Postgraduate Research at the Philosophy Department

Name: Mark Ryan

Registered Programme: PhD student

Title of Research: Ethics and Environmental Sustainability: Natural Capital, Intergenerational Equity, and Public Policy

Biographical Sketch:

M.A. (Philosophy: Ethics, Culture, and Global Change) NUI Galway

B.A. (Humanities) Carlow College

E-mail: m.ryan1nuigalway.ie

After finishing school, Mark took three years away from formal education, working in a range of jobs. During this break, he developed a love for philosophical literature, and decided to undertake a degree in Humanities at Carlow College. He specialized in Philosophy, writing his dissertation on Nietzsche and Comedy. Graduating in 2008, he decided to take a year away from university, opting to teach English as a foreign language in Dublin. He returned to college, doing an M.A. in Ethics, Culture, and Global Change at NUI Galway. His thesis research title was Ethics, Population Growth, and Public Policy. After completing this course in August 2010, Mark went straight into the structured PhD programme, specializing in Ethics and Environmental Sustainability.

Current Research:

Ethics and Environmental Sustainability: Natural Capital, Intergenerational Equity, and Public Policy

My project aims to consider the notion of environmental sustainability as a central conceptual environmental precept, evaluate the philosophical tenability of the main conflicting sustainable frameworks, and analyze the most ethically problematic questions that arise within the debate. The main questions my thesis will answer are: Do we have an ethical imperative to sustain the environment for the future, and if so, to what extent, and to what degree should today’s people be burdened by this responsibility? What should be sustained and to what scale, and what sacrifices, if any, are ethically condonable? What are the philosophical difficulties with economic measurements in present policies, and can they be amended? Can environmental values be measured monetarily, and what merit do cultural and aesthetic preferences hold against economic calculations?

In the course of four chapters, I will analyze the philosophical basis of environmental sustainability and its inherent ethical implications, in order to construct a practical and moral framework to base policies. My research will predominantly focus on four divergent viewpoints (very weak, weak, strong, and absurdly strong), and will incorporate an interdisciplinary approach to evaluate the ethical underpinnings of each variant perspective. The ultimate aim of my research is to evaluate sustainability—on issues such as environmental valuation, future generations, and scalability of capital—for practical, ethical solutions to key problematic environmental issues.

• Disclaimer
• Privacy
• Copyright
• Accessibility