Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Religious and Secular Perspectives

This volume, first published in 2004, discusses weapons of mass destruction from a number of religious and secular perspectives.

Sohail H. Hashmi (Edited by), Steven P. Lee (Edited by)

9780521545266, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 19 July 2004

552 pages, 2 b/w illus. 3 tables
22.9 x 15.2 x 3.3 cm, 0.82 kg

This volume, first published in 2004, offers an interesting 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.

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.

Subject Areas: Religion: general [HRA], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]