On the Ethics of War and Terrorism by Uwe Steinhoff (English) Hardcover Book

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When can resorting to war be justified, and when not? Who is a legitimate target of attack, who is not - and why? Answering these questions, Uwe Steinhoff gives a succinct, precise and highly critical account of the present status of just war theory and of the most important and controversial current debates surrounding it.

FORMATHardcover LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description

In this book Uwe Steinhoff describes and explains the basic tenets of just war theory and gives a precise, succinct and highly critical account of its present status and of the most important and controversial current debates surrounding it. Rejecting certain in effect medieval assumptions of traditional just war theory and advancing a liberal outlook, Steinhoff argues that every single individual is a legitimate authority and has under certain circumstances theright to declare war on others or the state. He also argues that the just cause cannot be established independently of the other criteria of jus ad bellum (the justification of entering a war), except forright intention, which he interprets more leniently than the tradition does. Turning to jus in bello (which governs the conduct of a war) he criticises the Doctrine of Double Effect and concludes that insofar as wars kill innocents, and be it as "collateral damage", they cannot be just but at best justified as the lesser evil. Steinhoff gives particular attention to the question why soldiers, allegedly, are legitimate targets and civilians not. Discussing four approaches to the explanation ofthe difference he argues that the four principles underlying them all need to be taken into account and outlines how their weighing can proceed if applied to concrete cases. The resulting approach doesnot square the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate targets with the distinction between soldiers and civilians, which has extremely important consequences for the conduct of war. Finally, Steinhoff analyses the concept of terrorism and argues that some forms of "terrorism" are actually no terrorism at all and that even terrorism proper can under certain circumstances be justified. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the ChangingCharacter of War.

Author Biography

Uwe Steinhoff, studied philosophy, psychology and politics in Frankfurt a.M., Berlin and Würzburg. He is the author of Kritik der kommunikativen Rationalität: Eine Darstellung und Kritik der kommunikationstheoretischen Philosophie von Jürgen Habermas und Karl-Otto Apel and of Effiziente Ethik: Über Rationalität, Selbsterschaffung, Politik und Postmoderne as well as of articles on ethics, political philosophy, epistemology and postmodernism.He is is a Research Associate in the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War and an Affiliated Researcher at the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics.

Table of Contents

Introduction1: Legitimate Authority2: Just Cause (including subcriteria) and Right Intention3: Innocents, Double Effect and Proportionality4: Non-Combatant Immunity and the Definition of Non-Innocence and Innocence5: The Ethics of TerrorismNotesReferencesIndex

Review

[Steinhoff provides] a sustained and fascinating development of a precise philosophical argument [with] admirable philosophical balance. * -Richard English, University of Aberystwyth (Terrorism and Political Violence 22(1), 120-124) *Intriguing and timely * - Howard Williams, Queens University (Contemporary Political Theory 10, 504-506.) *In his chosen role of philosophe provocateur, [Steinhoff] presents a sustained position buttressed by enthusiastic critiques of conventional views and unblinking pursuit of the logic of the alternatives. Especially for students of philosophy, this book will be a useful provocation, and much of what is said is well taken. * Henry Shue, Merton College, Oxford (Survival, 50(2), 185-192)*Steinhoff has written a remarkably different, painfully dense, and hugely intelligent book. * Michael Neu, University of Sheffield (Cambridge Review of International Affairs 22(3), 541-554)*This powerfully challenging book is sure to provoke controversy and stimulate debate. * Jeff McMahan, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University*

Promotional

This an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to just war theory and its current debates.

Long Description

In this book Uwe Steinhoff describes and explains the basic tenets of just war theory and gives a precise, succinct and highly critical account of its present status and of the most important and controversial current debates surrounding it. Rejecting certain in effect medieval assumptions of traditional just war theory and advancing a liberal outlook, Steinhoff argues that every single individual is a legitimate authority and has under certain circumstances theright to declare war on others or the state. He also argues that the just cause cannot be established independently of the other criteria of jus ad bellum (the justification of entering a war), except for right intention, which he interprets more leniently than the tradition does. Turning to jus inbello (which governs the conduct of a war) he criticises the Doctrine of Double Effect and concludes that insofar as wars kill innocents, and be it as "collateral damage", they cannot be just but at best justified as the lesser evil. Steinhoff gives particular attention to the question why soldiers, allegedly, are legitimate targets and civilians not. Discussing four approaches to the explanation of the difference he argues that the four principles underlying them all need to be taken intoaccount and outlines how their weighing can proceed if applied to concrete cases. The resulting approach does not square the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate targets with the distinction between soldiers and civilians, which has extremely important consequences for the conduct of war.Finally, Steinhoff analyses the concept of terrorism and argues that some forms of "terrorism" are actually no terrorism at all and that even terrorism proper can under certain circumstances be justified. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.

Review Quote

"This penetrating philosophical analysis...offers a rigorous critique of central ideas and concepts of the just-war tradition... [Steinhoff] challenges the moral validity of commonly accepted ideas about the ethics of war, such as the distinction between consequences that are intended and those that are foreseen but unintended (double effect)... Highly recommended."--CHOICE "In his chosen role of philosophe provocateur, [Steinhoff] presents a sustained position buttressed by enthusiastic critiques of conventional views and unblinking pursuit of the logic of the alternatives. Especially for students of philosophy, this book will be a useful provocation, and much of what is said is well taken."--Survival "Steinhoff has written a remarkably different, painfully dense, and hugely intelligent book."--Cambridge Review of International Affairs "This powerfully challenging book is sure to provoke controversy and stimulate debate."--Jeff McMahan, Department of Philosophy, Rutgers University

Feature

This an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to just war theory and its current debates

Details ISBN0199217378 Author Uwe Steinhoff Short Title ON THE ETHICS OF WAR & TERRORI Language English ISBN-10 0199217378 ISBN-13 9780199217373 Media Book Format Hardcover DEWEY 172.42 Year 2007 Imprint Oxford University Press Place of Publication Oxford Country of Publication United Kingdom Illustrations black & white illustrations Affiliation Research Associate in Philosophy, The Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War, University of Oxford DOI 10.1604/9780199217373 UK Release Date 2007-05-24 AU Release Date 2007-05-24 NZ Release Date 2007-05-24 Pages 172 Publisher Oxford University Press Publication Date 2007-05-24 Audience Undergraduate We've got this

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