rantlust

Posted by tafkap on November 30th 2006 in Books, History, Language, Law, Politics, Raves
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Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument With Historical Illustrations. The title says it all. I haven’t finished reading the book. I have very little free time these days and the book is not exactly an easy read. But I can already tell you that it is a most excellent book. The kind of book that I will come back to in years to come.

The book is a reprinting of an earlier edition with some new updates. The author Michael Walzer among other things is a moral philosopher. He is particularly concerned with practical philosophizing and avoids the metaphysical. For example he presupposes the existence of a moral world about which rational people can reason about using a shared vocabulary. He does in the beginning expound a little bit about this, but moves on to the main topic of the book.

I’m not going to say much more about the book because in all honesty, I think I’ll be doing an injustice to it. Why is the moral world and the arguments we make so maddeningly frustrating at times? Is there such a thing as a good war? Can a good war be fought badly and vice versa? What are the rights of guerrilla fighters? What are the rights of civilians who assist guerrilla fighters? What is wrong with terrorism? Can one morally be neutral with respect to two warring parties, one in the right and one in the wrong?

If you find yourself harassed by these questions, this book offers thoughtful, passionate, well reasoned arguments and positions. Whether you agree with the arguments and positions, it provides one with a vocabulary for further reflection - hopefully a foundation for a sturdy building one day.