The Native American “Tale of Two Wolves” tells of two evenly matched wolves in a battle. One is evil – greedy, arrogant, lying, and full of fear.  The other is good – filled with love, hope, compassion, and integrity.  The question is: which one will win?  The sage’s answer:  the one we feed.

The study of environmental ethics can easily devolve into a spiral of pessimism, given the unprecedented challenges we face regarding the climate crisis and other ecological threats to the well-being of our planet.  We are tempted to “feed the wrong wolf” and give into despair and a fatalistic resignation.  Therefore, we will explore religious, philosophical, and environmental perspectives to help us understand the roots of the crises, as well as search for resources to help us “feed the good wolf.” This course will equip students to work toward faith-based approaches to environmental ethics focused on justice and building community.