Is there ever a good justification for war?
According to Just War Theory, the reason for war should be to protect innocent life from danger. For example, if genocide is occurring in a country, war is justified as it aids the victims. In essence, the cause of war must be in self-defense or other's defense to be ethical.
‟ according to just war theory, when the war is waged properly according to the theory‟s requirements then the war can be regarded as just and ethical. Chapter 7 of the United Nations (UN) Charter is about action with respect to threats to peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.
The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius (1583–1645) maintained in De Jure Belli ac Pacis (1625; On the Law of War and Peace) that war is justifiable only if a country faces imminent danger and the use of force is both necessary and proportionate to the threat.
The Saint referred to the Bible and regarded some wars as necessary to amend an evil. Saint Thomas Aquinas revised Augustine's version, creating three criteria for a just war: the war needed to be waged by a legitimate authority, have a just cause, and have the right intentions.
The act of war cannot be justified for three main reasons: the horrendous short term and long term effects, wars are fought for misguided ideas of power and of righteousness, and wars are fought because of the darkest or most evil part of human nature.
War is not the only way to bring peace. There are many alternative ways such as negotiating to terms which are reasonable for both the countries and hence resolving the problem. There shall always be a win-win situation. Some terms shall be accepted by one party and some by the others.
Those who are not fighting should not be attacked as this would violate their human rights. The Geneva Convention lays down that civilians are not to be subject to attack. This includes direct attacks on civilians and indiscriminate attacks against areas in which civilians are present.
Christianity and the ethics of war. The main Christian view of war ethics is contained in the doctrine of the Just War. The basic assumption of modern Christians is that war is rarely justified and should be avoided unless the Just War conditions are met.
The just war theory (Latin: bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics that aims to ensure that a war is morally justifiable through a series of criteria, all of which must be met for a war to be considered just.
In order to qualify as a world war, at least one of three criteria must be met: the conflict takes place between multiple nations across the globe, battles are fought in many different locations, and the war must be fought against great powers with significantly advanced technology.
What is a justification for war called?
A casus belli (from Latin casus belli 'occasion for war'; PL casus belli) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war.
Greed comes from selfishness, which are both characteristics not approved of by religions. Considering the numbers of soldiers and casualties in war, greed could never be seen as a justifiable reason for it. Religious holy books and texts describe wars, the Old Testament.
In addition, there are three principles for conduct in war: Discrimination (distinguishing between enemy combatants and non-combatants) Proportionality (the harms must be proportional to the gains) Actions must be militarily necessary.
War is bad
War is a bad thing because it involves deliberately killing or injuring people, and this is a fundamental wrong - an abuse of the victims' human rights.
St Augustine
He believed that the only just reason to go to war was the desire for peace. We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace.
The starting point is the absence of war. Where there is war, there is no peace. But the absence of war in a given place does not always mean that there is peace. Peace is understood here as a process in which the absence of war is the beginning of a path.
War and Peace is broadly accurate in terms of the historical events and figures involved in them. But while true to the facts, Tolstoy put a spin on them to serve various purposes in the novel.
All of these slogans, which appear in George Orwell's 1984, are examples of paradox because they are self-contradictory. War and peace are usually viewed as opposites because war typically involves a lot of death, violence, chaos, discord, and hate.
According to the Geneva Convention, knowingly firing at a medic wearing clear insignia is a war crime. In modern times, most combat medics carry a personal weapon, to be used to protect themselves and the wounded or sick in their care. By convention this is limited to small arms (including rifles).
When territorial conquest and annexation are the aims of warfare, the population of the disputed land is viewed as a threat and the aggressor state may target those civilians to remove them.
Why is war bad for civilians?
Trauma persists well after conflict ends. One in five people living in active or recent war zones has depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia.
In his prophecies of the Last Things, Jesus spoke of the wars of the future. He said that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, that wars and rumours of wars would be heard of, that Judaea would be devastated, Jerusalem besieged and taken by the gentiles, and the Temple defiled and destroyed.
For the thinkers in this its classic form, the just war tradition is grounded in a verse from the thirteenth chapter of the letter to the Roman church: “For [the sovereign ruler] is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain.
