The ethics of war

-1The ethics of war : does anything go , or are there rules we should follow

For this essay , three of the texts used in the reader will be applied to the notion of ethics in war . These extracts from the texts will be used to guide the key questions that arise from a consideration of ethics in war . By applying observations and logic it is the hope that a good understanding of how ethics and conflict relate in everyday world affairs can be discovered and a conclusion of sorts can be arrived at

To begin the essay we will first look at the contradiction between the two concepts

The concepts of war and ethics would appear to be unrelated in many ways . The idea of war is one in which two sides have an irresolvable conflict and so bloodshed and death is the only way in which resolution can be met . Ethics are a code of certain principles that one must live by so that others are not unfairly treated Therefore , fairness and conflict are at the heart of each term . We can see from this brief overview that there is something of a contradiction between both concepts . This is because for each concept to exist in the same situation seems rather unlikely given their opposing nature Essentially , if ethics are maintained then there should be no war . War is therefore the opposite of an ethical existence between people Ideally speaking , if everyone were to live an ethical life then there...