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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.

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

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War

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)

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)

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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.