Talk to Explore the Ethics of War

Christian Hoeckley, director of the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts at Westmont, will talk about the ethics of war in a Phi Kappa Phi lecture, “Peace that Passes Understanding: Four Paths to Opposing War,” Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge inside Kerrwood Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served following the talk.

Hoeckley notes that over the past decade there’s been heated debate about the ethics of war, first in anticipation of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and shortly thereafter in response to Abu Ghraib. “Much of that debate assumed competing ethical principles that rarely came to the surface for reflection, leaving us frequently talking past one another,” he says. “I will explore the most influential frameworks for moral reasoning about war and will argue that even those typically thought to justify war should lead us to oppose it. I will also offer a pacifist response to war rooted specifically in Christian discipleship, a response that might stretch common notions of reason and justice.”

Hoeckley earned a bachelor’s degree at Biola University, studied political science at the graduate level at the University of Bonn in Germany, and holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Claremont Graduate School. He is an adjunct assistant professor of philosophy at Westmont College.

Respondents to Hoeckley’s talk are Deborah Dunn, professor of communication studies, and Mark Nelson, Monroe professor of philosophy.