The Ethics of War is an indispensable collection of essays addressing issues both timely and age-old about the nature and ethics of war. Features essays by great thinkers from ancient times through to the present day, among them Plato, Augustine, Aquinas, Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, Russell, and Walzer Examines timely questions such as: When is recourse to arms morally justifiable? What moral constraints should apply to military conduct? How can a lasting peace be achieved? Will appeal to a broad range of (...) readers interested in morality and ethics in war time Includes informative introductions and helpful marginal notes by editors. (shrink)

The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) challenges much of our traditional understanding of military ethics. What virtues and what sort of ethics education are needed as we move into an ever more AI-driven military reality? In this article we suggest and discuss key virtues that are needed, including the virtue of prudence and the accompanying virtue of good and proper storytelling. We also reflect on the ideal of “explainable AI,” and philosophize about the role of fear in helping us understand (...) what is actually at stake in a military infused with AI-enabled and AI-driven weapons. (shrink)

What should we call the willful and almost total neglect of military ethics? Maybe the term military immorality catches what we are after, signifying not only the theoretical beach but also the sho...

This article surveys the major historical developments in Western philosophical reflection on war. Section 2 outlines early development in Greek and Roman thought, up to and including Augustine. Section 3 details the systematization of Just War theory in Aquinas and his successors, especially Vitoria, Sua´rez, and Grotius. Section 4 examines the emergence of Perpetual Peace theory after Hobbes, focusing in particular on Rousseau and Kant. Finally, Section 5 outlines the central points of contention following the reemergence of Just War theory (...) in the 1970s. (shrink)

This paper surveys the most important recent debates within the ethics of war. Sections 2 and 3 examine the principles governing the resort to war (jus ad bellum) and the principles governing conduct in war (jus in bello). In Section 4, we turn to the moral guidelines governing the ending and aftermath of war (jus post bellum). Finally, in Section 5 we look at recent debates on whether the jus ad bellum and the jus in bello can be evaluated independently (...) of each other. (shrink)

This article furnishes a philosophical background for the current debate about responsibility and culpability for war crimes by referring to ideas from three important just war thinkers: Augustine, Francisco de Vitoria, and Michael Walzer. It combines lessons from these three thinkers with perspectives on current problems in the ethics of war, distinguishes between legal culpability, moral culpability, and moral responsibility, and stresses that even lower-ranking soldiers must in many cases assume moral responsibility for their acts, even though they are part (...) of a military hierarchy and act under orders. The questions addressed in this article are arguably among the hardest and most muddled in military ethics and deserve close philosophical analysis and scrutiny. (shrink)

To be publishing this journal as the brutality of war is on display every night on our television screens may seem simultaneously futile and deeply meaningful. With the horrors of Gaza, Israel, and...

Plato arguably stands as one of the precursors to what we today know as the Just War Tradition, and he has more to say about ethics and the use of force than what is often acknowledged. In this article I try to show, by analyzing selected passages and perspectives from the Republic, that Plato regards the role of military ethics as crucial in the construction of the ideal city, and he sees limitation of brutality and more generally a philosophical approach (...) to the use of force as crucial elements of the city’s approach to warfare. Military power and, indeed, harsh preparations for it do occupy a central position in Plato’s political thought, but use of armed force is at the same time closely linked to the virtue of justice as well as the other virtues. (shrink)

From their origins in Greek and Latin, the words ethics and morality have always contained an in-built ambivalence. Are they primarily concerned with individual character-building and virtue, or ar...

Volume 18, Issue 1, April 2019, Page 1-1.

The articles within this special issue of our journal are revised editions of important and truly topical papers from the 2019 McCain conference at the United States Naval Academy. The McCain confe...

When the First World War broke out in August 1914, most believed that it would rapidly be over – hopefully even by Christmas. It lasted for more than four years, with untold destruction and sufferi...

