tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14902380.post3167316466965894093..comments2024-01-30T03:39:16.491-05:00Comments on Thoughts of a Soldier-Ethicist: War Needs a Better TaglinePete Kilnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16027642894453539902noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14902380.post-7407025065139869702015-08-27T09:29:36.307-04:002015-08-27T09:29:36.307-04:00Pete (good name, BTW), you are absolutely right th...Pete (good name, BTW), you are absolutely right that my proposed tagline is a normative aspiration.<br /><br />Ethics, of course, is all about normative judgments--what we "ought" to do, how things "should be," as opposed to the descriptions ("this is how it is") of the social sciences.<br /><br />Most people don't want to be known for doing immoral acts, which is why it's important to help our leaders (military and political) to understand that moral judgments can and should be made on their decision to enter into a war.<br /><br />War isn't just "politics by other means"; it's also state-ordered killing of classes of people, aka, "killing that must be justified."Pete Kilnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027642894453539902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14902380.post-48064335955997256962015-08-25T19:36:14.486-04:002015-08-25T19:36:14.486-04:00Pete,
I like the tagline, but I think it reflects...Pete,<br /><br />I like the tagline, but I think it reflects a normative aspiration of what war ought to be rather than what war actually is. War ought to be a last-resort defense of collective human rights. Or perhaps, a morally justified war is a last-resort defense of collective human rights.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Pete HaasP Haashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205664868493625305noreply@blogger.com