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Applied Ethics > War and Peace > Flashcards

War and Peace Flashcards

1
Q

Strengths of Virtue Ethics

A

-> No strict guideline as to whether war is just or not

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2
Q

Christian Realism

A
  • > War is a non-moral activity
  • > War is sometimes a necessary reality
  • > God rules through human institutions, so if society deems it necessary to go to war, we should
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3
Q

Disadvantages of Absolute Pacifism

A
  • > Refusing to conduct in violence to quell violence may lead to more violence
  • > People, despite being helped, may cause more damage in the future
  • > Inconsistency: Jesus advocated for pacifism, but even he backtracked on his own argument
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4
Q

Utilitarianism

A
  • > Application of hedonic calculus
  • > Bentham: War may lead to most happiness
  • > Mill: Importance of equality
  • > Bentham: Allows the tyranny of the majority
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5
Q

Russell

A
  • > (Arguably) a contingent pacifist

- > War (like WW2) may be a necessary evil (get rid of fascism)

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6
Q

Interpretation of war and peace in the Bible

A

Joel 3:9 ‘Prepare for war!’

Mathew 5:44 ‘Pray for those who persecute you’

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7
Q

Weaknesses of existentialism

A
  • > How do we deal with issues of self-defence: A combattant shooting an innocent civilian ? Can the civilian retaliate?
  • > Warnock: What’s wrong with acting inauthentically ? What’s the problem with going to war ?
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8
Q

Luther

A
  • > Christian Realist
  • > Romans 13:4 ‘… agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.’
  • > John 18:36 ‘my servants would fight’
  • > Killing is legitimised in extreme cases
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9
Q

Strengths of existentialism

A
  • > Supports pacifism (at least preferential)

- > His War Diaries consistent with his views as held in Being and Nothingness and Existentialism and Humanism

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10
Q

Aquinas’ Conditions for Just War

A
  • > Legitimate authority
  • > Just cause
  • > Right intention
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11
Q

Francisco Suarez

A

Developed Aquinas’ Just War theory

  • > Proportionality
  • > War = last resort
  • > War = reasonable chance of success
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12
Q

Kantian Ethics

A
  • > War is an inevitable part of human nature
  • > Disagreed with child soldiers - violates the 2nd principle of the CI
  • > Pacifism cannot be universalised (contradiction in will)
  • > If we were to universalise pacifism, then we would never be able to will war, but Kant believes that war is sometimes inevitable
  • > Respect a person’s autonomy: ‘ought implies can’. So, conscription is not allowed
  • > While we cannot universalise self-defence, we can universalise the preservation of life
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13
Q

Catholic Bishops of America (1983)

A

-> Clarifies right intention as being an acknowledgement of real and certain danger
Developed Aquinas’ Just War Theory
-> Only combatants can be targeted, not innocent civilians
-> Must assess claims on both sides before war is just

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14
Q

Quakers

A
  • > Violence should not be the means to resolve conflict
  • > They are peacemakers
  • > If ‘healing is not possible’ (Quaker Peace Testimony) violence is allowed
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15
Q

Weakness of JWT

A
  • > Subjectivity (what makes an intention just etc.)
  • > Some criteria are impractical (isn’t possible to assess the likelihood of success)
  • > Wink: There is no justification for war. Augustine has led Christians down the wrong path
  • > It’s too simplistic and outdated
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16
Q

Case Studies of JWT

A
  • > Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (cf. Situation Ethics)
  • > Vietnam war (just intention/outcome of success/non-combatant immunity)
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17
Q

Contingent Pacifism

A

-> War is wrong, but sometimes it is the lesser of two evils

18
Q

Existentialism

A
  • > Importance of upholding peoples’ freedom
  • > Child soldiers not okay (bad faith)
  • > War runs contrary to freedom, as it stops people from doing things (blackouts)
  • > Sartre’s war diaries
  • > Points towards a pacifist stance
19
Q

Weaknesses of Utilitarianism

A
  • > Mill vs. Bentham

- > Bentham assumes war can only be pursued for hedonic motives

20
Q

Strengths of Pacifism

A

Matthew 5:9 (Beatitudes): ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’

  • > Doesn’t violate God’s will: ‘Do not kill’
  • > Doesn’t violate Jesus’ teachings: ‘Happy are the peacemakers’ (Sermon on the Mount)
  • > Promotes peace
  • > Martin Luther King and Ghandi: Adopted pacifism and achieved the desired outcome
21
Q

Weaknesses of Virtue Ethics

A
  • > What virtues do you choose to cultivate
  • > Is it merely cultural relativism (McIntyre)
  • > Should we really be focussing on the agent when it comes to war ?
22
Q

