War & Peace

• Describe Joseph Boyle.

  • Joseph Boyle explains Thomas Aquinas' Just War Theory and how it applies to wars against terrorists.
  • Aquinas, a Christian theologian, wondered whether war could ever be justified since the Bible commandment was to love your brother, neighbor, and even your enemy.
• Describe the Just War Theory.

  • Governments around the world study Aquinas to decide when, how, and whether or not to enter war.
  • Even in war, there were prohibitions against "murderous activity."
  • Aquinas reasoned that a war is ethical and just if it observes three requirements before it starts. This is called: Jus ad Bellum, which means "right to war."
• What are the three requirements of Jus Ad Bellum?


  • A proper authority must declare war.
  • The cause must be to defend.
  • The intention must be peace.
• Describe the First Requirement of Jus Ad Bellum.

  First Requirement: a proper authority must declare war.

  • Private individuals are not proper authorities, but it can be one person or a group such as a Dictator, Parliament, or the President plus Congress.
  • Only the state/sovereign/enforcer can force citizens to use deadly force for the common good to protect against domestic harm, or external threats to the social contract.
• Describe the Second Requirement of Jus Ad Bellum.

  Second Requirement: the cause must be to defend.

  • The reason for war cannot be revenge or punishment. Leaders only have the authority to organize and defend against outsiders, not to punish them.
  • War of aggression do not have just cause. Only defensive wars have just cause, and only if they did not provoke attack.
• Describe the Third Requirement of Jus Ad Bellum.

  Third Requirement: the intention must be peace.

  • War of hatred, revenge, or domination is unjust. War causes great harm and killing is terrible evil. Killing must be a mere side effect, not the intention of war.
  • Every decision in war must be made to make the return to peace as quickly as possible. It is only legitimate aim of war.
• Describe Jus In Bello.

  Jus In Bello means "justice while waging war."

  • To return to peace, there are Jus In Bello requirements to limit the destruction and the duration of war.
• What are the requirements of Jus In Bello?

  • No overkill
  • No targeting of non-combatants.
  • No false use of truce flags.
  • Soldiers must remain uniformed.
  • No poisoning of weapons or water/food supplies.
  • No forced labor of prisoners.
  • Humane treatment of captured soldiers - no torture.
• Describe Jus In Bello (Part 2).

  • Waging a just war requires adhering to the Geneva Convention and honoring all treaties between nations.
  • Failing to meet these requirements prolongs war, creates extreme fear and hatred, and prevents returning to fair and friendly relations between nations.
  • Without these limits, wars are endless.
• How does Terrorism break the rules of Just War Theory?

  • They have no proper authority.
  • They wage a war of aggression.
  • The aim is not a return to peace.

  Terrorism targets non-combatants to cause "politically effective fear" for the purpose of making people act otherwise than they normally would.
• Describe William Hawk.

  • William Hawk says intentional killing of people is never justified, so war is never justified.
  • In peacetime, pacifists are tolerated or praised for nonviolence in wartime, they're seen as naive, unpatriotic, or traitors when registered as conscientious objectors.
• Describe Pacifism.

  • Pacifists oppose just war theory for defending wartime killing under certain conditions.
  • Pacifists remain consistent in their opposition to the intentional killing of people, while just war theory is not consistent about killing.
• What are the two kinds of pacifism?

  Anti-War Pacifists: war is the worst event that can happen and can be prevented.

  Personal Pacifists: there is never a good reason for intentional killing. A commitment to non-killing applies in all situations because life is sacred.
• What do Personal Pacifists say?

  Personal pacifists claim that human life is of absolute value, and it is terrible to destroy it.

  • We can't have all the facts due to mistakes, misperceptions, propaganda.
  • We are all prone to egoistic self-deceptions (e.g. JWT only condemns wars fought by others).
  • There is never a good enough reason for intentionally killing another person.
  • Willing to accept a false dilemma, since there are many options between killing and inaction.
• Important Quotes.

  "The costs of war exceed the social benefit." - J.S. Mill

  "Human beings are beyond value." - Kant

  "We hold these truths to be self-evident...Life, Liberty, and Property." - Declaration of Independence

  "Thou Shall Not Kill." - Ten Commandments