War, Terrorism, & Torture Flashcards
The questions
Is war ever morally justified? Is terrorism? Can torture ever be the right way?
War Realism
moral nihilism
-morality does not apply to warfare
-only concerns in war are the aims and interests of the state
Antiwar Pacifism
war is never morally justified (even in self-defense)
Pacifism
all violence is unacceptable
Just War Theory by Thomas Aquinas
When political entities can declare war
6 reasons in Just Ad Bellum
Includes two rules of Jus In Bello
Jus Ad Bellum
(justice of war) -doctrine about what actions may justify war
- the conflict is endorsed by legitimate or competent authority
- the cause is just (can include humanitarian intervention, and preemptive war, but may not include preventative war)
- The war is waged with rightful intentions, like self-defense
- The war is a last resort
- The good accomplished by going to war is proportional to the evil that the conflict causes
- There is a reasonable possibility of success
Preemptive War
a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war shortly before that attack materializes
Preventative War
aims to forestall a shift in the balance of power by strategically attacking before the balance of power has had a chance to shift in the favor of the targeted party
Jus In Bello
“Rules of just war”
- Discrimination between warriors and innocents
- the proportional use of force
Terrorism
the deliberarte use or threat of physical violence against noncombatants to aadvance political, religious, or ideological aims
-from the French Revoluts Reign of Terror
-has been around for two millennia
Secular Terrorism
a terror crime that is definitely related to religious or religious factors
State-sponsored Terrorism
terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors.
State-run terrorism
terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent state actors.
Ideological/Ethnic Terrorism
terrorism to create a climate of fear among a rival group’s population (terrorism for reason of differing ideologies and/or ethnicity)
Torture
an act of intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering on a person for purposes of coercion, punishment, intimidation, or extraction of information
Questions raised about torture
in any particular instance, could it be morally permissible to torture a person?
and, should state-administered torture be legalized or institutionalized?