Risky Killing and the Ethics of War | Zendy

Seth Lazar | Zendy

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Risky Killing and the Ethics of War

Author(s) -

Seth Lazar

Publication year - 2015

Publication title -

ethics

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 1.135

H-Index - 72

eISSN - 1539-297X

pISSN - 0014-1704

DOI - 10.1086/682191

Subject(s) - criminology , just war theory , law , political science , spanish civil war , sociology

Killing civilians is worse than killing soldiers. Although this principle is widely affirmed, recent military practice and contemporary just war theory have undermined it. This article argues that killing an innocent person is worse the likelier it was, when you acted, that he would be innocent: riskier killings are worse than less risky killings. In war, killing innocent civilians is almost always riskier than killing innocent soldiers. So killing innocent civilians is worse than killing innocent soldiers. Since almost all civilians are innocent in war, and since killing innocent civilians is worse than killing liable soldiers, killing civilians is worse than killing soldiers.

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