...Imagine walking outside to go play with your three year old child and notice a drone flying overhead. Are you being targeted? An article from Atlantic Monthly Group, “Is Obama's Drone War Moral?,” by Matt Peterson attempts to persuade its readers that secretly the government is morally and legally justifying its killing's using America's drone program. The author's assertion and conclusion needs to be further analyzed to determine validity, soundness and cogency. As a result, we will evaluate the different logical fallacies, determine strengths and weakness and identify shortcomings in the conclusion. First, the piece has a few inductive reasoning and fallacy errors that try to convince its readers that the conclusion is genuine. For example, Obama's defense team is applying a generalization argument...
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...Is there a moral in war? Countless stories have been told about the honor, glory and courage about war. In present day, veterans are perceived as heroes, the defenders of our freedom. However, in the novel The Things That They Carried, Tim O’Brien says otherwise. The novel portrays the concept of moral ambiguity regarding war. Tim O’Brien’s concept of moral about going to war vary from the people. Most people would agree that going to a war would be courageous, rather than running away from it. However, that idea is totally the opposite for Tim O’Brien who doesn’t believe in the cause of the Vietnam war. “I was a coward. I went to the war.” Moreover, Tim O’Brien instead expressed his disappointment in himself for going to the war, saying “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending.” Sometimes, morality is defined by the eyes of the beholder....
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...dropped on Japan during World War II is still one of the most catastrophic events in history. This bomb obliterated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and it is a major controversy of World War II. It remains a controversy because it questions the moral issue of killing innocent civilians to get the Japanese military to surrender the war. One British philosopher, AC Grayling, argues that the nuclear bombing of Japan was a moral crime because there is never a justifiable reason to attack civilians. The atomic bombing of Japan was unethical because it killed civilians, was a disproportionate attack for just conduct of war, and was a violation of human rights. It is immoral that United States targeted Japanese civilians with the atomic bomb to cripple the morale of the military. United States knew the bombs would kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but they still annihilated the cities to attain Japan’s unconditional surrender in World War II. It was disregard for the moral right and AC Grayling states, Deliberately bombing cities and towns to kill and terrorize civilians, not all of whom are engaged in manufacturing arms or aiding their country’s military, and many of whom were children and elderly folk - and at the same time destroying the culture and necessities of the people contravenes every moral and humanitarian principle debated in connection with the just conduct of war. (245-246) The focus of war should be defeating the enemy’s...
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...Name Tutor Course Date of submission Humanity and Inhumanity In his book, “A Moral History of the Twentieth Century,” Glover argues that people have a tendency to speak of torture and cruelty as the most common types of humanity but they forget that the two attributes are human. Glover condemns the manner at which individuals participate in inflicting dreadful torment to the ‘enemies in the war, claiming that enmity is unnecessary. In an experiment conducted by Phillip Zimbardo, College students were subjected to playing roles of guards and prisoners. Surprisingly, the psychologist had to halt the experiment since the guards treated the prisoners ruthlessly and so cruel. The author claimed that human beings are thrilled when pain is inflicted to their counterparts, a very unattractive behavior. The paper will provide insight into the theory of moral resources as conversed in chapter one and apply it in explaining the moral psychology of the waging war, war as a trap and tribalism and nationalism. Human nature illustrates how cruelty excites the dark side of human nature. The author uses the theory of human resources to indicate how moral resources assist individuals in restraining their cruelty. The acts of cruelty activate the urge to respond since human beings have idiosyncratic psychological responses. According to Glover, “acts of cruelty may arouse our repulsion; we may respond to some mean fraud with contempt; courage or generosity may win our respect or admiration”...
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...Do you believe that gods are morally superior to humans? In the Iliad there is a very complex relationship between the gods and the humans. One would commonly believe that the gods help the humans stay moral, however in the Iliad it is almost the exact opposite. This essay, through textual evidence as well as through arguments from authority, will show how the gods are in fact less moral than the humans. Often those who start or refuse to stop an unjust war are considered to be immoral people, or in the case of the Iliad as immoral gods. According to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on War, “War can be necessary and proportionate only if it serves an end worth all this death and destruction” (Lazar 3.1). Meaning war may be needed if there is a just reason and if the war will prevent even more catastrophe. The gods in the Iliad time and time again act immoral by provoking unjust wars and frequently encouraging wars to continue that are coming to an end, such as when Athena "stirs" the fighting at the wishes of Zeus, Zeus telling Athena to "Urge on the Danaans" (Book 17, 537-543). In the Iliad each god has their own self-serving plan for what they wish to happen and every one of them uses the...
