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It is presumptively wrong to do violence to innocent persons.

— Robert L. Holmes On War and Morality (1989)

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More quotes by Robert L. Holmes

Plausible moral theory must have at its center a concern for the lives and well-being of 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)

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All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.

Albert Einstein Moral Decay (1937)

The last half of the 20th century will seem like a wild party for rich kids, compared to what's coming now.

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Only the dead have seen the end of war.

George Santayana Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies (1922)

Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Robert L. Holmes (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.