CANCELLED! PhD Course on the Ethics of War

The course is cancelled, but will hopefully be rescheduled for a later date.

This course will provide a general introduction to the main approaches within just war theory and explore in detail several contested issues under debate. Instructors will be Professor Jeff McMahan (Oxford), Lars Christie (Oxford, Oslo), Greg Reichberg (PRIO). 

 

Time and place:

26. and 27. March: room 452, Georg Morgenstiernes hus                                                 28. and 29. March: room 652, Georg Morgenstiernes hus

Description

This course will provide a general introduction to the main approaches within just war theory and explore in detail several contested issues under debate, such as: Under what circumstances is it permissible to initiate a war? How should we understand the notion of proportionality? What is the role of blame to liability to defensive harm? What is the ethical impact of new military technologies, especially AI? Do combatants on either side of the war have the same moral status?  Who incurs a duty of compensation to the victims of war, and what does it consist in? Is it permissible to impose collateral damage to save important cultural heritage? Are non-combatants always illegitimate targets in war? What is the role of ‘legitimate authority’ in political violence? In what ways does terrorism differ from war?

The course is organised at the Univeristy of Oslo, Department of  Philosophy Classics History of Art and Ideas, in collaboration with the Research School on Peace and Conflict.

Requirements:

​No prior knowledge of just war theory will be assumed, but participants will be expected to do the set reading in advance. The course will be delivered by a combination of interactive lectures and reading group-style seminars, based on readings circulated before the start of the course.

​​Upon full participation and the satisfactory completion of a course essay, the course equals 5 ECTS according to the standards of the University of Oslo. Participants must get an overview of the readings, participate actively in the lectures and submit a course essay that is marked as "pass". 

 

Appliciation deadline: 30. March

Please send your application to Maria Seim: maria.seim@ifikk.uio.no   

Published Jan. 14, 2020 11:48 AM - Last modified Mar. 17, 2020 10:00 AM