Awakening Warrior: Revolution in the Ethics of Warfare (Suny Series, Ethics and the Military Profession) [Paperback]

Timothy L. Challans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0791471268 | ISBN-13: 978-0791471265

Explores moral progress in the American military.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Awakening Warrior argues for a revolution in the ethics of warfare for the American War Machine--those political and military institutions that engage the world with physical force. Timothy L. Challans focuses on the systemic, institutional level of morality rather than bemoaning the moral shortcomings of individuals. He asks: What are the limits of individual moral agency? What kind of responsibility do individuals have when considering institutional moral error? How is it that neutral or benign moral actions performed by individuals can have such catastrophic morally negative effects from a systemic perspective? Drawing upon and extending the ethical theories of Kant, Dewey, and Rawls, Challans makes the case for an original set of moral principles to guide ethical action on the battlefield.

"Challans has written a trenchant, robust, and deeply informed critique of current military morality. He attacks the heavily religious slant given to the moral instruction of warriors, the dogmatic reliance on the idea that the sole end of war is victory, and the refusal to teach even officers to think for themselves about the moral issues raised by their profession. Drawing on years of active duty and of teaching ethics at West Point and other military schools, Challans presents positive recommendations for reforming codes of military ethics and methods of teaching them to young soldiers. The book will no doubt infuriate many of the military leaders who are its chief target. It has policy implications going beyond their concerns, however, and it deserves the thoughtful attention of all citizens who are disturbed by the moral lapses of the American military in the past few decades." -- J. B. Schneewind, author of The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy
"Many in the military community will find Challans's criticism of the U.S. warrior ethos troubling. Good. As the most powerful nation in the world, we are obligated to undertake an open-minded examination and discussion of the ethical foundations and moral boundaries of the profession of arms, even if the process causes angst. Challans speaks to us from a unique background as a scholar, a warrior, and a philosopher, and his views should not be ignored. I strongly recommend that all members of the military profession read this text carefully and reflect on the important arguments found throughout. -- LTC Paul Christopher, USA (Ret.), author of The Ethics of War and Peace: An Introduction to Legal and Moral Issues, Third Edition
"This is a groundbreaking and potentially controversial book in the context of professional military ethics. It fundamentally challenges the normal ways of teaching ethics in the military." -- Martin L. Cook, author of The Moral Warrior: Ethics and Service in the U.S. Military --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Timothy L. Challans is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS). --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: State University of New York Press (May 10, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791471268
• ISBN-13: 978-0791471265
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #611,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read: Challans offers an opportunity to save the US, March 13, 2008

By 

Elliott Gruner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Awakening Warrior: Revolution in the Ethics of Warfare (Suny Series, Ethics and the Military Profession) (Hardcover)

Awakening Warrior is a must read for anyone interested in our military and national security. Challans explains how and where the US went wrong in thinking about combat, just war, military ethics, and military training. His unusual background includes experience as both an infantry officer and classically trained philosopher, so he is one of the few people capable of this level of analysis.

His book is a kind of manifesto that provides the philosophical grounding for revolutionizing how we recruit, educate, promote, organize, lead, administer, and operate our national security establishment.

I wonder why the Army has relegated Tim Challans to his current job in Kansas when it could have him at the right hand of decision makers in Washington. Then again, of late we've seen too many talented, intellectually gifted officers pushed to the far corners of the Homeland or out of the military altogether because they didn't seem loyal enough, religious enough, conservative enough, or obedient enough to endure the erosion of a military that they probably love.

