tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311085202011-04-21T15:48:19.992-06:00This blog is dedicated to ethical debates regarding Just War Theory and the Profession of Arms as well as other issues of philosophical and ethical interest. Its primary contributors are future Air Force Officers currently attending the Air Force Academy. The views expressed in this blog are solely the opinions of the individual authors and not of the United States Air Force nor the Department of Defense.BJSnoreply@blogger.comBlogger691100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-40953835741626385392007-10-15T10:17:00.000-06:002007-10-15T10:19:53.413-06:00

Check out this storyHere.Another important retired general is speaking out about the war in Iraq and against our government's policy therein. (Specifically the white house and congress).The article does well to mention Gen. Shensheki as some background. I wonder how many more Generals will speak out.Sen. McCain makes an interesting point suggesting that the General in question should have spoken

BJSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-58380053726852433572007-10-11T11:51:00.000-06:002007-10-11T11:55:27.443-06:00

Check out the story Here. It's all over the news sites and blogs.I must admit this really is a novel and fascinating idea. For contextual purposes, it should be noted that we had similiar taxes in Vietnam and WWII (and other conflicts in our nation's history). Fascinating idea. I'm still undecided how I feel about it. One thing, off the cuff, that I do find appealing about it is that it raises

BJSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-57486976834991558552007-10-09T14:41:00.000-06:002007-10-09T14:43:09.929-06:00

Check out this story.It's always fun when the Air Force makes the news, eh?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-77351712478423655592007-10-01T13:05:00.000-06:002007-10-01T13:09:08.009-06:00

A philosopher from Oxford, Daniel Robinson, discusses how to apply various normative ethical theories (namely, Deontology, Virtue Ethics, and Utilitarianism) in relation specifically to Iraq.It's actually really well done. It was on NPR.Here's the link.Check it out.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-41537628939293373942007-09-26T14:01:00.000-06:002007-09-26T14:51:42.623-06:00

I'm sure many of you have been following the story of Iranian President Ahmadinejad's visit to the U.S. He was given the opportunity to speak at Columbia University (although he was slammed pretty hard when he was introduced by Columbia's President) and initially he was planning on visiting the Ground Zero site. This suggestion (that he'd visit the World Trade Center site) caused quite a stir.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-85826813008769048622007-09-26T11:12:00.000-06:002007-09-26T11:44:34.760-06:00

Check out this story here.Turns out this lady, Lindsay Avner, decided to have her breasts removed so that she has no future risk of breast cancer.This one seems to spark passionate positions on both sides. Where do you come down? Ethically, is it right for her to do this? Is it acceptable?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-45284361954632123672007-09-24T10:45:00.000-06:002007-09-24T10:48:06.132-06:00

A good read on the future of international affairs. Notice the use of "post-national West"... The New York TimesSeptember 21, 2007Op-Ed ContributorLost at SeaBy ROBERT D. KAPLANTHE ultimate strategic effect of the Iraq war has been to hasten the arrival of the Asian Century.While the American government has been occupied in Mesopotamia, and our European allies continue to starve their defense

BJSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-37397303279852657112007-09-18T15:25:00.000-06:002007-09-18T15:30:33.908-06:00

I've made this post now three times. Now that we've got a new crop of students, it's fun to throw it out there again. It always produces interesting answers. For my old bloggers, I'm curious if your answers to any of these questions has changed. (And, of course, if they have changed, why do you think that is?)So here it is...In the following scenario imagine you are in some weird situation

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-56852455383808864662007-09-18T10:33:00.000-06:002007-09-18T10:38:26.883-06:00

Check out this political cartoon:Any thoughts? Lots of underlying issues here:If the situation in Iraq really does boil down to a civil war between different internal factions, is it our place to intervene? What's the right call here? Certainly France aided us in our revolutionary war, but should they have? How about our civil war? What's the difference?This also brings up the question, in

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-51446865429243758002007-08-10T07:13:00.000-06:002007-08-10T07:14:06.071-06:00

You've probably heard the news on the trapped miners out in Utah. You can find the latest here.Interestingly, the coverage on this always mentions the safety record of the mine (which has apparently had lots of violations in the past)."Over the past three years, the mine was cited at least 300 times -- with 118 of those citations for violations serious enough to cause death, records show."So...

