The Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time [Paperback]

Peter Temes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2004

A critical history of Just War thinking, beginning with ancient epics and extending through American responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Mr. Temes's book proposes a radically new vision, one that respects the received tradition but takes account of the moral experience of the world today.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Temes, president of Antioch New England Graduate School and author of Against School Reform, delivers a philosophical argument about the ethics of war; he not only wants to inform readers but to convert them as well. His cause, "a personal preoccupation" as he calls it, is just war philosophy, which both accepts war as an inevitability and provides moral imperatives "not only between right and wrong but often between wrong and wrong." Although he intends the book for academics and nonacademics, he relies heavily (but quite lucidly) on a daunting roster of thinkers (Cicero, St. Augustine, Aquinas, Grotius, Rousseau, Kant, Hegel, von Clausewitz, Orwell, Arendt and others) to create a moral-historical framework for examining the implications of war. Temes argues that war has evolved from the tribal orientation (with a focus on the honor of the individual) to a more modern notion (with a focus on the geopolitical concerns of the state). In this historical progression, moral burdens have slowly shifted from the individual to the state, and as a result, Temes rightly worries that "we risk a loss of the humane." As an antidote to this loss, just war philosophy condones war only when the war itself sanctifies human life, when it strengthens the principles of individual rights and when its objectives concern the future and not the past. Although a timely and intelligent commentary on the recent war in Iraq, the book's chief gift is its empowerment of the reader to make informed moral observations on future wars, which appear sadly inevitable.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

When is war acceptable? How should it be carried out? What, if any, are the moral rules for military force? Answering these and related questions has been the goal of just-war thinking since it was originally articulated by St. Augustine; its influence has transcended theology to inform many of today's conventions of international order. Both an intellectual history of just-war thought and a call for its deployment in considering America's current military engagements, this book functions simultaneously as primer and call to action (if not arms). Temes shows Christian, Jewish, and Islamic ideas of moral war to be fundamentally congrent, and draws on such secular thinkers as Cicero and Carl von Clausewitz to draw just-war thought out of the divinity schools and, he hopes, into the public moral vocabulary. Temes' philosophical synthesis is nuanced and impressive, particularly in viewing war as both deeply dehumanizing (as in modern industrial state warfare) and symbolically important (as in ancient warfare's celebration of individual courage and sacrifice). It's also concise and accessible enough to remind one of its author's Great Books background. Brendan Driscoll
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566636019
• ISBN-13: 978-1566636018
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,649,017 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Admirable survey. Light on direction, November 13, 2003

By 

J. Meyer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time (Hardcover)

No philosopher me, I was interested in exploring the evolution of Just War thinking in a post 9-11 world. Temes's digestion and presentation of the development of Just War thinking--and how Christian, Jewish, Moslem cultures contributed to or appear in reflection of this philosophy--is good. Easy to follow and easy to interlace the attitudes of the Big 3 religions.

What's lacking however is a true update of the philosophy into the 21st century. It is merely a reaffirmation of the right of the individual, a core premise of the modern Just War philosophy.

The timing of publication also lessens Temes's conclusion. It went to press just as the ground war in Iraq was starting in 2003, and although Temes's ultimate thesis considers Iraq an ironic failure of the Just War test, his position is already dated. Revelations of just the past few months concerning WMDs make this so since a pillar of Temes's position is that Iraq assuredly has WMDs.

To be critical of Temes's exploration of a philosophy that should be timeless, simply because of its awkward juxtaposition to current events may seem a little too literal. But it's a fair criticism when you consider that the book is billed as a "Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time," yet it barely touches upon one of the most crucial questions in this time: terrorism. This drawback makes the book incomplete.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Stuff, July 26, 2005

By 

CloseReader (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time (Paperback)

I continue to tire of all the simplistic argumentation from "No War" to "Kill em all and let God sort em out", so I ordered this book. I found it compelling and enlightening on many accounts, as Temes put into fairly simple terms what is a much more complex issue, yet not so simple as to be overly reductive. I agree with several of the other reviewers that Temes doesn't address enough the ideas of "terrorism" and the work that needs to be done (besides war) to defeat terrorism. For example, how can a Christian nation (the U.S.) get Muslim nations to condemn these "fundamentalist" factions? Also, while I agree with Temes' forward-looking moral objectives, he doesn't really justify how or how should we learn from history (backward looking). That could be a complete other chapter. And where does education fit in? How do we educate the future generations to live moral lives and to embrace this morality. Can we be moral or good without God? I know that's another book entirely, but it's a legitimate question I have upon finishing this book. Oh, that is one more thing I was wondering when reading this book. All the conflicts that are mentioned are religiously-based. But what about atheistic wars and genocides--wars against religious peoples by atheistic leaders or toward atheistic objectives. He doesn't deal with this. Nevertheless, it's a good book that got me thinking. Any soldier or politician should read it for its perspective. It's a starting point, and I don't think the book claims to be more than that.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and helpful, December 29, 2004

By 

Andrew Lumpkin "Divinity Student" (Winston-Salem, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Just War: An American Reflection on the Morality of War in Our Time (Paperback)

I have read several books in the last week on Just War theory, and this was the best by far. Temes seeks to employ an evolutionary understanding of the Just War Theory to explain where it came from and where it stands today. Then, Temes offers his ethical insights on Just War criteria, adding his own fingerprint to the philosophy. Finally, Temes uses these criteria and applies them to the current Iraqi War to see if it meets the requirement of a Just War. In this regard, the book is timely in its publication. Although his historical analysis is somewhat lacking and oversimplistic, Temes conclusions are enlightening and useful. Anybody interested in the subject should reference this book!