Social and Political Philosophy > War and Violence > War > Pacifism

Pacifism

Edited by Amanda Cawston (Tilburg University)
About this topic
Summary

The term ‘pacifism’ is used to describe a range of positions and historical movements, broadly characterised by a general rejection of violence. Positions range from an absolute and principled rejection of violence (such that violence can never be justified), to contingent pacifisms that accept that violence may in principle be justified, but the necessary conditions for its justification cannot be met given existing practices. Furthermore, pacifism can be understood as a personal ethic (including conscientious objection), a critique of predominant political institutions (anti-warism), or as an alternative political theory (with connections to anarchism and feminism). While there is some recent work that attempts to characterise pacifism in terms of the Just War tradition (JWT), pacifism is generally considered an alternative tradition, broadly critical of JWT’s central premises.
Introductions

The Stanford Encyclopedia entry Fiala 2008 is a good introduction to the topic, as is Peter Brock’s historical survey [Brock 1998 Varieties of Pacifism].
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244 found
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1 — 50 / 244
  1. Moral Autonomy in Australian Legislation and Military Doctrine.Richard Adams - 2013 - Ethics and Global Politics 6 (3):135-154.
    "Australian legislation and military doctrine stipulate that soldiers ‘subjugate their will’ to" "government, and fight in any war the government declares. Neither legislation nor doctrine enables the conscience of soldiers. Together, provisions of legislation and doctrine seem to take soldiers for granted. And, rather than strengthening the military instrument, the convention of legislation and doctrine seems to weaken the democratic foundations upon which the military may be shaped as a force for justice. Denied liberty of their conscience, soldiers are denied (...)
  2. Pacifism in the English Renaissance, 1497-1530.Robert Pardee Adams - 1937 - Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  3. Liability, War, and Peace.Andrew Alexandra - 2015 - Philosophical Forum 46 (1):41-53.
  4. Political Pacifism.Andrew Alexandra - 2003 - Social Theory and Practice 29 (4):589-606.
  5. Peace in the World.Syed Ameer Ali (ed.) - 2012 - LAP Lambert Academic Publishing.
    Serious minded writers have always found themselves questioning what is usually taken for granted, and have generally found the task exciting, though vastly under-appreciated. Bertrand Russell found it hard to focus on mathematics and logic by remaining indifferent to social and political discontent around him. His works of prose stand out as a monumental contribution to political discourse and human development. Unlike most of the western philosophers, he questions the basis of western political thought. He discourages aggression, hostility, political and (...)
  6. Mahatma Gandhi on Violence and Peace Education.Douglas Allen - 2007 - Philosophy East and West 57 (3):290-310.
    Gandhi can serve as a valuable catalyst allowing us to rethink our philosophical positions on violence, nonviolence, and education. Especially insightful are Gandhi's formulations of the multidimensionality of violence, including educational violence, and the violence of the status quo. His peace education offers many possibilities for dealing with short-term violence, but its greatest strength is its long-term preventative education and socialization. Key to Gandhi's peace education are his ethical and ontological formulations of means-ends relations; the need to uncover root causes (...)
  7. Mahatma Gandhi on Violence and Peace Education.Douglas Allen - 2007 - Philosophy East and West 57 (3):290-310.
    : Gandhi can serve as a valuable catalyst allowing us to rethink our philosophical positions on violence, nonviolence, and education. Especially insightful are Gandhi's formulations of the multidimensionality of violence, including educational violence, and the violence of the status quo. His peace education offers many possibilities for dealing with short-term violence, but its greatest strength is its long-term preventative education and socialization. Key to Gandhi's peace education are his ethical and ontological formulations of means-ends relations; the need to uncover root (...)
  8. Pacifism and Conscientious Objection. By G. C. Field. (Cambridge University Press. 1945. Pp. Viii + 123. Price 3s. 6d. Net.). [REVIEW] Anon - 1946 - Philosophy 21 (79):172-.
  9. Pacifism and Conscientious Objection. [REVIEW] Anonymous - 1946 - Philosophy 21 (79):172-173.
  10. Nonviolence in Political Theory.Iain Atack - 2012 - Edinburgh University Press.
    Iain Atack identifies the contribution of nonviolence to political theory through connecting central characteristics of nonviolent action to fundamental debates about the role of power and violence in politics. This in turn provides a platform for going beyond historical and strategic accounts of nonviolence to a deeper understanding of its transformative potential. From Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King to toppled communist regimes in Eastern Europe and pro-democracy movements in Serbia, Georgia and Ukraine, nonviolent action has played a significant role (...)
