
Defensive Killing
Helen Frowe(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 27. September 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
240 pages
978-0-19-882245-5 (ISBN)
Description
Most people believe that it is sometimes morally permissible for a person to use force to defend herself or others against harm. In Defensive Killing, Helen Frowe offers a detailed exploration of when and why the use of such force is permissible. She begins by considering the use of force between individuals, investigating both the circumstances under which an attacker forfeits her right not to be harmed, and the distinct question of when it is all-things-considered permissible to use force against an attacker. Frowe then extends this enquiry to war, defending the view that we should judge the ethics of killing in war by the moral rules that govern killing between individuals. She argues that this requires us to significantly revise our understanding of the moral status of non-combatants in war. Non-combatants who intentionally contribute to an unjust war forfeit their rights not to be harmed, such that they are morally liable to attack by combatants fighting a just war.
Reviews / Votes
Defensive Killing is a scintillating exemplar of contemporary moral philosophy. Though its conclusions are at times bracing, Frowe's subtlety and intellectual honesty are unmatched ... It is a pathbreaking contribution not only to the ethics of war, but to deontological moral theory. * Seth Lazar, Australian National University * a sophisticated and meticulously argued wake-up call ... Frowe's book clearly deserves a privileged place in the pantheon of works on the morality of war ... It is required reading for anyone interested in contemporary theories of defensive violence and the morality of war. * Australasian Journal of Philosophy * Frowe's intricately argued, insightful, and challenging book. I have benefited enormously from thinking as carefully as I am able about the positions she defends and the arguments she gives for them. I am confident that the same will be true of others who read this splendid book. * Jeff McMahan, Ethics *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
371 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-882245-5 (9780198822455)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Helen Frowe is Wallenberg Academy Research Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Stockholm, where she directs the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace. She is the author of The Ethics of War and Peace: An Introduction (Routledge, 2011), and co-editor of How We Fight: Ethics in War (OUP, 2014).
Content
Acknowledgements Introduction 1: Threats and Bystanders 2: Killing Innocent Threats 3: Moral Responsibility and Liability to Defensive Harm 4: Liability and Necessity 5: War and Self-Defence 6: Non-Combatant Liability 7: Non-Combatant Immunity 8: Implications and Objections Bibliography Index