Global ethical Issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Global ethical Issues - Research Paper Example Just war theory is a philosophy which seeks to determine when wars are morally valid to fight and also seeks to establish the principles for waging them. There are two parts of just war theory, â€Å"Jus Ad Bellum† and â€Å"Jus In Bello† (MacKinnon, 2012, pp. 243-244). The first of these tries to establish when causes are just, and the second tries to establish how exactly wars should be fought in a just way. Both of these are extremely important for waging just wars, as â€Å"even if a war were fought for a just cause, with the prospect of achieving more good than harm, as a last resort only, and with the proper intention, it still would not be fully just if it were not conducted justly or in accordance with certain principles or moral guidelines† (MacKinnon, 2012, p244). â€Å"Jus Ad Bellum,† or the right to wage war, seeks to establish when it is morally valid to initiate a war. The simplest possible way of describing this part of just war theory is that unless you have a reason to initiate a war that is itself morally valid, there is no way the war will be morally valid. A few of the common criteria for just wars are â€Å"having just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used† (Mosely, 2009). If all of these criteria are met, then it may be just to wage a war, although it is worth noting that â€Å"the lack of a strict ethical framework means that the principles themselves are open to broad interpretations† (Mosely, 2009). Regardless of how strictly warring nations follow the Jus Ad Bellum principles, it is clear that they are informed largely by theories of consequentialist moral reasoning. This is the kind of reasoning which is not concerned so much with how something is carried out as it is with why. That is, â€Å"we should only be concerned about our actions in