...I would love to hear from you about how you make sense of the experience, i.e., how you justify it morally.
I asked this same question in 1997 just as I began my study into the moral justification of killing enemy combatants in war, and the responses were fascinating. Now I hope to learn more, and perhaps to develop a taxonomy of justifications that could become part of Soldiers' professional education. I know how I would justify killing (although I have not killed anyone), but I also realize that there may be other approaches that work for other folks.
I would love to hear from you, if you have killed in war. Your information would remain confidential unless you prefer otherwise.
Pete Kilner
LTC, Infantry
pgkilner@gmail.com
I am a retired Army officer who believes in the moral standing of the profession of arms, yet recognizes its shortcomings. I served in the Army from 1984-2017, mostly in the infantry and on the faculty at West Point. As a researcher of combat leadership and ethics, I interviewed hundreds of Army leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003-2011. Welcome to this online space for thinking about war, morality, and the profession of arms. Follow me @combat_ethics
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This is my latest version of laying out the argument. Feedback is welcomed! A moral justification for killing in war By Pete Kilner, 2009 In...
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Some of my fellow Soldiers have questioned whether I should be addressing this issue--the need to talk about the moral justification of ki...
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War is a breeding ground for moral injury. Even in a justified [1] war that is fought justly, combat soldiers are likely to intentional...
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Among my statements that were included in the film "Soldiers of Conscience," my thought experiment about the Good Samaritan has ev...
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by Pete Kilner (@combat_ethics) Killing the enemies of our country in war is something that has to be done, but it’s not something tha...
1 comment:
Hi, I linked this over at Our Troops Newsladder: http://iraq.newsladder.net/
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