Is There Just War Inevitable?

The idea of a fair war can be traced back to when wars themselves began. In records of early civilizations, there were indications that the warriors involved used ethical deliberations to better control the possible devastations of their battles,

Just war encourages peace for all people and indicates that even though it isn’t the best solution, it is still required. Everyone has the duty to stop a potentially fatal or unjust attack against someone else, even if it meant using violence against the attacker. Plus, all states have some important rights that must not be violated by either people or states, so when they’re violated or potentially getting violated, that state is entitled to defend itself through whatever means necessary. Also, the state that did the violating lost their privilege to not have their own rights violated through means of violence. Therefore, just war is ethically permissible.

One important theory within International Relations shows a moral aspect on how to conduct war. This theory is called Just War Theory. Just War Theory is a doctrine of military ethics from a philosophical and Catholic viewpoint. This theory consists of two parts: Jus ad bellum (the right to go to war) and Jus in bello (right conduct within war).

Historically, there has been consistent disagreement between political philosophers regarding the possibility of a justification of war. Theorists from Grotius to Gandhi have from time immemorial argued about whether violence can ever be sanctioned as a viable recourse for preventing evil. History itself, at various times, seems to offer lessons regarding the complexity of the issue—demonstrating both the human capacity, if unchecked, to cause immense destruction and evil and the inherent destruction that accompanies the common means of using war and violence to rid the world of such evils. However, it is clear that neither

Much like the rest of the world, wars in the United States began before it was even considered a country. The revolutionary war was a brave and noble war fought by America’s earliest ancestors in the 1770s in the hopes of creating a better country for their prosperity. However, because it was not declared by an esteemed government, some would argue that it was not actually considered “just”. With the American Civil War, there were so many factors involved that the argument could be made both ways (2). Today, it has been decreed that the Civil War was fought entirely as an opposition to slavery in the South; however, at the time of the war, many more questions could be made as to the official reason. Because those battles were fought so long ago, theorists may only use the little information left behind to determine the justification of warfare.

The just war theory has a long history. Parts of the Bible hint at ethical behavior in war and concepts of just cause, announcing the justice of war by divine intervention.

A just war is defined as a war that is deemed as morally or theologically justifiable. One individual who shares this view is St. Thomas Aquinas, a man of theology studies, and someone with his own conditions on just war. Aquinas believes that there are three conditions that need to be met for a war to be justified. First, someone who has authority must wage war. Second, those who are attacked must be deserving of this war. Lastly, a war is only justified if it benefits the citizens. In my opinion, the U.S involvement in dealing with ISIS meets the criteria of a just war.

Is there such a thing as a just war? Some people will say no. They say that every war is bad. But, I say that a war fought for the right reasons is perfectly fine. War may be a terrible thing, but war is necessary for safety. In a fallen world, everyone is sinful. Since everyone is sinful, you need to protect yourself, and war is the only way. War is the only war to protect good people from sinful people. Sinful people won’t care about the other person, so there will always be war. But, there is a way to fight a good war, a just war. There is a just war because of the definition of a just war, all the good things that come from war, and the fact that the bible tells us about just war.

The just war theory deals with the justification that war is morally admissible. The just war theory attempt to conceive of how the use of armed forces can be more humane to establish lasting peace and justice. In recent wars, the United States has turn to God for guidance and strength in the war on terrorism. The Catholic Church wants to renounce the “just war’ doctrine because it is inconsistent with peace and nonviolence. The United States has not been committed to the existence of mass destruction with grave violations of mass violence during World War II. The law of double-effect undertake the actions of good and evil to meet the requirements of the

As a citizen of the United States, I am part of an institution that has been, and is currently, killing people. Whether or not all or some of these killings are ethically defensible is a difficult question to answer and most people simply never confront the issue. I will evaluate literature on the topic, identify the different justifications for killing in time of war and decide if they legitimize our actions. After describing some compelling arguments, I will defend my own position that pacifism is the only ideal which mankind should embrace.

Since the beginning of war among settled civilizations, the question of whether war is right or wrong has been somewhat ambiguous. Some say war is wrong in totality and should not be an option because there are no moral, justifiable grounds for the damage caused during war. Others say that war can be just. The idea of having a justifiable war is called the “just war theory” or “just war doctrine”. As early as 400BCE, within the Indian book “Mahabharata”, the notion of having a just war has been debated. The discussion of this idea, within the Mahabharata, laid the groundwork for future influential philosophers to expand on this topic. In this essay we will discuss what meets the standard of being considered a just cause for declaring war, how the just war theory contributes to today’s decisions made before and during a war, and examples of just and unjust causes of war. The main focus we will be addressing is the first and second, of the three proponents of what the Just War Doctrine. The first proponent is “Jus ad bellum” (Justice before war), the second, “Jus in bello” (Justice during war), and the third, “Jus post bellum” (Justice after war).

The Just War Theory is a doctrine founded by Saint Augustine which has helped bring much discussion and debate to wars and the morality to fight in them. Wars and fights between people have gone on forever and are not perceived to stop anytime soon so it is important that some people thought about when and why they should ever fight. For many years Christians never part toke in this fighting due to teachings of the Bible and Jesus' teaching on 'turning the other cheek' and 'live by the sword, die by the sword'. Saint Augustine would be one of the first to talk about how a Christian could be a soldier and serve God at the same time. Through this thought we would receive the Just War Theory which gave a set of requirements for someone to partake

As was aforementioned, Hobbes states the Laws of Nature allow a person to do anything to preserve their life and liberty, which results in either war or peace. Not all people want to go to war because of competition, diffidence, or glory. If people do not seek war, then they pursue peace. According to

There are numerous studies that say that the nature and character of war are quite similar to one another and can be even used synonymously. However, according to some writers, there

War has been a major part of the evolution of mankind, every human generation has faced some kind of war but the harsh reality is that although war has its negative qualities, it is also has its advantages: it can resolve political conflicts and lead to peace. But the question I wish to pose is this; is war ever acceptable?