Publication date:
16 April 2009Length of book:
172 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9780742560451
One in the series New Dialogues in Philosophy, Brian Orend has written an engaging dialogue from the perspectives of a critically injured soldier and his spouse on all questions related to the ethics of going to war and the ethics of fighting in war. Readers learn of the major traditions of thinking about war, including realism, pacifism, just war theory, and international law. Orend draws on a variety of references from the Civil War to the current war in Iraq to illustrate the moral dimension and ambiguity of war.
Brian Orend brings to life the ancient ideas of just war, duty, the struggle for power, and pacifism. His sympathetic characters give voice to these ideas, connecting them to the emotions and experiences of modern war. Moral claims compete for political influence and personal allegiance. The reader is left to question whether military conflict is inevitable, fated, or unavoidably random. Rather, we see that conflict is often chosen - with consequences predictably tragic.