Daniel Statman: Can War Be Moral? On Moral Philosophy and War

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Daniel Statman, a professor of philosophy at the University of Haifa, about what it means to wage a moral war.

Professor Statman helped revise Ruach Tzahal, the IDF’s code of ethics, which outlines the values that determine what the IDF can and can’t do during a war. Understanding these specifics is vital in a time when there is so much at stake morally and the Israeli army receives so much (often uninformed) criticism. In this episode we discuss:

• How does an Israeli moral philosopher react to the recent terror attacks and their repercussions?
• What are the ethics of fighting a war in a civilian-populated area?
• What can Avraham Avinu teach us about restraint in battle?

Tune in to hear a conversation about the complexities of the permissions of war.

Interview begins at 10:46.

Daniel Statman chairs the philosophy department at the University of Haifa, Israel. His recent books are State and Religion in Israel (Cambridge 2019, with Gidi Sapir) and War By Agreement (Oxford 2019, with Yitzhak Benbaji).

References:

Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin

Ruach Tzahal

Genesis 18

Just and Unjust Wars by Michael Walzer

War By Agreement by Yitzhak Benbaji and Daniel Statman

Remarks by the President at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize

“War Is a Very Ugly Thing but Not the Ugliest” by Dov Lerner

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