Preferential Pacifism

A

Take a preference to everything except war

23
Q

Weaknesses of Pacifism

A
  • > Anscombe
  • > Infringes on the state’s duty to protect the rights of its citizens (Rawls/Mill)
  • > Places limitations on one’s right to self
  • > Neibuhr
24
Q

Jus ad bellum

A

Justice in the decision to wage war:

  • > Right intention
  • > Just cause
  • > Legitimate authority
  • > Likelihood of success
  • > Proportionality
25
Q

Strengths of JWT

A
  • > Provides a means in which war can be assessed while acknowledging its eventuality
  • > The culture, traditions and laws of the defeated nation are respected, preventing future grievances that might lead to further conflict
  • > It is a theory which grows and develops with the times
26
Q

Virtue Ethics

A
  • > Aristotle: Importance of cultivating the virtues of the soldier
  • > Anscombe: Pacifism is ‘wishful thinking’; it can be virtuous to fight
  • > Trivigno: Pacifism leads to the cultivation of compassion, better than conflict which leads to suffering
  • > Roberts: Compassion may lead people to war, as you see the suffering of others
27
Q

Weaknesses of Natural Law Theory

A
  • > At what age do you consider someone an adult?
  • > What about conflict of primary precepts ?
  • > Inconsistent with Biblical teachings, specifically Sermon on the Mount
28
Q

Weaknesses of Kantian Ethics

A
  • > Kant bases his CI on flawed reasoning. Theoretical reasoning - reasoning about facts, science and logic - is not the same thing as practical reason. Irrationality is taking the wrong means to one’s ends, not acting contrary (logically or not) to facts
  • > Offers us nothing practical (really)
29
Q

Niebuhr

A
  • > Christian Realist
  • > Humans are depraved as a result of the fall so sometimes act immorally
  • > Need to use force in order to maintain a just and ordered society
  • > ‘Pacifism is heresy’
30
Q

Anscombe

A
  • > Pacifism is an illusion
  • > Violence is necessary in our society as some people cannot be stopped without violence
  • > Importance of her virtue theory: There is no rigid answer to war. Whether war is good/bad depends on whether it tends to the virtues/vices
  • > ‘man can be a monster in the one thing and a just man in the other’ (War and Murder)
31
Q

Strengths of Kantian Ethics

A
  • > Realist

- > Consistent with his ethical theory

32
Q

Weaknesses of situation ethics

A
  • > Do we do the most loving thing for one’s own society or the world?
  • > Is it right for agape to the be the only intrinsic good ?
  • > Need accurate information to determine whether war is the right thing or not
33
Q

Strengths of Utilitarianism

A
  • > Depends on the situation
  • > Jus ad bellum/ jus in bello / jus post bellum can be manipulated into rules
  • > Views seem consistent with common-sense belief about what wars are just and which are not
34
Q

Absolute Pacifism

A

Violence is always wrong, and should not be allowed in any circumstance
-> Permitted to be conscientious objectors to war (Quaker response to WW2)

35
Q

Natural Law

A
  • > Importance of education (Amnesty International consider child warfare a violation of this)
  • > Need to satisfy both interior and exterior acts (Torture is a good interior but bad exterior)
  • > Aquinas: Going to war is not sinful if done in the name of the state
  • > Pacifism violates the primary precept of preservation of society
  • > Just War Theory
36
Q

Jus in bello

A

Justice in the conduct of war

  • > Fair treatment of PoW
  • > Non-combatant immunity
  • > Proportionality
  • > No reprisals
  • > Obey all international laws on weapons
37
Q

Walzer

A
  • > Governments need to take responsibility foraging war
  • > War is sometimes necessary, but government intervention needs to be justified
  • > Another society should wage in on another’s war, if that war is hampering another’s sovereignty (rejection of Mill’s non-interventionism)
38
Q

Origins of Just War Theory

A

Because of the Pacifist views of the Bible, Christians refused to fight in the Roman Empire. Augustine argued that it is the Christian duty to fight for the Empire, because the ruler is under divine protection
Romans 13:1 ‘there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God’

39
Q

Situation Ethics

A
  • > Importance of relativism/personalism: War is allowed in some cases (Hiroshima), not in another
  • > No intrinsic goods, so the right of a child isn’t intrinsically good
  • > Importance of pragmatism: If there is a shortage of soldiers, recruitment is okay
  • > Proportionalism is important: should not use excessive force
  • > Depends on the situation
40
Q

Karl von Clausewitz

A
  • > Consequentialist
  • > Whether war is justified depends on circumstances (moral/physical)
  • > War cannot be justified in a neat manner

Applied Ethics (2 decks)

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