L.NĚMCOVÁ, V.NĚMEC

University of Economics, Prague, Czech Republic

Suggested contents of the course on GEOETHICS

With the recent development of geoethics a need of introducing special courses on this new discipline has been intensified. Moral and specific geoethical aspects are to be incorporated into any decision making when any needs and real possibilities of using mineral resources are to be considered. The aim of the course is to increase geoethical sensibility in all decision-making processes.

Future needs of the mankind must be respected anywhere. High responsibility to future generations is to be cultivated not only among earth scientists and mining engineers when any scientific or technical problem connected with the use of non renewable resources is to be solved but also among economists, politicians and statesmen, especially when long-term decisions for mineral economics and policy are to be made.

Background of students or participants in the course should be respected when introducing and opening any new course on geoethics. It is necessary:

1) To find an appropriate form of the course: lecturing or workshop or the combination of both).

2) To define who will attend the course, for whom all presentation will be concerned. Among possible participants following groups can be named:

- students of earth sciences (Geology, Mining Engineering, Environmental studies, etc.),

- students of schools on economics (in specialization like Management, Business Ethics, Environmental protection etc.),

- officials in civil service, office holders (municipalities, regions, top state organs).

3) To define the level of studies (secondary level or universities) as well as the system of studying (normal studies, evening courses, postgraduate studies).

According to our long experience with introducing and developing university level courses on Business Ethics we recommend for the introducing period of special courses on geoethics at the university level (normal students) to organize these courses for one semester with the extent of 2 hours per week with the upper limit of 30 participants. In case of specialized courses (external participants, special courses for officials etc.) the extent of the course can be cumulated altogether to about 3 days or 6 half-days.

The main groups of problems - either purely geoethical or connected to some extent with geoethics - will be presented by the teacher during the course. Generally speaking, the following points of view should be taken as priorities:

- non renewability of the mineral resources,

- sustainability, and

- social responsibility of individuals, enterprises, and countries (taking into consideration also actual problems of globalization).

Following main groups can be presented (the asterisk * indicates the indispensable obligatory part of the course, other parts can be omitted with respect to the character of education background of the participants of the course):

1 Philosophical and religious approaches to ethics:

- defining fundamental concepts: ethics, morality, ethos, order

- specificity of world religions: Christianity, Islamic, Buddhism

2 * Global ethical problems and ethical dilemmas

3 Professional ethics and applied ethics

- Principles of professional ethics, ethical codes, cases

- Business ethics

4 * Ethics and ecology, ecoethics = environmental ethics

5 * Sustainability

6 Fundamental notions of geology: mineral resources, classification, exploration,

non renewability of mineral resources, kinds of raw materials

7 * Introduction to special problems of geoethics

8 * Geoethical problems on various levels: micro-, macro-level

9 * Geoethics and law – basic documents (national, international)

10 Specific problems of the state with regard to mineral resources

11 Social problems, health problems (in the mining industry), cases

12 National traditions, historical approaches, conservation and protection of natural

and technical monuments, natural parks, museums

13 * Geoethics and economics

14 Geoethics and arts: graphic and plastic arts, film art, belles letters

15 Public relations, influence on the population, attitudes and behavior of special

groups (civil servants, entrepreneurs, political representatives, journalists and

other mass media, teachers, NGO)

16 Corporate citizenship, stakeholder theory

17 * Social responsibility to future generations

18 Informatics

19 Externalities

20 * Scientific frauds, priorities (can be presented also together with problems of

professional ethics).

21 * Geoethical dilemmas and decision making processes

The students or participants of the course should present also the results of their own research (case studies, essays on special theoretical or practical problems etc.). These results should be prepared in a written form (usually 5 - 15 pages) and orally presented (usually 5 - 10 minutes followed by a concrete discussion to the subject). The results of both written and oral presentation of any student will be taken into respect in the final examination when sufficient time should be given to the examinator for closing the case with the student. In other words - the results of the student independent work should be taken very seriously and not only in a purely formalistic way.

The introduction of a special course on geoethics into curriculum of any school cannot be considered as the only condition for improving ethical climate in the society (especially among the future or already existing generations of both theoretically and practically oriented earth scientists and technicians).

We have to bear in mind that a general improvement of ethical (and especially geoethical) way of thinking and decision making will be achieved when geoethical approaches will be presented in an appropriate way:

- in any specialized discipline, practically by each teacher on any level,

- in mass media (focussing attention also on positive examples of perfect geoethical conducts of individuals, enterprises, authorities on all levels including international bodies).