War, Terrorism, & Torture

Question 1

The questions of war and terrorism and torture

Answer 1

Is war ever morally justified? Is terrorism? Can torture ever be the right way?

Question 2

War Realism

Answer 2

moral nihilism

-morality does not apply to warfare
-only concerns in war are the aims and interests of the state

Question 3

Antiwar Pacifism

Answer 3

war is never morally justified (even in self-defense)

Question 4

Pacifism

Answer 4

all violence is unacceptable

Question 5

Just War Theory by Thomas Aquinas

Answer 5

When political entities can declare war
6 reasons in Just Ad Bellum
Includes two rules of Jus In Bello

Question 6

Jus Ad Bellum

Answer 6

(justice of war) -doctrine about what actions may justify war

1. the conflict is endorsed by legitimate or competent authority
2. the cause is just (can include humanitarian intervention, and preemptive war, but may not include preventative war)
3. The war is waged with rightful intentions, like self-defense
4. The war is a last resort
5. The good accomplished by going to war is proportional to the evil that the conflict causes
6. There is a reasonable possibility of success

Question 7

Preemptive War

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Preventative War

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Jus In Bello

Answer 9

“Rules of just war”

1. Discrimination between warriors and innocents
2. the proportional use of force

Question 10

Terrorism

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Secular Terrorism

Answer 11

a terror crime that is definitely related to religious or religious factors

Question 12

State-sponsored Terrorism

Answer 12

terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent non-state actors.

Question 13

State-run terrorism

Answer 13

terrorist violence carried out with the active support of national governments provided to violent state actors.

Question 14

Ideological/Ethnic Terrorism

Answer 14

terrorism to create a climate of fear among a rival group’s population (terrorism for reason of differing ideologies and/or ethnicity)

Question 15

Torture

Answer 15

an act of intentionally inflicting severe pain or suffering on a person for purposes of coercion, punishment, intimidation, or extraction of information

Question 16

Questions raised about torture

Answer 16

in any particular instance, could it be morally permissible to torture a person?

and, should state-administered torture be legalized or institutionalized?

Question 17

The Pacifism Argument Against War

Answer 17

wars are always wrong because the violate a fundamental right to life

Question 18

Douglas P. Lackey (Anti-War Pacifism)

Answer 18

-the killing of soldiers is not to be taken for granted
-it is not permissible to kill others in war, even to defend against deadly, unprovoked attacks
-“Thou shalt not kill” says the Bible
-life is sacred
-people have an inherent right to life
-if we say it is self-defense, what about draftees?
-soldiers do not often die in “kill or be killed” situations
-the killing of noncombatants is constant in war
-good and evil in war are unable to be balanced, even WWII did not “save” the Jews

Question 19

Jan Narveson (Against Pacifism)

Answer 19

pacifism has no solid foundation

-to argue pacifism as a moral principle is arguing with many difficulties
-it is better if pacifism is a personal choice, but if everyone has to be a pacifist, there would be many problems
-we have a right to use force to prevent the deprivation of the thing to which we are said to have a right
-to say violence is wrong also says that people have a right to its prevention

Question 20

Jan Narvesons problems with Pacifism

Answer 20

1. the principle of pacifism: the principle that all and only pacifists have a duty to not oppose violence with violence, then there become questions: Who are pacifists?
2. It becomes a circular argument
   For example:
   If only x-ists have the duties of x-ism, then it is believing that one cannot be an x-ist (those that believe have the obligation, but like, no duh)
3. if everyone had to be a pacifist, there could be no good reason in instances to meet violence with force
4. if it is individual obligation, then it is not a moral principle
5. we could not defend the defenseless

Question 21

To claim that violence is morally wrong is to claim

Answer 21

-a person has no right to indulge in it
- those who have violence done onto them have a right not to
-then we have no right to defend ourselves or others

Question 22

Michael Walzer: The Legalist Paradigm

Answer 22

a Self-defense argument for war

-we all have a right to self-defense, a right to defend ourselves and possibly others from aggressors
-if we have such a right, we may be justified in taking life to exercise it, both in personal-self defense and in a war of self-defense
-the right of self-defense in way is based on an analogy with personal self-defense
-if killing in personal defense or defense of others, then it follows that war can be justified in a country’s act of self-defense

Question 23

The domestic analogy for the theory of aggression (Waltzer)

