Just War Theory Flashcards
Three OT Bible quotes about war
1 Samuel 15:1-3
Isaiah 2:4
Joel 3:9
Samuel
1 Samuel 15:1-3
Samuel (prophet) saying Israelites should attack the Amalekites
“Go and strike Amalek”
“Kill both man and woman, child and infant”
Isaiah
2:4
Isaiah (prophet) talking about end of time
“nation will not take up sword against nation”
Joel
3:9
Joel (prophet) telling Israelites to prepare for war
“Prepare for war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near and attack”
Three NT Bible quotes about war
Romans 12:18-19
Matthew 5:9
Revelation 21:1-4
Romans
12:18-19
“live peaceably with all”
Matthew
5:9
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God”
said Jesus
Revelation
21:1-4
St John describing a vision he has about the end of time
“there will be no more death or mourning or crying to pain”
How does Augustine talk about the war and what does he say the evil is
in spiritual terms
“love of violence”
- not death of soldiers or victims of war
What are Augustine’s 2 conditions for a just war
- the war is commanded by God or Godly authority
2. the war serves good (e.g. by punishing evil)
War commanded by who is justified? (Augustine)
God
what circumstances excuse normally wrong behaviour (Augustine)
if they’re required to achieve a good end that’s been sanctioned by God
Augustine - quote about God demanding war
“when war is undertaken in obedience of God, who would rebuke, or humble, or rush the pride of man, it must be allowed to be a righteous war”
What Bible quotes does Augustine use for war
Luke 3:10-14
Matthew 8:5-13
Luke (Augustine)
3:10-14
soldiers asking what to do, John condones fighting as long as they stay moral
“John answered, anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same”
Matthew (Augustine)
8:5-13
Jesus compliments a man’s faith who has servants, soldiers and is in the army
“I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith”
Weaknesses of Augustine
- not everyone is religious
- bible is contradictory, for those who say war can be justified with Biblical passages
What are Aquinas’ 3 conditions for a just war
the war is commanded by a legitimate authority
the war is for a just cause
the war is conducted with the right intention
Aquinas’ quote ab three things
“in order for a war to be just, three things are necessary”
Aquinas’ quote ab legitimate authority
“the power to declare and counsel war should be in the hands of those who hold the supreme authority”
Aquinas’ quote ab just cause
“a just cause is required”
Aquinas’ quote ab right intention
“the belligerents should have rightful intention
so that they intend the advancement of Good, or the avoidance of evil”
Just War theory
Jus ad bellum
Jus in bello
Jus post bellum
Jus ad bellum definition
when you go to war and it’s justified
Jus in bello definition
justice in war and in the combat of war
Jus post bello definition
justice after war and obligations of defeat
Jus ad bellum information + 2 additional criteria
‘just reasons for going to war’ - latin
Modern day philosophers add additional criteria
1 the war should be last resort
2 there should be high probability of success
Jus in bello information + 3 additional criteria
'just conduct during war' - latin modern philosophers: 1 Discrimination 2 Proportionality 3 Responsibility
discrimination (jus in bello)
determines who is a legitimate target in war as it’s unfair and unjust to attack indiscriminately
decides who is combat/non-combat, so not injured or medical people but army members and soldiers
proportionality (jus in bello)
utilitarian concept
war and conflict should be limited to the scale of the problem, so not targeting buildings or civilians not involved, or not going in with more power than required
responsibility (jus in bello)
problem is when soldiers turn weapons on non-combats to pursue their enemy beyond what is reasonable
ensures justice for all, not just our side, obeys moral orders
Jus post bellum information
investigates what happens after war
war theorists argue victory should not provide licence for imposing harsh measures or allowing commercial interests to dictate the peace
imposing an alternate religious or political situation on a country would not be conducive to peace and any programme of rehabilitation imposed are superficial with little long term value
what is a key complaint post war Iraq
+ what should the aim have been instead
the administration of rehabilitation programmes
accused of favouring one ethnic group over another and furthering interests of private companies
to conclude peace on terms unlikely to cause bitterness or resentment
what was Augustine and Aquinas’ only focus when writing just war theory
+ what did they not do
jus ad bellum
they did not write anything about how to conduct during war or what should be done after to establish justice
when did the concept of jus in bello emerge and why
17th and 18th centuries mainly because people stopped talking so much about jus ad bellum
2 historical reasons as to why people stopped talking about jus ad bellum
1 ppl started to believe reasons for war didn’t really matter and each nation had the right to fight in order to protect and expand its influence and power
2 ppl began to think war was a natural part of the world that would never go away
who can the second reason as to why people stopped talking about jus ad bellum be attributed to
Thomas Hobbs (philosopher)
what was the outcome of the 2 historical reasons as to why people stopped talking about jus ad bellum
rather than trying to prevent war, they tried to regulate it with jus in bello criteria
when did the concept of jus post bellum emerge
in the second half of the 20th century
why did the concept of just post bellum emerge
because of the liberation of Germany from the rule of Nazis
after the defeat of Germany and allies, attention was on rebuilding peace in Europe, not complete punishment of Germany
Just war theory has come a long way since what
Augustine’s initial idea of war being sanctioned by God to punish evildoers
what are the 7 criteria of just was theory
Augustine
commanded by god
combat evil/punish evil doers
Aquinas
legitimate authority
just cause
right intention
Modern philosophers
discrimination
proportionality
responsibility
what is nuclear war
atomic bombs
how many countries have atomic bombs and what does it assure
9
mutually assured destruction
when have atomic bombs been used before
6th and 9th of august, Hiroshima and Nagasaki
ww2 1945
how does atomic bomb work and how many did it kill
designed to release energy from nuclear fission
initial blast killed tens of thousands, ongoing deaths over years from radiation poisoning
which party of JWT theory does atomic bomb completely break
modern philosophers:
discrimination, proportionality, responsibility
what is the moral inconsistency of just war theory
justice is equality and fairness
war is winning or loosing
what is desirable about jwt and what is hard
seems sound
desirable to attempt to differentiate between just and unjust conflicts and create a criteria to judge
modern warfare and conflict make distinctions hard
what has made criteria redundant and why
nations having nuclear weapons and others of mass destruction
risk and indiscriminate killing
what does the government argue about nuclear weapons
useful deterrent function, no one is prepared to use them and risk retaliation
