Recent conflicts, such as the Persian Gulf War of the 1990s and the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001 show that the idea of what constitutes a 'just war' remains a crucial issue in politics and ethics today. With a new foreword by noted theologian and ethicist Stanley Hauerwas, this classic text on war and the ethics of modern statecraft written at the height of the Vietnam era in 1968 speaks to a new generation of readers. In defending just war against Christian pacifism and arguing against those who maintain that the end justifies the means in the conduct of a war, Ramsey joins a line of theological reasoning that traces its antecedents to Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. Ramsey argues that decisions regarding war must be governed by 'political prudence.' Whether a particular war should be fought, and at what level of violence, depends, Ramsey writes, on one's count of the moral costs and benefits. Characterized by a sophisticated yet back-to-basics approach, his analysis begins with the assumption that force is a fact in political life which must either be reckoned with or succumbed to. He then grapples with modern challenges to traditional moral principles of 'just conduct' in war, the 'morality of deterrence,' and a 'just war theory of statecraft.'
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This study of war and the ethics of statecraft was written at the heart of the Vietnam era in 1968 and now speaks to a new generation. Paul Ramsey argues that whether a particular war should be fought, and at what level of violence, depends on one's count of the moral costs and benefits.
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Part 1 Political Ethics Part 2 The Morality of War Part 3 The Morality of Deterrence Part 4 The Second Vatican Council and A Just-War Theory of Statecraft Part 5 Vietnam and Insurgency Warfare
The enduring merit of Paul Ramsey's work is his ability to identify fundamental politcal-moral doctorine, clarify its theological sources and meanings, and apply it analytically and critically to the murkiest and most complicated problems of political-moral practice. The Just War is a masterful collection of theoretical ethical reflections on the actual doing of politics.
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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9780742522329
Publisert
2002-05-14
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Vekt
744 gr
Høyde
227 mm
Bredde
151 mm
Dybde
32 mm
Aldersnivå
U, P, 05, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
592

Forfatter
Foreword by

Biographical note

Paul Ramsey, one of the leading theologians of the 20th century, was professor of religion at Princeton University. Among his many writings are Basic Christian Ethics, Nine Modern Moralists, and War and the Christian Conscience: How Shall Modern War be Conducted Justly.