Daniel asked:

The Ethics of War: Can war be just?

This is the question I am currently trying to tackle. At the moment I have tried to approach it from
three different angles. I have viewed the realist argument, the pacifist's argument and also looked
over much of the contemporary work I have found written on just war theory. I would be grateful for
any ideas on how you would tackle this question!

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On the eve of World War II, the playwright Berthold Brecht made the statement that war is like love; it
always finds a way.

Quincy Wright, in his Study of War,defines war as: a legal condition, which equally permits two or
more hostile groups to carry on a conflict by armed force. The key to this definition is the word 'legal'.
Used in this context, it is implied that war is acceptable and will receive societal approval.

With regard to the general idea of war, most poets and theologians view the concept as a calamity,
while many politicians and statesmen accept it as a necessary evil. If one were in the military, one
would tend to see it as his trade. Over time, war has been seen as a legitimate instrument of national
policy. In most cases, domestic law has had little impact on controlling war. The Roman historian Livy
felt that to those to whom war is necessary it becomes just. Others, like the seventeenth century
philosopher Hugo Grotius, compiled a very impressive list of ancient acts of violence committed
against enemies without regard to their civilian status during acts of war. In Grotius' opinion, these
acts were deemed as just if the war they were supporting was for a just cause.

Konrad Lorenz said that it was the unreasonable and unreasoning human nature that caused nations
to compete. According to Lorenz, despite the similarities in overall ideologies, even minor differences
in political or religious beliefs between countries will result in bloodshed. Lorenz supported the theory
of innate aggressive human nature. Many anthropologists would disagree with these beliefs, and
instead argue that human aggression is separated from war. Karl Deutsch has stated that war is
considered an acceptable and necessary means to an end, or at least a normal acceptable part of
humanity. War has developed into an institution and has served many of man's needs. War has
provided security, excitement, fellowship in a general cause, and developed unity. If war is indeed
seen in this way, then as long as it serves human needs (even if those needs are viewed as counter
productive) it will continue.

John Eberts