12 quotes
Plausible moral theory must have at its center a concern for the lives and well-being of persons.
On War and Morality (1989)
It is presumptively wrong to do violence to innocent persons.
On War and Morality (1989)
To be a pragmatic pacifist, one need only consider that large-scale, organized, and systemic war violence is unacceptable in today's world.
Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence (2017)
We will never know whether there is a realistic moral alternative to violence unless we are willing to explore the potential of nonviolent action.
On War and Morality (1989)
A necessary condition of the justifiable pursuit of any objectives in war by any means whatever.. is that one be justified in engaging in such killing and violence in the first place.
On War and Morality (1989)
To justify going to war...that is to establish jus ad bellum in the first place, requires showing that what one would be doing by waging it is justified.
On War and Morality (1989)
What I mean by saying that war is wrong is not only that it is bad but that it ought not to be waged, that governments ought not to declare and fight wars, societies ought not to provide them with the means by which to do so, and individuals ought not to sanction, support and participate in wars.
On War and Morality (1989)
By focusing on the entitlements of collectivities (notably nation states) as opposed to the well-being of individuals, the just war theory frames a rationale for war which omits the central moral issue...whether the massive, systematic and deliberate killing of human beings can ever be justified.
Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence (2017)
We simply don't know whether nuclear weapons have been effective as a deterrent...whether they are effective today or can be expected to be so in the future. Nuclear policy has for years been framed in ignorance of the facts most central to its justification.
The threat to retaliate massively in the event of a nuclear attack is not rationale...contrary to the usual wisdom, we have no good reason to believe that nuclear deterrence has worked in the past, or that if it has, it will continue to do so in the future...even if nuclear deterrence should be one hundred percent effective, it still increases the probability of nuclear war.
On War and Morality (1989)
It is not nuclear violence alone that is the threat to mankind. It is the willingness to kill our fellow human beings – the innocent as well as the noninnocent- for political ends. Unless we are willing to redirect our time, energy, and resources away from perfecting the means of mass destruction of whatever sort and into exploring nonviolent alternatives to war itself, our efforts to combat the threat of nuclear war are likely to be of no avail.
On War and Morality (1989)
If one thinks of nonviolence as a way of life, then it works to the extent that one lives nonviolently and infuses everyday conduct with a nonviolent spirit...whether we act nonviolently, considerately, and respectfully of others in all that we do is within our control. Nonviolence in that sense cannot fail to work if we resolve to see that it works.
The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes (2013)