A century from now, if we are unfortunate enough to still need armies, the military may be ready to hear what this book has to say.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reply to Objections, October 26, 2010

By 

Tim Challans - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Awakening Warrior: Revolution in the Ethics of Warfare (Suny Series, Ethics and the Military Profession) (Paperback)

Every author should be able to reply to the objections toward his work, as Descartes replied to Hobbes' objection to his Meditations. I'm astonished by the innocence of the chaplain who objected to my logical assault on faith. Innocence is a nice way of implying ignorance. He called me ignorant...wow! And the guy who lambasted my book because he didn't understand it...amazing...his right, I suppose. The book did win third place in the Choice awards for Best Academic Title in 2007, so I hope the negative reviews don't dissuade people from reading it. I'm critical in my book of the higher order-thinking faculties of the higher ranking people in the military, but I did have a colonel tell me that he was surprised that they actually gave awards for book titles.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars OK, but missed it, May 19, 2010

By 

L. Dabeck "Lance" (Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Awakening Warrior: Revolution in the Ethics of Warfare (Suny Series, Ethics and the Military Profession) (Paperback)

Challans offers a thoughtful perspective regarding the state of military ethics and how we train warriors to be moral. He traces various levels of moral reasoning, or lack thereof, through to those who are fully engaged in the moral self-awareness of warfare. He calls not for change or modification, but for "revolution" in how and what we teach to create an ethical military.
Challans in the end lays all at the bar of reason and philosophical instruction in Kantian ethics as the way forward. He begins with examining how we got here through leaders being militarily and culturally unreflective. Challans charges that the U.S. military, under the influence of the previous administration, lost sight of its most basic commitments and betraying constitutional values. We are where we are in the world because of unquestioned fealty to faulty leaders. In "Pseudo-Reflective Life," Challans directly accuses the military of becoming a mere instrument of power abusing politicians and of allowing religion to have an undue sway in moral decision-making, especially with the use of Chaplains teaching ethics. Challans has no tolerance for faith in a government environment. Effects Based Operations gets a good philosophical screening in the "Quasi-Reflective Life." If we imagine the ends, then we can determine the course to get there. However this is fallacious and asserts an imagined outcome which cannot justify the means used to get there.
Challans also has a bias against faith. He seems ignorant of the history of the laws of war, even beyond the Just War Tradition, which he has no countenance for. The laws of war, and even Kant himself, are steeped in the Judeo-Christian ethic and in the Christian faith in particular. Challans is either ignorant of or ignores this link entirely. This presupposition against faith is manifest in his call to remove Chaplains from ethical instruction, "Chaplains should get out of the ethics business in the military" (43). The author assumes the worst that Chaplains have no capacity to engage the instruction of ethics apart from denominationalism. He believes the application of separation of church from state should keep Chaplains from doing more than religious services. Morality to Challans is for public reason, not private faith.
Chaplains are very thoroughly grounded in pluralistic sensitivity at their Officers Basic Course. Many hours of instruction and several graded written assignments are required so as to ensure that particularism or denominationalism does not occur from Chaplains. We are trained to work with any and all faiths, and those of no faith. Challans assumes the worst of Chaplains, as if they are incapable of supporting or training Soldiers in any capacity outside the Chaplain's faith tradition. This is egregiously ignorant of the training Chaplains receive and completely undermines his premise. In fact, the type of three-level training he proposes is the type of education Chaplains who teach ethics have received. Chaplains are best equipped to educate warriors, because they own the context for the development of the laws of war, and unlike any other officers they enter the Army with a graduate degree in a philosophical discipline (religion). Even Chaplains who instruct in ethics have the very type of advanced degree Challans calls for. One can only assume that Challans is ignorant of these facts, because at worst he has ignored them if known in order to support his anti-faith stance.
Challans' greatest fault lies in his dependence upon his oft-repeated "bar of reason." This is troubling at several levels. Firstly, it assumes that anything else other than his stance does not pass the bar of reason. This is fallacious at best, assuming the end then proving it. But his greatest argument for reason is actually that upon which his argument ultimately fails. Reason has been tried and failed, as MacIntyre well shows in "After Virtue." And the Reason of the Enlightenment project has left western civilization morally bankrupt. We cannot fix bankruptcy by spending more of the same.