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Applying Augustine's Just War Theory

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The idea of war is abhorred by the overwhelming majority of people, so why is it still a part of reality today? Whether the reason is for economic or territorial gain, regime change, or religious influence, involved parties always attempt to rationalize the actions of war. How can war be justified if it results in the destruction of entire cities and the loss of innocent lives? The justification of war is one of the most provocative debates in the history of mankind. A theory that aims to clear up the circumstances where war is morally tolerated is the “Just War” theory. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, the just war theory is: “The notion that the resort to armed force is justified under certain conditions; also, the notion that the …show more content…
In the first section of De Libero Arbitrio, Augustine brings up questions on killing in self-defense and how one can conclude that the death of an attacker is the appropriate decision. He presents it in dialogue similar to the Platonic writing style, speaking to his contemporary Evodius about different situations of desire. After conversing for a while, the two arrive at the situation of a slave murdering his master to avoid being beaten. Augustine insinuates that the situation is not necessarily driven by a malevolent desire, because a desire to be free from fear is innocent in nature; if the motivation were to come from a sin such as lust or greed, then it would be considered evil. However, the fear of a slave getting beat by his or her master is sinful because of the desire attached to the physical world, where a truly good person would only love his faith. Therefore, the slave must be punished for killing his slave master out of fear of beaten. Conversely, in the situation of one having to kill in self-defense is just compared to the one regarding the slave and his master; killing in self-defense means that the attacker is willing to commit a sinful act, such as murder or rape. Augustine justifies this by explaining to Evodius that a law created by people that allows for killing in self-defense is ethical because it allows for a lesser evil to be committed to avoid a greater evil and, second, stating that a just law can only be derived from God’s eternal law. This idea of a “lesser evil preventing a greater evil” is parallel to the utilitarian theory presented by Jeremy Bentham, who shared similar thoughts with Augustine regarding war. The bishop’s opinion on killing in self-defense plays a large part in his

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