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-9130119072841559782007-08-09T08:34:00.001-06:002007-08-09T08:35:34.962-06:00

Welcome back, RRfStV regulars! The summer is over (academically, anyway) and the school year has begun again up here at USAFA. We'll resume regular blogging now. Welcome, as well, to the new crop of ethics students who will be interacting on here. Lot's of important stuff to catch up on in the world of ethics.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-62339312737052283242007-05-03T08:00:00.000-06:002007-05-03T08:03:08.236-06:00

Some military troops are posed some tough ethical questions in a poll. Check out the story Here.Do these numbers (if they are accurate) scare anyone? What kind of explanation can we come up with to understand why such a number of marines would (for example) not report a fellow marine for killing a non-combatant??

BJSnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-10234972975069851922007-05-03T07:56:00.000-06:002007-05-03T08:00:24.823-06:00

Check out this story on NPR's Morning EditionHere.It listens in on an Ethics class at West Point. One cadet makes the point that he is tired of "having all this ethics junk rammed down his throat" and he believes that taking classes, PME, etc. can't teach him to be a better person. He believes ethics is entirely subjective and "personal", so why waste my time with these kinds of classes? This

BJSnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-64941329652735018732007-05-02T11:03:00.000-06:002007-05-02T11:05:22.091-06:00

Read this article here.Some fascinating, and rather difficult, ethical questions that must be pondered for long-term space missions.Your thoughts?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-53566011733274242262007-04-27T08:20:00.000-06:002007-04-27T08:25:12.444-06:00

Remember all the hub-bub and much discussed situation with the retired Generals speaking out about the SecDef (Rumsfield)... well now we have an active duty LtCol speaking out about the war in Iraq -- specifically criticizing the Generals in charge and their decisions. Read about it here. Apparently the story was also covered on national news this morning (on NPR and other sources).What do you

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-51697937974972608892007-04-26T15:05:00.000-06:002007-04-26T15:13:10.936-06:00

A very simple question:Is it wrong to decieve someone for their own benefit?Yet a very difficult & complex ethical matter. We've been debating this one on and off all semester in the dept. Many supporting examples and counter examples come to mind for both sides. For example, placebos have proven to often have a measurable positive medical effect on patients (the placebo effect), yet, for it to

BJSnoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-29552399016486558862007-04-24T10:16:00.000-06:002007-04-24T10:21:23.811-06:00

Here's an interesting question... is there such a thing as "overpopulation"?Earth Day is as good a time as any to reflect on some environmental ethics. Clearly there are many ethical implications of how we treat the environment and there's lots of debates to be had here.... but I'm particularly interested in the very concept of overpopulation. What does this mean, precisely? I assume something

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-10636986688434323692007-04-24T10:06:00.000-06:002007-04-24T10:11:22.750-06:00

As most of my students recall, we discussed a paper by one of my students about the "Lemon Law", only in this case as it applies to dating.In brief, the idea is that if within the first few minutes of a date, if one party becomes convinced that there is no hope of a second date, then they have the right to end the date at that point, no questions asked. As we've debated in class, there are all

BJSnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-42650228615889111872007-04-24T10:02:00.000-06:002007-04-24T10:05:51.242-06:00

Phew, way too long with no new posts. My apologies.There's been lots of stuff brewing to discuss and I'll try to mention just a few things.First, check out this article on FoxNews regarding Brittish pilots and the possibility of suicide missions against terrorists.This raises an interesting question, of course.Are suicide "Kamikaze" missions ever morally permissable? It seems we can imagine some

BJSnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-36323634914078217322007-03-20T11:20:00.000-06:002007-03-20T11:21:53.707-06:00

Enjoy this look at "rational debate" here.Sadly enough, this really is about the level I think a good portion of "debate" occurs on in our society today.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-25849656542809964072007-03-12T15:52:00.000-06:002007-03-12T15:56:04.571-06:00

Here's a political cartoon: Do you agree?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-22234930935489301192007-03-08T09:12:00.000-07:002007-03-08T09:19:49.365-07:00

Here's a fascinating article regarding an officer who sued the POTUS on behalf of a prisoner at Gitmo.Check it out here.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-40008001617032850372007-03-07T11:47:00.000-07:002007-03-07T11:52:03.900-07:00

Check out this story here.(once you click on the link, you may need to push another button to launch the CNN video).It regards a decal a soldier (and Iraq war vet) had on the back of his truck reading, "Forgive me Lord for the sins I committed to protect our freedom."This relates to a great class discussion we had in a couple sections.On one view of consequentialism, if doing some (in isolation)

BJSnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-43909372007639010312007-03-07T07:59:00.000-07:002007-03-07T08:14:08.585-07:00

Here's one our department was debating over lunch yesterday.If you do something to someone that doesn't "hurt" them in any clear, direct way -- and they never know that it happened -- have you actually done anything wrong? This gets to the nature of what it means to committ an offense. To help explain, let me give a couple examples we came up with:First imagine a "peeping tom" type scenario

BJSnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-10446770548957362192007-03-06T14:47:00.000-07:002007-03-06T14:52:09.676-07:00

Here's a spin on the classic "liar paradox," that I thought may be new for some of you.Consider the following proposition X:X = [This sentence is false]What is the truth-value (true or false) of X?Is it true? If that's the case... well you can see for yourself the trouble this leads to.Any ideas on how to solve the paradox?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-63771928698474778392007-03-05T08:42:00.000-07:002007-03-05T08:49:25.052-07:00

Here's a classic argument I've been mulling over (yet again, for the roughly billionth time) of late and am curious to hear your thoughts on it.1. Assume there is a God who is omnibenevolent (all-good), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipotent (all-powerful)2. Assume there is evil in the world (we can see it everyday in the papers, as they say)3. Given 1, we should not have 2. 4. Therefore,

BJSnoreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-84090198531214227142007-03-01T09:11:00.000-07:002007-03-05T08:42:04.971-07:00

This fascinating post here combines two very intriguing ethical issues.Please read it.What do you think? Either issue is a good one to comment on, the academic freedom questions raised or the issues specifically raised against Glenn Reynolds.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-21306193933475391312007-02-20T22:47:00.000-07:002007-02-20T23:01:49.164-07:00

See a video about this young man Here.I've heard countless stories like this before... a young child's entire family slaughtered before them and then those children forced to become rebels themselves. In this case he was forced into the government army fighting the rebels... but there seems little difference. This same "tactic" is occurring, and has been occurring for many years now, in the

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-65071827863926464512007-02-13T23:28:00.000-07:002007-02-13T23:31:42.807-07:00

Check out this cartoon:It is of course referencing the recent comments made by Russian President Putin regarding how he believes the US forces it's will on the rest of the world (often through military means). What do you think? Does Putin here have a point? Are we -- as a combination of being the sole remaining super-power and our leaders administering a rather undeniably interventionist

BJSnoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-69468607396087873132007-01-31T14:41:00.000-07:002007-01-31T14:48:22.933-07:00

As usual for any political speech in our day and age, the "facts" were a bit cloudy in the things claimed by the POTUS in his State of the Union speech. The same holds true for one of the counter-claims made by Sen. Webb. See Here. Our friends at FactCheck.org have dug deep into the claims and unearthed some, shall we say, "flexibility" with the facts.What do you make of this? Sure, there's

BJSnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-15050273183068256182007-01-31T14:10:00.000-07:002007-01-31T14:12:11.528-07:00

One of our most important former Generals has had a change of heart on the matter.Read the story Here.Do you agree with his arguments?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-72354290755979840912007-01-28T23:47:00.000-07:002007-01-28T23:51:41.754-07:00

Long post title, short post.Check out this post over on the "Leiter Reports" blog. Several issues here. I'm most interested in the discussion regarding the actual powers of the legislative over the executive regarding war (and that how the legal systems were intentionally set up that way!). Also curious about the on-going debate regarding the very idea of a war on a method (i.e. terror) as

BJSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-32072930532599183442007-01-24T17:15:00.000-07:002007-01-24T17:21:31.316-07:00

Check out this story here.Here.What do you think? For those of you who tend to think that we can't say that morality is objective -- I'm curious if you'll defend the actions described in this story as merely subjectively right or wrong. Would you say that to call the situation described in the story below "wrong" is just describing how we feel about it – but certainly such a claim (that it is

BJSnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1751585140557066472007-01-19T11:39:00.000-07:002007-01-19T11:52:27.583-07:00

Here's a few fun ethics exercises. I did a post on roughly these same questions a few months back. Now that we've got a new crop of students, I thought I'd throw it out there again (notice that I changed a couple of the questions to mix it up a bit).Also, for my old bloggers, I'm curious if your answers to any of these questions has changed. If so, why do you think that is?So here it is...In

BJSnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-77305694160888837392007-01-17T08:20:00.000-07:002007-01-17T08:29:15.816-07:00

Here's a curious story that we've been debating in the department -- so I thought I'd see what the blog world thinks.Read the story, but the brief is this: A female SSgt who is a TI for BMT posed naked for a nationally published magazine (Playboy). The debate takes two sides (at least so far in our dept here):One sides agrees that what she did was stupid (a bad judgment call), but in no way "

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-88204332269022999142007-01-08T21:55:00.000-07:002007-01-08T22:01:22.873-07:00

Captain Strawser's newest students, welcome to the class blog. This blog already has one semester of interesting and fascinating discussions and debates behind it. Feel free to peruse the archives. I'm sure we'll return to some of the posts discussed previously -- for many of these issues are timeless -- and we'll wrestle through many new issues.To my old students and other outside-USAFA

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1166236598874227402006-12-15T19:30:00.000-07:002006-12-15T19:36:38.886-07:00

I'm sure all of you (cadets, anyway) have seen the email floating around where the Maj from a fighter squadron slams a cadet for requesting an incentive ride.Any thoughts on this? Was the Maj. in the right for responding as he did? Was the cadet in the wrong? Were both in the wrong? We both right?What do you think?Here's another way to approach the question: if you were the Maj what would you

BJSnoreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1166041375975801842006-12-13T13:15:00.000-07:002006-12-13T13:22:55.986-07:00

Here's a controversial one... Dennis Prager, a syndicated radio show host, recently had this commentary. Read it here:Here.It has set off quite a firestorm of debate and frustration for lots of folks. What do you think? He does have some arguments here -- so you can try to analyze those and see if they work. But what about is overall claim? What IS his overall claim exactly?He responded to

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1165910074622648902006-12-12T00:35:00.000-07:002006-12-12T00:54:34.636-07:00

Here's a note from William Edmundson, a vocal critic of the war in Iraq, on the Leiter Reports blog. Read it here.He points out something we often do not hear about: the refugee problem that has been placed upon many of Iraq's neighbors due to the conflict.What do you make of this? What is the US's moral responsibility (if any) regarding this refugee problem? If you were a representative of

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1165815403231546932006-12-10T22:32:00.000-07:002006-12-10T22:36:43.236-07:00

