Changing Moral Values in Vietnam Literature

Paper Summary:

A discussion of the effects of the Vietnam War on ideals of morality, rationality and logic. Examines how America had to completely rethink its ideals; explaining that the Americans saw a side of themselves that had previously thought extinguished by moral superiority. Several explorations of this phenomenon can be found in the literature that grew out of the Vietnam conflict. The paper provides a discussion of how the Vietnam War influenced and changes ideals of morality.

From the Paper:

"Kant here argues for the existence of a supreme moral law which exists as the sole extension of reason; he contends that the only purpose of reason is to define and create moral ethics, and thus the conclusion that any action is "moral" must be reached solely through reason itself. This idea, that reason dictates morals, has been one of the most influential philosophical ideas in western thought. It influenced strongly the great political theorists, including Locke and Voltaire, and was hailed as the New Ethics for the Enlightenment. Indirectly, it can even be said to have influenced strongly the two great revolutions (French and American), both of which resulted in nations which held that reason was the highest goal of humanity, and that morality could be defined by rational means."

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