Robin Shinn
Reyes Phil340
Major Exam #1
1.) A. According to Aquinas, the three conditions necessary in order to declare a war “just” were proper authority, a just cause, and morally right intention. The first of these conditions, proper authority, means that the actual declaration of war must be done by the leader of the state. This gives the opposing state the time and opportunity to reevaluate the issue in consideration and decide how it will react. The idea is presented by Aquinas that a war is only considered fair if the head of the opposing state refuses to reevaluate their position and make peace. The second condition necessary for a just war is the actual reason for the conflict must be a proportionally fair reason. Some reasons that Aquinas discusses include retaliating against wrongs, punishment to a nation for their refusal to apologize and right wrongs they caused or to return what has been taken unfairly. According to lecture, we are able to presume that defensive wars are justified as well. The third and last condition compulsory for just war is moral intention, which means that a war can only be considered justly caused if the intention behind it is virtuous. A few examples of equitable reasons would be necessity for peace, punishment for and type of evil inflicted or enhancing good in the world.
B. The doctrine of double effect outlines the guidelines regarding proportionality of crime versus punishment and whether certain acts can be permissible. Aquinas believes that acts that have both a positive and negative effect can be allowable under the conditions that the act is not wrong in and of itself, the negative effects are accidental, the negative effects are proportional to the positive effects, and that there is no other way that one could accomplish the positive effects. This doctrine allows Aquinas to view acts of self defense where the attackers death or injury is unintended by the victim as approved and considered allowable. This negates the idea that self preservation is an acceptable reason for an act to be considered permissible. The entire concept of the “double effect” relies on proportionality of consequences from the good act versus the unintended bad act.
C. The kinds of law that Aquinas describes are natural law, human law and divine law. Natural law can also be considered as a type of moral law that applies to human choices and determined by innate reason. Human law is defined as civil law, which means that we as humans create laws in order to employ the natural law to specific situations that occur in society. Divine law, or biblical law, is that described in the bible intended to guide individuals to their eternal happiness. All of these laws intertwine and relate back to what Aquinas calls eternal law. Eternal law is essentially the laws of the universe governed by God.
2.) A. Vitoria did not believe that the seizure of land and property of native people was justifiable and attempted to prove opposing arguments baseless. Vitoria did not believe that anyone had authority to permit or wage war against the Native Americans and concluded that nations had a responsibility to comply to the “minimum standards of conduct in war” and also had an obligation to hold their soldiers responsible for these minimum standards. These standards should even be held during times where the war is considered a defensive one. Vitoria acknowledged an “international society of independent states” that had reciprocal responsibilities regarding appropriate behavior in war. He brought two state rights that contested Spanish domination of natives to attention stating a state’s right to “territorial integrity” and a nation’s right to “political sovereignty.” The first of these rights countered the justification made by the Spanish for seizing native’s property and territory by explaining that states should not attempt to encourage border changing or imposing themselves upon another nations territory. The latter disbanded the Spanish arguments that warranted their domination over the natives since nations are entitled to political autonomy. (Lecture)
B. Vitoria applied Aquinas’ double effect doctrine to justify killing innocent people only when necessary by applying the doctrinal conditions referencing proportionality of intended versus unintended negative effects and only if there are no other alternatives offered. He believed that these two conditions combined were absolutely necessary to establish an adequate justification for using the double effect doctrine to rationalize killing people whom he deemed as “innocents.” This innocent class consists of those who do not “directly participate in war;” which includes “women, children, farmers, foreign travelers, clerics and religious persons, “and the rest of the peaceful population.”’(Lecture)
C. Vitoria stated that “except in ignorance, it is clear that this cannot happen” when pertaining to the question if war can be just on both sides. He clarifies this even further by concluding that those who are fighting in good faith and under the impression that their cause is just and morally good can be justified in fighting but this does not necessarily mean that the war in and of itself is just on both sides. According to the book, Vitoria is more concerned with the identification of the “guiltless” and the “blameless” in order to decide which penalties are to be enacted on which party. Vitoria describes the distinction between guilt and culpability by exemplifying the instance where an individual can participate in war under the mistaken impression of justness which would make them “guilty of wrongdoing without necessarily deserving punishment.” To further this point to objective justice he observes that war may be just but “unlawful” due to an outside condition such as starting a war under the rouse that it is just and later determining it as unjust. The three canons Vitoria specifies go as follows: “1.) a ruler should live at peace and not seek wars, despite his authority to declare wars. 2.) the objective of a just war that has been declare shouldn’t be to harm but to defend one’s rights and country, in hopes of achieving peace and security. And 3.) when war has been won, the enemy should be punished and treated to the least degree necessary and with limits.” (Vitoria, Lecture).
3.) A. Benevolent severity is the process of healing through pain or being punished out of love. According to lecture, Augustine states that “intentions rather than actions are weighed by God” and a defense of God’s grace is absolutely necessary in order to be considered for salvation. These ideas prove vital in the principle of benevolent severity and act as a “justification for violence.” This principle proved significant for Augustine’s defense of political institutions and in turn the “institutional use of force” in order to “establish peace and order.” This idea of benevolent severity also occurs in Augustine’s explanation of humanity’s suffering being “both a punishment and a remedy for sin” and all events in the world “understood as part of a divine plan.” Therefore, the only way for mankind to attain salvation is through suffering and wars occurring during their lifetime. (Lecture)
B. Augustine follows Plato and Aristotle in the idea of a state being a somewhat family and that people are “social creature by nature.” He also agrees that the organization of a state’s politics much be organized hierarchically (like a family) in order to maintain peace and harmony. He believed that every individual had a specific social role that must be served in order to serve God. He believed that the main purpose behind the organization of populations into states is to guarantee peace amongst them. He compares this to war by explaining that human’s naturally seek peace enough to form states, follow rule of law, and even fight wars to prevent falling into innate selfish human desire for possessions. Augustine modifies Cicero’s definition of just war to echo his personal religious views pertaining to “good and evil in the world.” He defines all wars as just since they are constructed and ordained by God and made fair purely based on His command, hence making them “God’s wars.” According to Augustine’s theory of Just War, “war becomes more than a legal remedy for injustice, but a moral imperative” which is essentially providing the groundwork for legitimizing wars and also permitting the view of righteous wars. (Lecture)
C. According to lecture, Augustine claims that man can attempt to avoid sinning which in turn minimizes sinning. He argues that the objectives of man are what has normative worth rather than their actual actions. Also, even though everything is predetermined by God, man’s actions and sins are still not necessarily bound to happen. Augustine intertwined the idea that although God is omniscient, humans have control of their mind and therefore exercise free will throughout their lives. Augustine is more concerned with individual intentions rather than their physical actions, and he believes that these intentions take precedence when it comes to the evaluation of sin. Augustine interweaves this idea by stating that the “need for social order overrides individual rights” which essentially means that some “evil” acts may be “morally obligatory” depending on the situation. (Lecture)