not? (2pt)