  11. Pacifism and the Just War: A Study in Applied Philosophy.Robin Attfield - 1988 - Philosophical Books 29 (2):103-105.
  12. Pacifism and Moral Integrity.Jovan Babić - 2013 - Philosophia 41 (4):1007-1016.
    The paper has three parts. The first is a discussion of the values as goals and means. This is a known Moorean distinction between intrinsic and instrumental values, with one other Moorean item - the doctrine of value wholes. According to this doctrine the value wholes are not simply a summation of their parts, which implies a possibility that two evils might be better than one (e. g. crime + punishment, two evils, are better than either one of them taken (...)
  13. Introduction.Jovan Babić & Petar Bojanić - 2013 - Philosophia 41 (4):923-924.
  14. Pacifism and the Eastern Martial Arts.Allan Back & Daeshik Kim - 1982 - Philosophy East and West 32 (2):177-186.
  15. Just War Theories Reconsidered: Problems with Prima Facie Duties and the Need for a Political Ethic.Helmut David Baer & Joseph E. Capizzi - 2005 - Journal of Religious Ethics 33 (1):119-137.
    This essay challenges a "meta-theory" in just war analysis that purports to bridge the divide between just war and pacifism. According to the meta-theory, just war and pacifism share a common presumption against killing that can be overridden only under conditions stipulated by the just war criteria. Proponents of this meta-theory purport that their interpretation leads to ecumenical consensus between "just warriors" and pacifists, and makes the just war theory more effective in reducing recourse to war. Engagement with the new (...)
  16. The Mistakes of Pacifism; or, Why a Christian Can Have Anything to Do with War.Frank Ballard - 1915 - Charles H. Kelly.
  17. Gandhi and Non-Violence. [REVIEW]Robert Barford - 1988 - The Acorn 3 (1):14-17.
  18. Gandhian Nonviolence and the Problem of Preferable Violence.Jacob N. Bauer - 2014 - The Acorn 15 (1):26-32.
    In this article, I argue that Gandhi can prefer violence in cases, but still morally object to all forms of violence. Even though this can seem to be a contradiction, nonetheless, one can prefer an action without thinking that action is morally justified. Next, I explore the objection that preferring a violent act, such as violent self-defense, over a act that is not violent, such as running away, seems to prefer an action that is more violent to one that is (...)
  19. Explorations in Morality and Nonviolence.Liliane Kshensky Baxter - 1992 - The Acorn 7 (2):5-17.
  20. Peter A. French, War and Moral Dissonance. [REVIEW]Saba Bazargan - 2013 - Journal of Moral Philosophy 10 (1):116-119.
    Book review of Peter French's "War and Moral Dissonance".
  21. Varieties of Contingent Pacifism in War.Saba Bazargan-Forward - 2014 - In Helen Frowe & Gerald Lang (eds.), How We Fight. Oxford University Press. pp. 1-17.
    The destruction wrought by even just wars lends undeniable appeal to radical pacifism, according to which all wars are unjust. Yet radical pacifism is fundamentally flawed. In the past decade, a moderate and more defensible form of pacifism has emerged. According to what has been called ‘contingent pacifism’, it is very unlikely that it is morally permissible to wage any given war. This chapter develops the doctrine of contingent pacifism by distinguishing and developing various versions of it, and by assessing (...)
  22. Pacifism: A Note.Rodger Beehler - 1972 - Dialogue 11 (4):584-587.
  23. Are All Modern Wars Morally Wrong?Raymond A. Belliotti - 1995 - Journal of Social Philosophy 26 (2):17-31.
  24. Pacifism for Pragmatists.Martin Benjamin - 1973 - Ethics 83 (3):196-213.
  25. Pacifism and Rebellion in the Writings of Herman Melville.John Bernstein - 1974 - Folcroft Library Editions.
  26. Pazifismus: Ideengeschichte, Theorie Und Praxis.Barbara Bleisch & Jean-Daniel Strub (eds.) - 2006 - Haupt.
  27. Spiritual and Political Dimensions of Nonviolence and Peace.David Boersema & Katy Gray Brown (eds.) - 2006 - Brill | Rodopi.
    This book is a collection of philosophical papers that explores theoretical and practical aspects and implications of nonviolence as a means of establishing peace. The papers range from spiritual and political dimensions of nonviolence to issues of justice and values and proposals for action and change.
