Prof. Elias Baumgarten – Winter 2008

Office: CB 3088  Email: elias@umd.umich.edu

Ethics of War and Peace

This course is a philosophical exploration of the ethical issues underlying war and peace with particular attention to issue raised by the current “war on terrorism.” We will explore many of these questions:

  1. Can morality be applied to issues of war and international relations?

Hint: If the answer is “no,” then the course ends after the first week. But this is a serious question: we must justify the project of exploring war and peace in moral terms.

  1. What wars, if any, are morally justifiable? In particular, are 1) the war in Iraq and 2) the “war on terrorism”  just wars?
  2. Even in a just war, are there moral restrictions on the methods that may be used? In particular, are all of the methods used in the current wars (Iraq and terrorism) ethically justifiable? Might torture ever be morally justified?
  3. How should we understand America’s role in the world with respect to the current wars? To what extent, if any, is it an expression of a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West?  
  4. How do traditional conceptions of the ethics of war in the West compare to Islamic conceptions of morality in war?
  5. What domestic restrictions on civil liberties are ethically appropriate in a war such as the present “war on terrorism”?
  6. What individuals are morally responsible for war crimes? In particular, which of the following may be held morally accountable and to what degree: political leaders, soldiers, ordinary citizens?
  7. How strong a philosophical case can be made for pacifism?
  8. (On level of state action) To what extent, if any, are nationalism and national sovereignty justified? In particular, how much weight should be given to the obligation not to interfere with a nation's sovereignty when that obligation conflicts with an obligation to protect or promote individual human rights?

10.   (On personal level) To what extent, if any, are national loyalty and patriotism ethically justifiable? Does national loyalty conflict with a universalistic conception of ethics where the welfare of all persons counts equally? If so, which should be given greater weight?

  1. (If time and student interest) What psychological factors underlie our thinking about war, patriotism, national loyalty, and our perception of those we consider “the enemy”?
  2. (If time and student interest) How should nations address the dark sides of their own past; e.g., wartime atrocities of Nazi Germany, South Africa’s history of apartheid, U.S. actions against Native Americans and African Americans, Israeli treatment of Palestinians.

 

The exact course schedule, continuously updated, will be on the course web page. See below.

In additional to the many historical illustrations offered in the readings (especially Walzer), we may draw on contemporary world conflicts, not only the war on terrorism and the war on terrorism but also the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Balkans, as test cases. Discussion of these issues will be also used to elucidate larger problems in ethical theory, such as the debate between utilitarians who are open to the possibility of using evil means in order to achieve good ends and formalists who claim that certain kinds of actions (e.g., terrorism, torture, bombing civilian targets, etc.) are intrinsically immoral.

Course Readings

For purchase at bookstore.

Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars.

   Possible additional purchases, but most readings available online.

Web pages. Links to readings, class announcements, handouts, assignments, bonuses, study guides, ERes articles. Bookmark our web pages:

·     http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elias/Courses/War/08f/sched.htm#now

·    CTools web site: https://ctools.umich.edu/portal/site/cffa8336-9f91-4b13-80f0-795dd903bc37

The above two web pages are integral parts of the course. Everyone has internet access through the Computing Center. To gain full access to the CTools web site, you need your kerberos password. If you don’t remember it, the Computing Center can give it to you. For the first 2 weeks of the course, all materials you need will be available even without this password. Web page will include updated schedule The CTools site is valuable for class discussion. Last time I taught this class the web page discussions were fantastic, including references to interesting articles. I will discuss this further in class.

Course requirements

1.     Regular attendance and active participation in class discussion.  (10% of course grade) Discussion is an essential part of this course. Fewer than 3 absences will raise your course grade by almost 1/3 of a grade-step for each absence fewer than 3; more than 3 absences will lower your course grade by the same amount. More detailed information on the web site or go directly to http://www-personal.umich.edu/~elias/Courses/attendance.htm

2.     Access to the web site to get articles, which will include recent material about this war (some not even written yet!).

3.     Midterm test (20% of course grade)

4.     Final test, last day of class. (25% of course grade)

5.     One argumentative essay (about 4-6 pages). Recommended topics and detailed instructions forthcoming on the web page. (25% of course grade)

6.     Periodic short, 1- or 2-page “reaction papers” to particular topics in the class. (20%)

Reaching the Instructor

Office: CB 3088. Office phone: (313) 593-5179. Call anytime to leave voice mail message.

Email: warpeace@ebaumgarten.net (Email is best way to reach me, especially on non-class days).

When you email, you must include the number “315” in the subject. Otherwise your message may be deleted as spam.

Usual office hours: Monday and Wednesday 2:45-4 and 6-6:30. Also, other times by appointment and changes announced in class. Please feel free to discuss any matters where I might be of help. Come individually or in a group. Office hours are for you, not just to discuss papers and tests but to engage in informal discussions about ideas that interest you.

Is it necessary to say anything about cheating in an Ethics course? I hope not, but it’s also my ethical duty to make clear what my policy is: anyone who cheats or in any way helps anyone else cheat receives a failing grade in the course with a note to the Dean of your School or College explaining the reason for it. This protects you, the honest student, because it is you who gets cheated when other students do not do honest work.