War and Morality (Basic Problems in Philosophy Series)

There are, in particular, at least three sets of questions that deserve to be distinguished in discussions on the morality of war. The first relates to the behavior of countries as opposed to persons. The second area concerns the rightness or wrongness of an action when contrasted with the praise or blame resulting from that behavior. The third area involves the differences between particular acts, particular wars, and war as an institution. Other questions altogether, or more refined versions of these questions, will doubtless occur to each reader as he confronts the following selections from recent writings on the morality of war. This collection will, in my judgment, not be a distinctive success if it answers for anyone most of the important questions concerning the morality of war. But the collection will be a success, and a significant one at that, if it convinces people that fundamental questions do in fact exist – questions upon which the peculiar abilities of philosophy can most appropriately and importantly be brought to bear. [From the Editor's Introduction]