  28. Pacifism: Equipment or Accessory of War?Petar Bojanić - 2013 - Philosophia 41 (4):1037-1047.
    It is my intention to attempt to define pacifism, in its engagement and concept, as a necessary requisite of war and military action, following a phrase used over a hundred years ago by Franz Rosenzweig when speaking of pacifism as “necessary equipment of war.” I will try to defend the importance of pacifism as an integral part of war (as such, pacifism as a requisite of war ought to shorten the period of war and mitigate destruction) and oppose this concept (...)
  29. Christian Pacifism V. Just War: Where Do We Stand?Kathryn Boyle - 2002 - The Australasian Catholic Record 79 (4):411-420.
  30. Christianity and Pacifism.Selmer Bringsjord - 1989 - Faith and Philosophy 6 (1):88-94.
    In a recent issue of Faith and Philosophy, James Kellenberger argues that the “ethics of love” aspect of Christianity entails pacifism, In response, I present an argument designed to show that Christian doctrine entails the falsity of pacifism, I go on to show, however, that the spirit of Kellenberger’s point may survive, for perhaps Christ’s teaching regarding “mental sin” prohibits the war-related activity known as nuclear deterrence.
  31. Personal Pacifism in Historical Perspective.Peter Brock - 2000 - The Acorn 11 (1):53-61.
  32. Personal Pacifism in Historical Perspective.Peter Brock - 2000 - The Acorn 11 (1):53-61.
  33. Varieties of Pacifism: A Survey From Antiquity to the Outset of the Twentieth Century.Peter Brock - 1998 - Syracuse University Press.
  34. Chapter 23. The Reemergence of Nonsectarian Pacifism.Peter Brock - 1969 - In Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War. Princeton University Press. pp. 920-942.
  35. Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War.Peter Brock - unknown
  36. Chapter 22. Non-Quaker Sectarian Pacifism in an Era of Peace, 1865-1914.Peter Brock - 1969 - In Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War. Princeton University Press. pp. 889-919.
  37. Chapter 20. Religious Pacifism Outside the Major Historic Peace Sects, 1861-1865.Peter Brock - 1969 - In Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War. Princeton University Press. pp. 822-866.
  38. Chapter 16. The Ebbing of the Pacifist Impulse.Peter Brock - 1969 - In Pacifism in the United States: From the Colonial Era to the First World War. Princeton University Press. pp. 667-686.
  39. William Borman, Gandhi and Non-Violence Reviewed By.Richard Sg Brown - 1987 - Philosophy in Review 7 (4):144-145.
  40. In Defense of Pacifism.William H. Bruening - 1974 - In Self, Society, and the Search for Transcendence. Palo Alto CA: Mayfield Publishing Company. pp. 294-303.
  41. Duane L. Cady -- Backing Into Pacifism.D. L. Cady - 1984 - Philosophy and Social Criticism 10 (3-4):173-180.
  42. From Warism to Pacifism: A Moral Continuum.Duane Cady - 2010 - Temple University Press.
  43. From Warism to Pacifism: A Moral Continuum.Duane Cady - 1990 - Temple University Press.
  44. In Defense of Active Pacifists.Duane L. Cady - 1994 - Journal of Social Philosophy 25 (2):89-91.
  45. Love Your Enemies Discipleship, Pacifism, and Just War Theory.Lisa Sowle Cahill - 1994 - Fortress Press.
    Questions of pacifism and just war, which have preoccupied Christian thinkers from time to time over the past 1700 years, are given distinctive treatment in this book as it discusses biblical sources for the questions, builds on historical examples both of just war theory and of pacifism, and shows how Christian pacifism is a live option in many contexts. -/- Lisa Sowle Cahill examines the theological bases of just war theory and pacifism, especially in light of the concept of the (...)
  46. Militant Pacifism.Mary Whiton Calkins - 1917 - International Journal of Ethics 28 (1):70-79.
  47. Militant Pacifism.Mary Whiton Calkins - 1917 - Ethics 28 (1):70-79.
  48. Militant Pacifism.Mary Whiton Calkins - 1917 - International Journal of Ethics 28 (1):70-79.
  49. Lettere, 1941-1963.Aldo Capitini - 2011 - Carocci.
  50. On Behalf of the Neighbor: A Rejection of the Complementarity of Just-War Theory and Pacifism.J. E. Capizzi - 2001 - Studies in Christian Ethics 14 (2):87-108.
1 — 50 / 244
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