War, Terrorism, & Violence
Narrated by Robert Guillaume

Hear a sample from
Punishment

There are three major traditions in thinking about the ethics of war:

• Realism sees war as the suspension of all ethical rules and norms; to a realist, war is non-moral ("war is hell").
• Pacifism sees war as an immoral, gross violation of ethics. Pacifists believe that on should follow evil with kindness.
• Just war theory seeks to identify the right reasons for going to war (jus ad bellum) and right conduct in war (jus in bello). A just war can begin only if it is:
  
  1. Authorized by legitimate authority.
  2. Supported by a just cause (or good reason).
  3. Motivated by a good or right intention.
  4. Proportional to the offense or provocation.
  5. Likely to succeed.
  6. A last resort.
     Actions in the war are just (jus in bello) if they are:
     
  • Proportional (actions must do more good than harm).
    
  • Discriminating (attacking only combatants, as identified by their degree of war participation). Some believe this principle of discrimination may be loosened in a supreme emergency, as when a civilization is at stake (e.g. Britain in WWII).

Nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons complicate the moral analysis in just war theory, but the three basic alternatives - realism, pacifism, and just war - are not altered. These three alternatives also may be applied to terrorism and violence, with only slight modifications of certain details.

On two audiotapes - about three hours in length.
Narrator: Robert Guillaume
Author: Dr. Nicholas Fotion
Editor: Professor John Lachs
Publisher: Knowledge Products, Inc.

This title is part of the Audio Classics Series by Knowledge Products. Knowledge Products publishes a variety of audio presentations on the great ideas and events of history.