The Just War Theory

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the concept of war from the point of view of the just war theory. The paper explains that in order to better understand war, one must look at the concept from all angles including the point of view of peace movements. The paper questions what the Just War theory is and what its principles are; what the theory represents and who believes in it. By answering such questions, the paper estimates that one can better understand the state of the war's current conflicts that are resulting in death and destruction. More specifically, this paper examines the current war in Iraq and discusses the question: is the war in Iraq justified? The paper presents sources that attest to both sides of the issue in the hope of finding that the war is not justified at this moment.

From the Paper:

"The Just War Theory is most the popular view of war among Christians. The just war approach is based "upon the moral theory known as natural law morality" (Hill 2). What natural law morality refers to is that all people know that certain kinds of behavior are immoral, irrespective of their own religious loyalties. This includes all major world religions such as: Islam, Judaism, Hindu, Buddhism and Christianity. This means that all these world religions agree murder, theft and dishonesty are immoral. This concept applied not only in society but also across cultures. A good example of how the natural law morality works within society is the Nazi war criminals were tried and convicted because of their crimes against humanity as a result of the immoral aspects of their conduct. Within the just war theory exist elements which must be obeyed and they are as follows: (1) Declaration by a lawful government, (2) Just cause, (3) Just intent, (4) Last resort and (5) Immunity of non-combatants."

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