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...stability operations do not necessarily provide fitting frameworks for modern efforts. This article focuses on ethical abstractions as well as the ways national and social views of how "right" and "wrong" translate into political and military application, and it examines examples of stability operations and the ethical challenges and implications such efforts raise.1 Morality in Post-war Operations Even though moral rhetoric often permeates stability operations, international stability and perceived strategic interests have overridden moral obligations as determinants for American military commitments. A study of the ethical implications of conducting stability operations today bridges a historiographic gap in the understanding of morality in warfare. Scholars have often alluded to the prevalence of the just war tradition in (Western) military thought.2 However, the Just War model is insufficient when discussing stability operations because it only describes jus ad bellum (rationale for going to war in the first place) and jus in bello (appropriate conduct during war).3 The moral reasons for going to war are not always the same as the reasons the victor uses to justify occupation of the defeated nation. Jus in bello does continue to have relevance during stability operations, particularly when armed hostilities exist between "insurgents" and the government, unarmed...
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...Principals and conscience in conflict before going to the Vietnam War has led to lifelong shame through the moral confusion in a lot of American soldier’s mind. In Tim O’ Brien’s story “On the Rainy River”, the author himself had a hard time deciding whether to go to the war or not. Feeling more ashamed and embarrassed than ever, he had experienced this moral confusion of going to the Vietnam War as an American soldier. Like any other American soldier, going to the Vietnam War is a heroic yet cowardly act. Tim O’ Brien did not know whether to go take part in the war or not, he felt fear in a numerous things about war: “I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.” (3) From this one can see how Tim is aware of how his parents and...
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...power and land has been the main cause of war. The 30 years war, named after its length of war during 1618 to 1648 is the only war that was solely fought for religious reasons between European powers of that era. The thirty years was is considered a religious war because the growth increase in religious intolerance and religious rivalries which led to be the sole cause of the war but as the war progressed it became less about religion and more about territory and dynastic issues. Previous to the 30 years’ war the Holy Roman Empire was facing a large hold of its catholic followers; the church had begun to decline due to scandals inside of the church. In 1555 peace of Augsburg became recognized as the first treaty indicating that the leader of the Holy Roman Empire could determine the religion of its people it ruled , this was a tactic to reestablish and re enforce the catholic church and weaken the protestant and Lutheran church. This lead to the 30 years’ war, a time where political differences and fight for religious freedom where fought. During the time of the 30 years war, it faced four different stages during its time. This four eras of the war where the...
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...activities, help warriors earn the respect, confidence, and loyal cooperation of fellow warriors. There are two different kinds of courage. Moral courage is having the inner strength to stand up for what is right and to accept blame when something is your fault. The second is physical courage, which means that you can continue to function effectively when there is physical danger present. No matter the specific type of courage, both allow the warrior to remain calm and continue with the mission while recognizing fear, which is precisely what the young infantryman demonstrated in the poem and what Owen, personally demonstrated in combat during World War I. Growing up in the country as I did, I tend to think I was pretty much the same as other young boys that spent their lives in the country. I went hunting, fishing, watched war movies, listened to stories of World War II and Vietnam from my grandfather and father, ran through the woods while playing war with the neighborhood kids, and had those grand visions of rushing into a hail of enemy gunfire to save the day. Much later in my life, I would come to realize that all of my childhood visions of war were quite far from the truth. Those spectacular feats and the glamour portrayed in war movies only happen in Hollywood. They are also a product of someone’s youthful memories of playing war. Although I...
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...utilizing their stories as “moral purifiers” has manifested. These authors use their works of literature to attempt to draw attention to and reform ideals and occurrences that they deem wrong or immoral within their time period. Three stories that efficiently display this concept are “A New England Nun” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, “A Pair of Silk Stockings” by Kate Chopin, and “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce. One prevalent example of an attempt at moral purification by an American literature author is “A New England Nun” written by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman. In this short story, Freeman denounces the societal ideal of the 1900’s that a woman is...
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...Reeder November 4, 2013 Relativism and Morality Moral choices are conducted on a daily basis, by every culture, which can be viewed on an ethical scale of right or wrong, by other cultures. In her writing of “Some Moral Minima”, Lenn E. Goodman views several aspects of morality and relativism, and argues that certain things are just wrong. In presenting my own morals, I agree with this statement; however, pondering the image, that only one accurate ethic exists and that we may be able to find universal moral requirements and arrive at a multiethnic agreement on issues presented by Goodman is a parable. In this paper, I will state my opinion on challenges Goodman presents to relativism. I will also provide my thoughts on if there are such universal moral requirements. In Goodman’s initial area of discussion of “Some Moral Minima; Genocide, Famine, and Germ Warfare (Goodman, L.E., 2010)”, she states “Genocide targets individuals as members of a group, seeking to destroy a race, a culture, a linguistic or ethnic identity (Goodman, L.E., 2010)”. I reflect back to after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were made on The United States. The threat of germ warfare became a very real aspect of war for our nation. Governmental groups, that we were at war against, were considering the decision to use this type of weapon in order to defeat their enemies in larger numbers. With their belief that this was the right way to win the war against us is a case in point of relativism. Majority...
