Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular Perspectives

This volume offers a unique perspective on the discussion of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by broadening the terms of the debate to include both secular and religious investigations not normally considered. The volume contains a structured dialogue between representatives of the following ethical traditions: Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, feminism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, liberalism, natural law, pacifism, and realism. There are two introductory chapters on the technical aspects of WMD and international agreements for controlling WMD. A concluding essay compares the different ethical traditions. All the authors address the same set of moral issues and this creates a dialogue both within and across traditions. The debate structure is particularly useful and appealing for pedagogical purposes. The introductory essays on the technical and legal aspects of WMD could easily be used to introduce the subject to students.

Table of Contents:
Tables and figures; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; Introduction Sohail H. Hashmi and Steven P. Lee; 1. Weapons of mass destruction: a brief overview Susan B. Martin; 2. The international law concerning weapons of mass destruction Paul C. Szasz; Part I. The Original Debate: 3. Realist perspectives on ethical norms and weapons of mass destruction Scott D. Sagan; 4. Realism and weapons of mass destruction: a consequentialist analysis Susan B. Martin; 5. Natural law and weapons of mass destruction C. A. J. Coady; 6. War and indeterminacy in natural law thinking John Langan S.J.; 7. Liberalism: the impossibility of justifying weapons of mass destruction Henry Shue; 8. A liberal perspective on deterrence and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction Michael Walzer; 9. Christianity and weapons of mass destruction Nigel Biggar; 10. Christian apocalypticism and weapons of mass destruction Martin L. Cook; Part II. Expanding the Conversation: 11. Buddhist perspectives on weapons of mass destruction David W. Chappell; 12. Buddhism and weapons of mass destruction: an oxymoron? Donald K. Swearer; 13. Confucianism and weapons of mass destruction Julia Ching; 14. 'Heaven's Mandate' and the concept of war in early Confucianism Philip J. Ivanhoe; 15. Hinduism and the ethics of weapons of mass destruction Katherine K. Young; 16. Hinduism and weapons of mass destruction: pacifist, prudential and political Kanti Bajpai; 17. Islamic ethics and weapons of mass destruction: an argument for nonproliferation Sohail H. Hashmi; 18. 'Do not violate the limit': three issues in Islamic thinking on weapons of mass destruction John Kelsay; 19. Judaism, war and weapons of mass destruction Reuven Kimelman; 20. Between the Bible and the Holocaust: three sources for Jewish perspectives on mass destruction Joseph E. David; Part III. Critical Perspectives: 21. A feminist ethical perspective on weapons of mass destruction Carol Cohn and Sara Ruddick; 22. A pragmatist feminist approach to the ethics of weapons of mass destruction Lucinda Joy Peach; 23. Pacifism and weapons of mass destruction Robert L. Holmes; 24. Pacifism and weapons of mass destruction: the challenge of peace Duane L. Cady; 25. Weapons of mass destruction and the limits of moral understanding: a comparative essay Steven P. Lee; Contributors; Index.

About the Author :
Sohail H. Hashmi is Alumnae Foundation Associate Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College. Steven P. Lee is Professor of Philosophy at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.