Here's a rather tricky, complicated scenario for your consideration. I got this from some random discussion board, here."An undergradute student named Alice is doing her university industrial training program in a company named Wee-Kan, which has a policy of not allowing employees to disclose any company confidential information to outsiders. Wee-Kan is facing financial difficulties. Meanwhile,

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1165815072084509962006-12-10T22:26:00.000-07:002006-12-10T22:31:12.096-07:00

The BBC did a nice little story on Ethical Dillemma'shere.There's a couple fun classic ones that most of you have already heard, of course. But still fun.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1165304193618837472006-12-05T00:16:00.000-07:002006-12-05T00:36:33.630-07:00

Check out this site that makes customs papers for students for a fee.Then, most critically, read the "Terms of Service" aggreement at the bottom of the page. Here's a small sample:"You agree that the paper produced by samedayresearch representsan original work that is intended for further research and can only be used asa model for your own writing efforts. You are encouraged to use our custom

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1164735362560533292006-11-28T10:33:00.000-07:002006-11-28T10:36:02.560-07:00

In a related story...Check out this news post on the OJ Simpson book story here.It reads just like a standard news story until the last two paragraphs. As you may know, the Chinese media and press have heavy government influence (control?). News articles like this, a fairly standard presentation of the facts followed by a moral commentary, are not uncommon. Do you see anything wrong with this?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1164735191883942202006-11-28T10:24:00.000-07:002006-11-28T10:33:11.893-07:00

I'm sure most of you remember the infamous OJ Simpson trial. This most recent news, OJ signing up for a book entitled "If I did it" wherein he describes how he WOULD have killed his wife and friend if he HAD done the murders, is particularly surprising. Clearly this is born out of a desire to make some money -- OJ's lawyers bills have been expensive over the years. But what else does it tell

BJSnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1163023685331957322006-11-08T14:59:00.000-07:002006-11-08T15:08:05.340-07:00

Here's an interesting dillema for you to consider:Imaine it is WWII North Africa campaign. You are a medic at a med station back behind enemy lines. Your medical center is in very short supply of penicillin. Your job is to treat those troops you can help and get them back to the front lines as soon as possible. You often have to do the hard work of triage. On one particular night your

BJSnoreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1162232328053499442006-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:002006-10-30T11:18:48.503-07:00

So this political cartoon is claiming... ?Apparently that several of the accepted tenants of JWT died at the desk of Cheney. Do you see any problems with this claim (logical fallacies, informal fallacies, or factual issues?)?Or is it plausible?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1161982081489488102006-10-27T14:42:00.000-06:002006-10-27T14:48:01.496-06:00

Check out this story here:Here.This is a topic you've probably heard of before and has been hotly debated for some time:Female Genital Mutilation. An ancient practice for many tribes in Africa done for a combination of religious, cultural/ethnic, and social custom reasons.Interestingly, as this news story tells, a man in the US is being brought up on charges for the practice.Here's my question:

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1161711558051620492006-10-24T11:36:00.000-06:002006-10-24T11:39:18.063-06:00

It's funny where ethical discussions crop up. This excerpt below is actually from the Tuesday-morning Quarterback article at ESPN.com. Regardless of who raises this question, for quite some time I've wrestled over the utterly massive salaries and compensation packages given to big business CEO's in this country. This is just the latest in countless similiar stories that boggle the mind. The

BJSnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1161277350767901342006-10-19T10:57:00.000-06:002006-10-19T11:02:30.790-06:00

Here's a tough one for you to consider.First, answer this question to yourself: why is child pornography wrong (assuming that you do think it is wrong)?Now, I'm guessing that the first answer you came up with is something like: "It is wrong because it exploits/damages/victimizes children."OK, now imagine this: is digitally-computer created child pornography wrong? That is, imagine that some

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159908660753374352006-10-03T14:46:00.000-06:002006-10-03T14:51:00.766-06:00

