Objective Morality, Subjective Agents: Justice and Agent-Based Considerations in Self -Defense and War

Wampler, Eric

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Description

Title

Objective Morality, Subjective Agents: Justice and Agent-Based Considerations in Self -Defense and War

Author(s)

Wampler, Eric

Issue Date

2004

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Wallace, James D.

Department of Study

Philosophy

Discipline

Philosophy

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

Philosophy

Language

eng

Abstract

"Objective considerations of justice can justify self-defense-many already grant this. I argue that subjective considerations are also relevant in justifying self-defense, not merely in excusing wrongful killing. By ""subjective considerations"" I mean agents' epistemic limitations and agents' intentions (considered apart from the causal efficacy of their actions). Subjective considerations help us reach the following significant conclusions: you may sometimes kill when killing is not necessary in the traditional sense; nevertheless, you may not kill an agent who genuinely appears to be attacking you but who is in fact not a threat at all; also, you may sometimes kill an agent to avoid a threat that the agent did not cause provided that the agent did attempt (unsuccessfully) to cause this kind of a threat. These conclusions carry important implications for the ethics of war. For example, combatants act wrongly whenever they kill a certain kind of enemy combatant that is indistinguishable from legitimate targets. Even so, those performing this kind of wrongful killing are possibly excused if defending against aggression."

Graduation Semester

2004

Type of Resource

text

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