In this dissertation, I draw on feminist moral philosophy to bolster the pragmatist argument that ethics is ultimately the study of communities and the moral norms implicit in their social practices. In doing so, I offer a response to contemporary critics of the study of religious ethics by suggesting that this approach is a way of doing ethics that avoids the tendencies toward universalism and abstraction to which these critics object. In addition to constructing a new approach for the study of ethics, I apply this approach in a study of just war tradition generally as well as the ongoing war in Afghanistan in particular. The understanding of morality as historically situated leads to an understanding of the just war tradition as a diverse, contested discourse that cannot be captured in a single theory or set of principles. It also leads to a focus on human practice as the proper object of ethical study. A focus on practice has significant implications for just war reasoning. First, justice is understood as a virtue--as something human beings do in relation to other human beings. Second, what happens in war is the result of human decisions for which agents must take responsibility (not the result of necessity). Third, intention is properly understood not as a purely internal state but as a practical expression of commitments that can be inferred from agents' actions. Fourth, doing justice requires taking responsibility to repair harms caused by one's actions, even when those harms were unintended and unforeseen. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Religion in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2013. / March 5, 2013. / feminist ethics, just war, pragmatism, religious ethics / Includes bibliographical references. / John Kelsay, Professor Directing Dissertation; David McNaughton, University Representative; Aline Kalbian, Committee Member; Martin Kavka, Committee Member; Sumner B. Twiss, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253341 |
| Contributors | Kellison, Rosemary B. (authoraut), Kelsay, John (professor directing dissertation), McNaughton, David (university representative), Kalbian, Aline (committee member), Kavka, Martin (committee member), Twiss, Sumner B. (committee member), Department of Religion (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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