person a non-responsible threat. In this case, the drugged person acts, but not as a morally responsible agent. The upshot of my argument here is not that it is never permissible to use violence in defense against a non-responsible threat who poses a threat of unjust harm. This conclusion is contrary to common sense intuition. The common sense intuition, which I share, is that it is permissible to kill a non-responsible threat if that is necessary to prevent oneself from being killed by him. But I have come to believe that there is no justification for this intuition. (785 words) (abridged, from: Child Soldiers: The Ethical Perspective, by Jeff McMahan, Rutgers University) Vocabulary Aid: orthodox : strenggläubig, konventionell liable: verantwortlich in jus bello: laws concerning the limits to suggestible: beeinflussbar acceptable wartime conduct potency: Wirksamkeit impermissible: unstatthaft, unerlaubt unjust harm: ungerechtfertigtes Leid combatants : Kämpfer proximate causation: unmittelbare noncombatants Nicht-Kämpfer Ursache just war theory: a doctrine of military diverge: abweichen ethics which holds that violent liability: Verantwortung, Schuld conflicht ousht to meet philosophical, nonresponsible: nicht selbst religious or political criteria. verantwortlich legitimate: rechtmäßig threat: Gefährdung irrespective: ungeachtet upshot: Fazit, Ergebnis rationale: Grundüberlegung common sense: gesunder Inevitability: Unvermeidbarkeit Menschenverstand Discuss whether adult combatants should accept greater risks to themselves in order to minimize the harm they inflict on child soldiers.
person a non-responsible threat. In this case, the drugged person acts, but not as a morally responsible agent. The upshot of my argument here is not that it is never permissible to use violence in defense against a non-responsible threat who poses a threat of unjust harm. This conclusion is contrary to common sense intuition. The common sense intuition, which I share, is that it is permissible to kill a non-responsible threat if that is necessary to prevent oneself from being killed by him. But I have come to believe that there is no justification for this intuition. (785 words) (abridged, from: Child Soldiers: The Ethical Perspective, by Jeff McMahan, Rutgers University) Vocabulary Aid: orthodox : strenggläubig, konventionell in jus bello: laws concerning the limits to acceptable wartime conduct impermissible: unstatthaft, unerlaubt combatants : Kämpfer noncombatants Nicht-Kämpfer just war theory: a doctrine of military ethics which holds that violent conflicht ousht to meet philosophical, religious or political criteria. legitimate: rechtmäßig irrespective: ungeachtet rationale: Grundüberlegung Inevitability: Unvermeidbarkeit liable: verantwortlich suggestible: beeinflussbar potency: Wirksamkeit unjust harm: ungerechtfertigtes Leid proximate causation: unmittelbare Ursache diverge: abweichen liability: Verantwortung, Schuld nonresponsible: nicht selbst verantwortlich threat: Gefährdung upshot: Fazit, Ergebnis common sense: gesunder Menschenverstand Discuss whether adult combatants should accept greater risks to themselves in order to minimize the harm they inflict on child soldiers.