War and Morality
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War seems to be the most destructive and horrific type of human interaction. No other venue allows people to kill each other in such massive numbers or to cause such incredible and widespread suffering. Wars often take years to develop, can last for years longer, and the effects reverberate for decades if not centuries.
If war is so awful, why do people continue to allow it to happen? Why don't we simply eliminate it? Curiously, some people actually seem to like war. Armed combat is glorified in song and story, with many throughout history praising "martial values" for making us better, stronger, and more worthwhile human beings (even as we kill other human beings).
To the average person in society today, however, the prospect of war is often very depressing. People don't feel like they are in control of their own destinies and fear that the decisions of far away political leaders will take them all to the brink of destruction - a prospect made much more likely in a world of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.
One thing which may restore to people some semblance of confidence is to participate more actively in the discussion about the morality of war. No particular war can be adequately justified without us first having gone through the question of whether and how any war can ever be justified morally (and if so, how and why). Perhaps we cannot assume the actual decision-making authority, but we can frame the context for those who do make the decisions.
When your country goes to war, it does so in your name. Should it? How do you feel about that?
-->What is War?
Of course, evaluating the morality of war generally or of any war in particular requires some idea of what "war" is. Some may say at this point, "But isn't it obvious what war is?" In fact, defining the concept is not as easy as it might appear. There are obvious situations which do qualify as war and obvious examples which don't; but what about all of the situations in between? Is war simply one of those "I know it when I see it concepts," or are there reasonable criteria which allow us to identify what war is?Do Morality and War Mix?
Although the debate of war and morality may be interesting, there is one issue which could interrupt the discussion entirely: perhaps, according to some, moral standards simply aren't applicable to war. One example of this attitude might be found in Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's comment that "War is hell."Just War Theory
There is a long-standing tradition in Western culture of differentiating between "just" and "unjust" wars. Although people who are opposed to war in principle will surely disagree that any such distinction can possibly be made, the basic ideas involved seems to present a plausible argument that there are times when war is, at the very least, less just and as a result should receive less support from the public and from national leaders.Unpatriotic Protests
Should protesters support our troops? Some say that protests during war are unethical and unpatriotic. Are protesters really ungrateful, or are their critics acting unethically and unpatriotically by trying to squelch dissent?Secrecy and Honesty for Democratic Governments at War
Is Iraq George W. Bush's Vietnam? Senator Edward Kennedy says so - and conservatives have decried the comparison, saying that Kennedy doesn't want America to win in Iraq. Is that criticism justified? I don't think so - I think that Kennedy was making a very different comparison about honesty and secrecy.What is Pacifism?
Is pacifism a result of being naive, or of being committed to nonviolent principles? Is it an incredibly moral and difficult position to adopt, or is it rather a treasonous and uncaring philosophy? The truth is probably somewhere in between, which may explain why society can't quite decide how to react to pacifism and pacifist critiques of society's violence.Defending War
Although it may seem strange at first, there have been many arguments offered in defense of war. Some are deontological, defending war either as a positive value itself or as an expression of positive values. Others are teleological and defend war as a justified means towards some important and valuable end. Finally, some are virtue-based in that they defend war as something which helps produce good character and positive virtues in people.Defending Peace
For every war, there are those who argue against it - either for reasons unique to that conflict or because they object to every war on principle. What is pacifist philosophy and why is it treated with suspicion by so many? What are some chief arguments against war and how successful are they?