Since I'm posting political cartoons, I'll just add this one.... mainly because it is essentially how I feel about the finger pointing over whose failure has been less bad. Perhaps this is the price we pay for living in a democracy: endless bickering, politicizing, and posturing for the next election cycle. No? Help out my cynacism a bit... please.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159906299175965952006-10-03T14:04:00.000-06:002006-10-03T14:11:39.183-06:00

Lot's of issues here, of course (such as leaking intel reports, political timing, etc., etc.). The one I'd like to focus on, for the time being, is this basic argument:If the recently leaked intelligence reports are correct (and other corraborating evidence: other reports, military experience, experts opinions, etc., etc.) and the war in Iraq IS in fact CAUSING more terrorism than it is

BJSnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159379586065466162006-09-27T11:43:00.000-06:002006-09-27T11:53:06.076-06:00

One of the Philosophy 310 students asks the following question to you cadets. Lauren asks:"After our a close examination of just war theory with the legalist paradigm, jus ad bellum, jus in bello, Westphalia, The Moral Warrior, the focus on why you serve the state, is killing ever justified, etc. etc., it seems that a considerable amount of moral reasoning plays into the military on both a legal

BJSnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159282095149571982006-09-26T08:38:00.000-06:002006-09-26T08:48:15.170-06:00

You work in a decision-making role in a community organization that works with deprived children. The organization faces a serious financial shortfall due to cuts in government funding it previously relied on and may need to cut back on its important work.However, the organization has been approached by a major corporation offering to provide funding in support of its work. As part of the deal,

BJSnoreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159281403909623172006-09-26T08:31:00.000-06:002006-09-26T08:36:43.916-06:00

So check out this article from earlier in September.Here.Basically, the House passed a bill to stop the slaughtering of Horses in the US. What is curious is that no where in the article is the justification for such a ban ever even given. One can only assume that the writers (and passers) of the bill think that there is something wrong with slaughtering horses. But then I have to ask: What is

BJSnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159280286533024382006-09-26T08:09:00.000-06:002006-09-26T08:18:06.546-06:00

Check out this funny clip from the Daily ShowHere.At one point Jon Stewart shows a Bill O'Reily clip and then mocks Bill's reasoning ability. From what I can tell, Jon's right: Bill's comments on the torture situation with Abu Ghraib constitute a logical fallcy... can you see it? I believe there is actually a formal fallacy and an informal fallacy in his argument. See if you can point it out.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1159279029012361022006-09-26T07:51:00.000-06:002006-09-26T07:57:09.023-06:00

More Retired Generals came out against Rumsfeld yesterday.See here.What do you think? Is this any different than when the slew of them came out against the SecDef earlier in the Spring? It seems a bit different in this respect at least: it was at a Senate Committee meeting... but it was a Democratic Policy meeting... so is this just election cycle politics? More of the disgruntled Generals

BJSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1158869102064303442006-09-21T13:58:00.000-06:002006-09-21T14:05:02.076-06:00

So check out this interesting animated political cartoon regarding the current debate going on in DC regarding US ratification of international laws (and the US's own laws) regarding war crimes and torture.HereIf you disagree with the argument, first clarify what point you think the cartoonist is trying to make, then tell us why you disagree.While you are at it, here's another one this same

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1158693662625312502006-09-19T13:19:00.000-06:002006-09-19T13:21:02.636-06:00

We've got a coup on our hands...Thailand's constitution just can't seem to hang around for very long at a stretch.This raises the intriguing question... how come the U.S. constitution persists?

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1158326338782331402006-09-15T07:15:00.000-06:002006-09-15T07:18:58.796-06:00

Here's a question?Why don't we just move our Air Force technology to all remotely-manned planes? If a remotely controled plane is shot down, no pilot dies.... We could (with the proper investment in the research) improve the present technology to the point where the pilot flying the plane remotely could have the full range of visual awareness & control he/she would have in the cockpit (perhaps

BJSnoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1157904320284050052006-09-10T10:03:00.000-06:002006-09-10T10:05:20.290-06:00

Here's a good read. It certainly relates to our discussions lately and issues surrounding US war policy more generally.

BJSnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1157406502768598832006-09-04T15:37:00.000-06:002006-09-05T15:33:25.213-06:00

It's a well known fact that the US has a massive nuclear arsenal -- still very much armed and active today. In light of the recent concerns over Iran's nuclear threat, perhaps we should pause and examine our own nuclear program. Here are some brief notes on its current strength:See here and here.Since the end of the cold war, there have been repeated calls for a major standdown of the large US

BJSnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1156884668732257672006-08-29T14:39:00.001-06:002006-09-10T10:08:37.323-06:00

Here's a good read to check out that I just got today. You may have heard that the U.S. considered bombing the concentration camps in Germany during WWII after we figured out what they really were. This here is a reproduction of the actual memo that was distrubuted within the War Office suggesting that we bomb the concentration camps. It, of course, raises all kinds of ethical questions. Ponder

BJSnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1156774547943135952006-08-28T08:02:00.000-06:002006-08-28T08:35:10.780-06:00

Here's a good read on Airpower and how we often hold it in too high a light. As Air Force officers are we equally swayed by the fantasy of the "easy" airpower war? Do you agree with the article's thesis?This article appeared in The Economist just last week.The EconomistAug 24th 2006Airpower: An Enduring IllusionIsrael hoped air power would avoid the need for a ground war against Hizbullah. Not

BJSnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1156260564896761582006-08-22T08:58:00.000-06:002006-08-22T09:29:25.113-06:00

In the following scenario imagine you are in some weird situation wherein you can only save one of the the two options given in each question. There is no possible way to save both, nor would sacrificing yourself help in any way towards saving them and they will both die. If you do nothing, they will both die (and, I suppose, that is an option). You know that when you save one of them, the

BJSnoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1155914367098242472006-08-18T09:09:00.000-06:002006-08-18T09:19:27.216-06:00

Here's a fun thought experiment for you guys to check out. Later in the semester we'll be getting deep into issues regarding social justice and the ordering of society. This little scenario will get us thinking down that road now and "till the soil" of our minds for these issues to come. Here's the situation:You are the judge and sheriff of a small town. A man has been sentenced to prison for

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1155839806189079192006-08-17T12:27:00.000-06:002006-09-10T10:09:25.946-06:00

Watch this short interview by Sky News of George Galloway.Here.Respond however you'd like. If you agree, make a case to defend his position. If you disagree, give arguments to show why he is wrong or point out flaws in his premises or reasoning. It's tricky: someone like Galloway is effective with his rhetoric and oratory skill, so you have to dig through his words to see the arguments that

BJSnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1155584007007484942006-08-14T13:28:00.000-06:002006-08-14T13:37:37.646-06:00

I’m posting this on behalf of Larry Burtoft (PhD, Ethics, USC). I’m curious to see if any cadets will rise up to respond to his challenge here. Essentially, he’s curious if any of you can even approach the issues of Just-War, pacifism, etc. with intellectual honesty given your various commitments (particularly since you juniors and above are now committed to the military). Is any pacifist

BJSnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1155150025176571412006-08-09T12:04:00.000-06:002006-08-09T15:23:04.640-06:00

So there I was...sitting in one of our philosophy department "brown bag" meetings sometime last year at UCONN -- I believe Dr. Kupperman was presenting a talk on utilitarianism -- and an interesting conversation came up regarding the education of military members on tough ethical issues.Needless to say, I was interested.Basically, a small debate arose over whether or not we should even teach

BJSnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31108520.post-1152856693036227312006-07-13T23:57:00.000-06:002006-08-10T07:53:27.666-06:00

Thanks for checking out this blog.The purpose of this blog is to facilitate discussion and debate over Just-War Theory issues amongst cadets that I teach in my Ethics class here at the United States Air Force Academy. Please feel free to comment and interact.

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