Answer 23

1. There exists an international society of independent states
2. this intentional society has a law that establishes the rights of its members: the rights of territorial integrity and political sovereignty
3. any use of force or imminent threat of force by one state against the political sovereignty or territorial integrity of another constitutes aggression and is a criminal act
4. aggression justifies two kinds of violent response: a war of self-defense by the victim and a way of law enforcement
5. Nothing but aggression can justify war
6. Once the aggressor state has been militarily repulsed, it can also be punished

Question 24

John Howard Yodder: When War is Unjust

Answer 24

Just War Theory is good in theory but has never been upheld

-specifically in the principles of last resort, proper authority, proportion of good and evil caused, and proper moral leverage of participation
-no one who has waged war has properly done so in accordance with just war theory
-states must be willing to admit there are times when war is unjust, yet they are not

Question 25

The ticking time bomb argument for torture

Answer 25

to find the ticking time bomb, you must torture the information out of someone

Question 26

Anarchist

Answer 26

Someone who does not believe in governmental rule

Question 27

John Howard Yodder

Answer 27

A religious philosopher under the Mennonites

Question 28

Andrew Valls on Terrorism

Answer 28

Some terrorism is morally right, because of jus ad bellum and jus in bello principles

Question 29

A moral question about war and terrorism

Answer 29

Would you have a moral right to attack someone who is threatening, but has not actually attacked you?

Question 30

A story of self-defense (Brianna Dennison and Amanda Collins)

Answer 30

Dennison was brutally raped and killed by James Biella Collins had been raped in a parking garage at UNR and stated that "if (she) had a weapon, it may not have happened"

Question 31

Justified/Justifiable War

Answer 31

Is it a last resort?

Question 32

October 7th 2023

Answer 32

The anniversary of Hamas bombing Israel at a festival, killing, raping, and capturing non-combatants

Question 33

Michael Waltzer: Terrorism; a Critique of Excuses

Answer 33

Terrorism is morally wrong because of its consistent evils 1. the killing of innocents 2. the intrusion of fear into everyday life 3. the violation of private purposes 4. the insecurity of public spaces 5. the endless coerciveness of precaution -all excuses for terrorism are invalid one way or another and therefore it is morally unjustifiable -terrorism doesn't work -however, a state should recognize and listen to the harm done that causes terrorism, like oppression

Question 34

Alan M. Dershowitz: The Case for Torturing the Ticking Bomb Terrorist

Answer 34

-the benefits of torture the costs -using torture as a last resort to prevent a ticking bomb from exploding and killing many people -if torture were to be legitimated, even for limited use, it could set a limited precedent for use -nonlethal pain is temporary -we would use torture regardless, might as well regulate it -if torture could be carried out only with a granted warrant by a specific board of justices, we'd be able to regulate its use by law enforcement

Question 35

Andrew Valls: Can Terrorism be Justified?

Answer 35

under the tradition of just war theory, it follows that states have the right to commit violence for certain reasons, if this is so, what about non-state actors? -a right to self-determination -if we can consider states as authorities, we should consider non-states as authorities as well because they have self-determination -under this consideration, if we hold terrorism to just war standards, there may be times when terrorism is justified

Question 36

Haig Khatchadourian: The Morality of Terrorism

Answer 36

An improvement on Wilkins' article -Terrorism violates the principles of justification, proportionality, and discrimination -Terrorism can be categorized as predatory, retaliatory, non-moralistic, and religious -There are three basic principles to take into account when it comes to war, and none of the terrorism types meets the levels to be morally justified

Question 37

Positive rights

Answer 37

things the government ought to give you

Question 38

Negative rights

Answer 38

personal rights you enact yourself (the government does not owe you)

Question 39

a justification question (terrorism)

Answer 39

if you were attacked using terrorism, would you be justified in returning with terrorist attacks?

Question 40

Alan M. Dershowitz

Answer 40

A Jewish harvard law professor who got famous in the 90's because he represented two boys in a criminal case. He's very involved in the Jewish Anti-Discrimination League

Question 41

The case of Klaus Von Bello

Answer 41

In Newport, Klaus married a wealthy woman who was a hypochondriac, so he was the one who worked. One day, she dies and her children charge Klaus with murder by messing with her drugs. Klaus go to Dershowitz who charged him $2k an hour to support the two kids he was representing in Boston. Dershowitz got both the kids and Von Bello off

Question 42

Lackey’s basis for pacifism

Answer 42

Christian/Godly values “Thou shalt not kill”