Date of Award
Fall 1994
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
First Advisor
Duffey, Michael K.
Second Advisor
Hinze, Christine F.
Third Advisor
Roach, Richard R.
Abstract
Within the twentieth century, war has increasingly become a means by which states attempt to advance their own self-interests. At the same time, it has become more and more bloody. Advancing technology is often taken to be the culprit for this rise in both the frequency and in the destructiveness of modern war. Whether it is the invention of the machine gun in World War I, or the use of Napalm in the Vietnam War, it often seems as though people will continue to create, and justify, ever more horrible means of destroying one another. In terms of the morality of modern warfare, it is sometimes supposed that the very destructiveness of modern weapons would lead one to condemn it outright. That is, the proportionality of modern war renders any such discussion obsolete. While new weapons may, indeed, violate this criterion of just war theory, it is another step indeed to reach the conclusion that just war theory would automatically proscribe all war on the basis of some weapons. While the proportionality of a particular means must be considered, it ought to be seen as one criterion among others...