Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: How would you describe Leopold’s tone at the beginning of “The Ethical Sequence”?
What are the ecological and philosophical distinctions that Leopold makes regarding the land ethic? Think of two contemporary examples that illustrate how these are actually “two definitions of one thing” (para. 4).
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: What are the ecological and philosophical distinctions that Leopold makes regarding the land ethic? Think of two contemporary examples that illustrate how these are actually “two definitions of one thing” (para. 4).
Paragraph 15 ends: “At the present moment, the assurance with which we regard this assumption is inverse to the degree of our education.” What is the assumption to which he refers? Who holds it? What is Leopold’s attitude toward it? What can we infer from the allusion to Abraham that precedes this sentence?
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: Paragraph 15 ends: “At the present moment, the assurance with which we regard this assumption is inverse to the degree of our education.” What is the assumption to which he refers? Who holds it? What is Leopold’s attitude toward it? What can we infer from the allusion to Abraham that precedes this sentence?
How does Leopold use analogy, particularly in paragraph 31, as a rhetorical technique? Is the claim he develops in that paragraph still true today? Explain your response.
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: How does Leopold use analogy, particularly in paragraph 31, as a rhetorical technique? Is the claim he develops in that paragraph still true today? Explain your response.
Identify the claim in paragraph 33. Do you agree with it? Explain.
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: Identify the claim in paragraph 33. Do you agree with it? Explain.
In the section “Land Health and the A-B Cleavage,” Leopold introduces two ways of looking at the land, which he labels A and B (para. 35). Which viewpoint is more prominent today?
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: In the section “Land Health and the A-B Cleavage,” Leopold introduces two ways of looking at the land, which he labels A and B (para. 35). Which viewpoint is more prominent today?
How effective are Leopold’s appeals to ethos in paragraphs 38 and 39? Do they make his argument more convincing? Explain.
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: How effective are Leopold’s appeals to ethos in paragraphs 38 and 39? Do they make his argument more convincing? Explain.
Expressing a view widely held in 1949, Leopold writes of the “discontent that labels itself ‘organic farming’” (para. 40). Do we still see organic farming as a discontent today? Explain.
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: Expressing a view widely held in 1949, Leopold writes of the “discontent that labels itself ‘organic farming’” (para. 40). Do we still see organic farming as a discontent today? Explain.
At the beginning of “The Outlook,” Leopold characterizes the “modern” (para. 44). Does that characterization hold true today? Explain your response.
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: At the beginning of “The Outlook,” Leopold characterizes the “modern” (para. 44). Does that characterization hold true today? Explain your response.
How does Leopold’s use of the “key-log” metaphor (para. 48) move his essay toward its conclusion?
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: How does Leopold’s use of the “key-log” metaphor (para. 48) move his essay toward its conclusion?
Leopold wrote “The Land Ethic” over sixty years ago. To what extent do his ideas apply to our current environmental situation?
Chapter 12 - from The Land Ethic - Exploring the Text: Leopold wrote “The Land Ethic” over sixty years ago. To what extent do his ideas apply to our current environmental situation?