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...introduction of the terms "philosopher" and "philosophy" has been ascribed to the Greek thinker Pythagoras. The Main Branches of Philosophy are divided as to the nature of the questions asked in each area. The integrity of these divisions cannot be rigidly maintained, for one area overlaps into the others. A. Axiology: the study of value; the investigation of its nature, criteria, and metaphysical status. More often than not, the term "value theory" is used instead of "axiology" in contemporary discussions even though the term “theory of value” is used with respect to the value or price of goods and services in economics. Axiology is usually divided into two main parts. Ethics: the study of values in human behavior or the study of moral problems: e.g., (1) the rightness and wrongness of actions, (2) the kinds of things which are good or desirable, and (3) whether actions are blameworthy or praiseworthy. Æsthetics: the study of value in the arts or the inquiry into feelings, judgments, or standards of beauty and related concepts. Philosophy of art is concerned with judgments of sense, taste, and emotion. B. Epistemology: the study of knowledge. In particular, epistemology is the study of the nature, scope, and limits of human knowledge. C. Ontology or Metaphysics: the study of what is...
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...‘Appeasement Was Politically Popular But Thoroughly Misconceived.’ Discuss Appeasement is the policy of making concessions to dictatorial powers to avoid conflict, which is what the British government, in particular, Neville Chamberlain, hoped to do in the 1930s. He and his generation had witnessed after witnessing the horrors that war can bring. There are two parts to this question because it suggests that appeasement was both politically popular and misconceived, both of which can be disputed. However there is not too much conflict over its popularity at the time because most people believed that the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh and that another war was inconceivable after WW1 with a general feeling of ‘peace at any price.’ Whether it was misconceived or not has been argued by traditionalist and revisionist historians ever since. It is plausible to argue that Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement was naïve because, by giving in to Hitler’s demands, Britain would seem weak and make Hitler just want to push for more. Indeed this is exactly what happened at the Munich conference. Chamberlain was acting on the assumption that Hitler would honour his commitments and act in good faith. In this way Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, Foreign Secretary, showed that they came from a very different political and social background to Hitler and so were poorly equipped to make clear judgements on Hitler’s likely behaviour. Halifax wanted to believe that Hitler was a thoroughly changed...
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...and How to the War Story Told I decided to choose the “A Soldiers Home” by Ernest Hemingway and “How to tell a War story” by Tim Obrien. I will explain each story and how the story are very similar in theme. “How to Tell a True War Story” examines the complex relationship between the war experience and storytelling. It is told half from O’Brien’s role as a soldier, as a reprise of several old Vietnam stories, and half from his role as a storyteller, as a discourse on the art of storytelling. In Tim O'Brien's short story, "How to Tell a True War Story", Rat Kiley's friend is killed. He writes to his friend's sister and when no response is given, he becomes frustrated. Due to this frustration he calls her a "dumb cooze." Following this O'Brien argues that this is a true war story because it is not moral, never to believe a war story if it seems moral. Next the story jumps to a forest where men need to be quiet for weeks. After a period of time goes by they are no longer sane. They begin to hear noises that scare them, and when they cannot take the silence and the creepiness of the forest they return to camp. When question about their return, the men do not respond, their story is in their eyes and that is enough for anyone who knows that a true war story "never seems to end," it is continuous even after it is done being told. A true war story is also never moral and does not generalize. The truth is so hard to reach. A person can go looking for the moral of the story, but...
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...orchids, not helping the thousands of war refugees. In Kant’s view, making a promise is a categorical imperative. In other words, this promise denotes an absolute, unconditional requirement that must be obeyed in all circumstances and is justified as an end in itself. With looking at the categorical imperative, the act of not keeping the promise is immoral and the end result is ultimately satisfied regardless of the outcome. Generally speaking, Kant’s views are representative of deontology, which states that what is moral is determined by the adherence of that action to a set of rules and not the consequences of the action itself. Therefore in our example, what is moral is keeping the promise made, not what the money is used for itself. From a utilitarianism standpoint, you can say you keep the promise but not follow through with it by breaking it after the man dies. According to the greatest happiness principle, actions are right in proportion as they tend to produce happiness. The happiness of thousands of war refugees outweighs a single persons happiness. While promising to dedicate all the money and tend to the man’s orchids, a utilitarian might ultimately use the money to help the thousands of war refugees who have been impacted/affected by the war. If breaking a promise will lead to better consequences than keeping it, according to a utilitarian, you are morally obligated to break that promise. Ultimately, what makes an action moral is the result of that action and not...
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