Religion, War, and Ethics is a collection of primary sources from the world's major religions on the ethics of war. Each chapter brings together annotated texts - scriptural, theological, ethical, and legal - from a variety of historical periods that reflect each tradition's response to perennial questions about the nature of war: when, if ever, is recourse to arms morally justifiable? What moral constraints should apply to military conduct? Can a lasting earthly peace be achieved? Are there sacred reasons for (...) waging war, and special rewards for those who do the fighting? The religions covered include Sunni and Shiite Islam; Judaism; Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Christianity; Theravada Buddhism; East Asian religious traditions ; Hinduism; and Sikhism. Each section is compiled by a specialist, recognized within his or her respective religious tradition, who has also written a commentary on the historical and textual context of the passages selected. (shrink)

What, exactly, is the relationship between ethics and law in the contemporary discourse on military ethics? Gregory Reichberg (PhD, Emory University, 1990) is Senior Researcher at the International...

The problem of the relationship between warmaking and the health of the city constitutes an important part of the Platonic corpus. In the Platonic dialogue Alcibiades I, considered in antiquity one of Plato's most important works, Socrates leads Alcibiades to agree that there ought to be a close link between justice and decisions about war. In light of this, Alcibiades’ actual advice to the city regarding the Peace of Nicias, as portrayed by Thucydides in History of the Peloponnesian War, is (...) put in stark relief within the dialogue. Plato's dialogue about Alcibiades can thus be seen as offering an alternative and morally critical account of how Alcibiades could have used his talents and rhetorical skills in addressing the city on the issue of war. More broadly, it reminds us of the difference between true statesmanship focused on the common good, and political or military rule engaged in for personal benefit or ambition. (shrink)

Although Plato writes less about war than we might expect--especially considering the fact that his dialogues are historically set during the Peloponnesian War--the right conduct of war constitutes a crucial concern for Plato. In both the Alcibiades and Laches dialogues, rightful conduct of war is linked to the practice of virtue. Neither a good statesman nor a good military man can ignore this link, which joins military pursuits not only to courage, but to the whole of virtue, including justice. In (...) the Republic , the passage from a luxurious city to a well-ordered and virtuous city is described by means of the proper education of the city's military guardians, and a teaching of ius in bello --to use a just-war term--for wars between Greeks is outlined. Finally, in the Laws , peace, not war, is presented as the true aim of good laws, and the importance of legitimate authority in war-making is duly emphasized. (shrink)

The just war tradition is often dated back to St. Augustine (354–430), sometimes with the caveat that it has roots back to Augustine’s teacher St. Ambrose (c. 337/40–397), and even to Roman thought, especially Cicero (106–43 BC). Arguably, the lineage can be traced further back, at least to Plato (c. 427–347 BC), whose thought contains a wealth of materials highlighting the importance of virtues in the preparation for and actual use of armed force. Although he wrote no single dialogue with (...) war as its explicit, main topic, it should still come with some surprise that there has been so little secondary literature on Plato’s treatment of ethical aspects of warfare and indeed of his treatment of warfare as a whole. The lack of scholarly attention to Plato's discussions about war is even more surprising in light of the fact that most of his dialogues are set during or shortly after the Peloponnesian War, which lasted – with interruptions – from 431 to 404. This war was the single most significant feature of the political life of Athens du ing this period. Hence, when we see Socrates and his interlocutors discussing ethical questions, relating these to the life of the city and the right way to live for human beings, we can reasonably assume that the topic of war is rarely far away, even if the link is not always made explicit. (shrink)

Volume 17, Issue 4, December 2018, Page 187-187.

Volume 17, Issue 4, December 2018, Page 243-244.

Journal of Military Ethics, Volume 11, Issue 4, Page 271-272, December 2012.

The book covers a wide range of topics and raises issues rarely touched on in the ethics-of-war literature, such as environmental concerns and the responsibility of bystanders.

Volume 19, Issue 1, April-May 2020, Page 1-1.

This chapter examines the role of investors, and asks whether they may be able to affect positively international public health. It is often said that most investors primarily take a short-term profit perspective. This chapter introduces the role of universal ownership by large fund managers (mutual funds, retirement funds, and sovereign wealth funds) around the world. Ethics and long-term self-interest can here work together as an engine for positive social change.

The Euthyphro problem and the natural law : an investigation of some aspects of the medieval debate on natural law -- Aristotle : natural law and man in the "metaxy" -- St. Thomas Aquinas : the "lex naturalis" -- Thomas Hobbes : The state of nature and natural rights -- John Locke : natural law, natural rights and God -- Concluding remarks and a heavenly dialogue.