ETHICS PAPER ON JUST WAR

Just War

• What are some circumstances that would make a war just or unjust?

• What are some controversial reasons nations have gone to war, contemplated going to war, or refrained from going to war? Were they justified?

• Are there ways of conducting a war that should be defended as just or opposed as unjust?

• Thinking of some specific technology such as drone weapons, nuclear weapons, or chemical and biological weapons, is its use justified? When would it not be justified?

• Consider various methods of war such as carpet bombing, targeting of civilians or intentionally killing non-combatants, using human shields, the use of blockades, sanctions, and other means of preventing basic good from reaching the enemy civilians. When would one of these be justified or unjustified?

• Are there forms of treatment of suspected enemy combatants, such as torture, imprisonment without trial, warrantless surveillance, etc., that should never be done? Why or why not?

Recommended Resources on Just War Theory

The entry on "War" from The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an excellent place to learn more about various aspects of military ethics, especially the notion of a just war.

You can also browse the website JustWarTheory.com , which contains links to hundreds of articles, resources, websites and other media sources on all things related to war, terrorism, counter-terrorism, pacifism, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and just war theory.

An interesting discussion of the ethics of going to war (jus ad bellum), especially when one's own country is not being directly threatened, is in Richard Miller's "Crossing borders to fight injustice: The ethics of humanitarian intervention." This article is in the book Empowering our Military Conscience, edited by Roger Wertheimer, which can be found in the Ashford University Library Ebook Collection.

A discussion of the justice of acts within war (jus in bello) that responds to Nagel's critique of utilitarianism is in Richard Brandt (1972), "Utilitarianism and the rules of war." This article can be found in the JSTOR database within the Ashford Library. 

Finally, an illuminating account of how just war theory relates to the Islamic practice of jihad, which is obviously of great concern in the world today, can be found in Charles Amjad-Ali's (2009) "Jihad and Just War Theory: Dissonance and Truth". This article can be found in the EBSCO database within the Ashford Library.

List of Acceptable Primary Resources for the Week 3 and Week 5 Assignments

Hinman, L. (n.d.). Gender and Ethical Theory.  Ethics Updates. Retrieved from http://ethics.sandiego.edu/theories/Gender/index.asp

Hinman, L. (n.d.). Gender and Sexism.  Ethics Updates. Retrieved from http://ethics.sandiego.edu/Applied/Gender/index.asp

These are the primary resources that you can cite when explaining a moral theory in order to fulfill the relevant portion of the resources requirement. Readings included in the “Required Readings” list are indicated with a *.

Utilitarianism:

*Mill, J. S. Utilitarianism, in the original version in the textbook, or in the version by Jonathan Bennett retrieved from www.earlymoderntexts.com.

Haines, W. (n.d.). Consequentialism. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.iep.utm.edu/conseque/

Singer, P. (2003). Voluntary euthanasia: A utilitarian perspective. Bioethics, 17(5/6), 526-541. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database.

Deontology:

* Kant, I. (2008). Groundwork for the metaphysic of morals. In J. Bennett (Ed. & Trans.), Early Modern Philosophy. Retrieved from http://www.earlymoderntexts.com/pdfs/kant1785.pdf (Original work published in 1785).

Virtue Ethics:

* Aristotle. (350 B.C.E.). Nicomachean ethics (W. D. Ross, Trans.). Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.html

Annas, J. (2006). Virtue ethics. In D. Copp (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ethical Theory (pp. 515–36). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://www.sesync.org/sites/default/files/resources/case_studies/10-kenyaecotourism-handbook.pdf

Hursthouse, R. (2012). Virtue ethics. In E. Zalta (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/

MacIntyre, A. (1984). After virtue. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. Chapters 14-15 are included in the Chapter 6 readings of the textbook.

Feminist/Care Ethics:

*Held, V. Feminist transformations of moral theory. Included in the Chapter 6 readings of the textbook.

*Gilligan, C. (1982). In a different voice: Psychological theory and women’s development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Retrieved from https://lms.manhattan.edu/pluginfile.php/26517/mod_resource/content/1/Gilligan%20In%20a%20Different%20Voice.pdf

Checklist

This checklist can help you ensure that you have completed all of the assignment instructions.

Provide an introduction that briefly describes the topic and the ethical problem at hand, the theory you have chosen to apply to the problem, the conclusion that is best supported by the theory, and the objection you will raise.

Explain the theory with sufficient detail to allow for a clear application to the problem.

Explain how the ethical theory applies to the question you have chosen to arrive at a position

Show how the conclusion follows from the main tenets of the theory.

Utilize at least one required resource that defends or represents the theory .

Utilize at least one required resource that pertains to the chosen topic.

Focus on identifying and explaining the theory and its application, rather than your own view.

Raise a relevant objection to the argument.

Include a title page and list of references.

Proofread carefully for mechanical and grammatical errors.

Format the assignment in APA style.

Write between 600-900 words.