Add32 t1_irxr16q wrote on October 11, 2022 at 8:38 PM

Reply to comment by glass_superman in The Philosophical Underpinning of “War Crimes” Statutes by ADefiniteDescription

The ethics of war are not somthing putin cares about. Those fighting against him can and should still use them.

There is also the question of whether initiating a war is ever ethical/justified. It's not to hard to craft an example where aggressive intervention appears to be the only moral path forward. (And if we can do that, we definitely need ethics for war/intervention/occupation.)

jordantask t1_irxypu4 wrote on October 11, 2022 at 9:29 PM

I would argue that this kind of exercise is not intended for the Putins of the world but rather those who actually do the fighting. If we can convince them to be more disciplined and moral we might limit war crimes and violence against civilians.

There will be wars as long as Putins exist, but soldiers can nullify the worst of their effects by just refusing to participate in war crimes.

ConsciousLiterature t1_is11hob wrote on October 12, 2022 at 3:02 PM

I don't think anybody really cares about the ethics of war no matter how much lip service they give to it. Look at the Israelis for example. They are absolutely convinced that everything they do is just and justified and ethical and necessary. The apartheid has overwhelming support within the country. It never occurs to them that Palestinians might be human beings subject to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Same for the United States which conducts all kinds of atrocities and war crimes all around the world while crowing about how moral and ethical and exceptional they are.

Normally the excuse is something like "well we could have killed and maimed more of them but look at how great we are because we stopped at this point!"

Add32 t1_is1bmi9 wrote on October 12, 2022 at 4:10 PM

I was mostly establishing that exploring the ethics of war has a use, not that it was always used. (that not all conflicts are inherently unethical)

If you want to change a country, get involved in its politics. There is no shortcut.

ConsciousLiterature t1_is1lcxt wrote on October 12, 2022 at 5:13 PM

If you want to change a country become rich and powerful. Nothing else will change a country.