Assessing the morality of war

With terrorism and military interventions becoming more and more familiar, citizens are questioning when it is justified to go to war, or to use military force, to achieve goals.

“Debates about these issues are usually conducted in the realm of politics, but I believe people are increasingly aware that we need to think more generally about moral principles to make reasonable choices,” says Dr. Dennis McKerlie, a member the University of Calgary’s Department of Philosophy.

To further this discussion, the department will host the Just War Symposium on Oct. 27 and 28. The conference will explore what philosophy can contribute to our understanding of the difficult moral issues surrounding war.

The symposium will feature talks by four distinguished speakers.

	Dr. Frances Kamm of the Department of Philosophy of Harvard University and the Kennedy School of Government has done groundbreaking work on moral theory and written about terrorism.
	Dr. Jeff McMahan of Rutgers University has made a series of important contributions to just war theory. His book, The Ethics of Killing: Self-Defense, War and Punishment, will be published by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Thomas Hurka, a former member of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Calgary and now the Jackman Distinguished Professor of Philosophical Studies at the University of Toronto, and David Mellow, a current member of the U of C’s Department of Philosophy, have published articles on the ethics of war.

The conference will end with a round-table discussion with the speakers during which the audience will be able to ask questions and raise their own ideas about the ethics of war.

The symposium will enable its participants to learn about some of the most insightful work done by contemporary moral philosophers and expose them to new ways of thinking about the justice or injustice of a war.

The symposium begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, runs all day Saturday and closes with the group question period at 4:30 p.m. All sessions take place in Social Sciences, room 1253, and are free.

For more information about the Just War Symposium, visit www.phil.ucalgary.ca/docs/Just%20War.pdf