Chapter Eight:
War, Terrorism
and Civil Liberties
Applying Ethics: A Text with Readings (10th ed.)
Julie C. Van Camp, Jeffrey Olen, Vincent Barry
Cengage Learning/Wadsworth
Just War Theory
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Jus ad bellum: proposals to justify the use
of force in a particular type of situation
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Jus in bello: the justice of particular types
of actions within a war, whether or not
that war was justified
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Aquinas: influential theory of just war
Terminology in today’s world
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Preemptive war
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Violence and terrorism
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Jihadism
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Pacifism
Civil Liberties
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Security vs. safety?
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Is the Constitution a mutual suicide pact?
Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution
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First Amendment: free speech, freedom of
association, academic freedom, freedom of religion
Fourth Amendment: protection against “unreasonable
searches and seizures”
Sixth Amendment: right to a “speedy and public trial”
Seventh Amendment: right to a jury trial
Eighth Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be
required, nor excessive fines, nor cruel and unusual
punishments
“The Triumph of Just War Theory
(and the Dangers of Success)
Michael Walzer
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Survey of development of “just war” theory from
Augustine to Aquinas to modern times
“Just war” has been used to justify and
sometimes rationalize wars throughout history,
by invoking its test of morality
Today, “just war” theory is useful to scrutinize
and critique wars in our time
“Violence, Terrorism, and Justice”
R.G. Frey and Christopher W. Morris
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How should we characterize “terrorism”?
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The creation of terror
Random use of violence
Targeting of innocents and noncombatants
How should we evaluate the wrongness of
“terrorism”?
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Consequentialist moral analysis (results)?
Kantian moral analysis (justice, dignity)?
“Make Torture an Option”
Alan M. Dershowitz
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Torture: When is it justified to resort to
unconventional techniques to interrogate
witnesses?
Fifth Amendment protection against selfincrimination does not prohibit any technique, if
evidence is not introduced at a criminal trial
Judges should issue “torture warrants” so
torture is conducted within the law
“Torture and the Ticking Bomb”
David Luban
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The “ticking bomb” scenario does not
justify the use of torture to interrogate
prisoners
The scenario is an intellectual fraud
We must address questions of uncertainty,
morality of consequences, and what the
practice of torture does to our culture