Morality and the bomb. An ethical and strategic assessment
The advent of nuclear weapons has necessitated a Copernican revolution in thinking about war. Giving the great destructiveness of nuclear weapons, could nuclear war ever be moral. This book offers a survey of how NATO policy has sought to come to grips with this revolution, and of the evolution of the logic of deterrence. The bulk of the book is concerned with an assessment of the ethical issues involved, using as a framework the tradition of the idea of the Just War. A detailed modern version of the theory is elaborated and defended from an ethical viewpoint that gives due weight both to the mental states of the agent and to the consequences of his agency. The principle of noncombatant immunity is also examined for its clear relevance to the debate. This, with the issue of proportion, offers the strongest ethical arguments against nuclear war. Further consideration involves the effectiveness of deterrence and its morality and the question of whether deterrence can be effective even if use is prohibited (the Catholic Bishops' position). The author assesses the moral implications of various possible changes in NATO policy and concludes that deterrence is morally justifiable, but that if complete disarmament is a Utopian goal, that goal should nonetheless not be lost from sight.
- OSTI ID:
- 5637865
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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