PHIL/POLI/PWAD 272.001 – The Ethics of Peace, War, and Defense

Instructor: Genae Matthews. This course meets MTWRF 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. via remote synchronous (RS) instruction.

War, by its nature, seems to involve the transgression of some of our most fundamental moral convictions. This course investigates the nature of and justification for those transgressions through the philosophical lens of concepts like autonomy, responsibility, agency, and the right to self-defense. Our guiding questions include: Is war ever permissible? What, if anything, distinguishes terrorism from war? Is military intervention justified if it is done in the name of human rights? What are our duties towards refugees? We will also consider what feminist and post-colonial philosophers have to say about the moral status of war and its participants.