Whether you like it or not, the Bible teaches that justified warfare is moral - war that is necessary to protect your country and defend your freedoms! Immoral acts may be committed in war; but the principle of war is moral when war becomes necessary. Fighting and killing the enemy is moral - not immoral!
Traditionally, however, pacifism as a doctrine about war has taken an absolutist form – that is, it has been understood as the view that war could never, in any circ*mstances, be morally justified.
THE UTILITARIAN WAR PRINCIPLE (UWP) Consequentialism entails that it is morally right for a state to wage war if and only if no other course of action would have better results. Call this the Consequentialist War Principle (CWP).
Legitimacy flows from a general sense that the results of the conflict will bring about a change that will be beneficial to the international system as a whole, and that the spoils of war will be shared as equally as its burdens.
War is thus an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will. object we must render the enemy powerless; and that, in theory, is the true aim of warfare.
Wilson cited Germany's violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as its attempts to entice Mexico into an alliance against the United States, as his reasons for declaring war.
: a war engaged in by all or most of the principal nations of the world.
What are the 5 criteria of war?
- The war must be for a just cause.
- The war must be lawfully declared by a lawful authority.
- The intention behind the war must be good.
- All other ways of resolving the problem should have been tried first.
- There must be a reasonable chance of success.
If we start hating our brethren, we will become the cause of tension. And the tension is converted into war one day. So nobody should hate and despise anyone.
As Self-Defense
The most plausible justification of violence is when it is perpetrated in return of other violence. If a person punches you in the face and seems intentions to keep doing so, it may seem justified to try and respond to the physical violence.
Christianity teaches non-violence, as Jesus said “Blessed are the peacemakers” and told others to turn the other cheek in the face of violence. Christians are told to love their enemies and love each other.
Greed is evaluated negatively because it may inflict harm to others and cause negative societal outcomes. In the words of Wang and Murnighan [43]: “individual greed benefits one person at the expense of others”.
The Bible does not condemn the pursuit of legitimate self–interest. Philippians 2:4 makes this very clear when Paul says, Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes no reference to war except to assert that respect for human rights is a means of preventing it.
Many scientists and scholars believe that humans as a species are aggressive, brutal and bloodthirsty and this behavior is part of our DNA. Ferguson argues, however, that there is no real indication or scientific proof that humans have been waging war for the entire history of the species.
Like other kinds of crisis—a serious accident or a diagnosis of cancer—war generates moral knowledge that may throw into question a person's assumptions about the world and their values and priorities.
The pacifist position against war or violence generally is often based upon the deontological argument that all of life (or just all human life) is sacred, and hence it is immoral to ever act in a way which would cause the deaths of others.
What do philosophers say about war?
The philosophy of just war theorizes what aspects of war are justifiable according to morally acceptable principles. Just war theory is based upon four core criteria to be followed by those determined to go to war. The four principles are as follows: just authority; just cause; right intention; last resort.
Morale is important in the military, because it improves unit cohesion. With good morale, a force will be less likely to give up or surrender. Morale is usually assessed at a collective, rather than an individual level. In wartime, civilian morale is also important.
(2308) All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, “as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed.
“There is no such thing as a just war: they do not exist!” In a speech at the Vatican Apostolic Palace on March 18, 2022, Pope Francis declared “war is always – always! – the defeat of humanity, always,” emphasizing there is no such thing as a just war.
A quote from Pope Francis: “… War is madness. Whereas God carries forward the work of creation, and we men and women are called to participate in his work, war destroys.
A war goal is usually a conquest of a desired state. Justifying a war goal costs political power, increases world tension and usually takes between 6-9 months to complete. When a country has a war goal, it can start a war against the target country.
For the thinkers in this its classic form, the just war tradition is grounded in a verse from the thirteenth chapter of the letter to the Roman church: “For [the sovereign ruler] is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain.
After 1945, historians found the term "First World War" appropriate because they saw 1914-1918 as the first of a particular type of international conflict - the world's first industrialised "total" war - which had been followed by a second industrialised world war of this kind - 1939-1945.
According to Aquinas, three requirements must be met. Firstly, the war must be waged upon the command of a rightful sovereign. Secondly, the war needs to be waged for just cause, on account of some wrong the attacked have committed. Thirdly, warriors must have the right intent, namely to promote good and to avoid evil.
If you only want instant justification and not the extra options it comes with, then use (instant_wargoal).
