The Just War Theory and St. Thomas Aquinas

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the just war theory and its most popular proponent, St. Thomas Aquinas. The paper discusses the moral reasons behind warfare and offers insight into how modern political theory goes further to define what constitutes a just war. The paper also examines the problems behind this theory and uses modern wars in history to analyze the practical applications of this theory.

From the Paper:

"The just war theory attempts to address these issues by explaining the moral reasons behind warfare. The most famous advocate for this theory was St. Thomas Aquinas. In his Summa Theologicae he argues not only that war can be justified, but that the normal rules of morality do not apply. Aquinas believed that everything around us must have a "formal cause"; because God had given man the gift of reason there could be a reasonable and just explanation for war (Gaardner 181). Later theorists and philosophers, Kant in particular, argued that if an action was performed out of good will it determines the moral righteousness of an action (Gaardner 336). Therefore, if a country goes to war with another to address some great wrong then the war is morally just."

Sample of Sources Used:

• www.plato.stanford.edu/entries/war
• www.atheism.about.com/library/FAQs
• www.iep.utm.edu/j/justwar.htm
• Gaardner, Jostein. Sophie's World: A Novel about the History of Philosophy, Berkley, 1994.
• Mingst, Karen A., Essentials of International Relations, W.W. Norton & Company, 2005.

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