Essay on the subject Cultural and Ethical Values

On the subject Cultural and Ethical Values - Essay Example ed upon, and they consist of the following: "having a just cause, being a last resort, being declared by a proper authority, possessing right intention, having a reasonable chance of success, and the end being proportional to the means used" (Moseley, 2009). One can clearly see that although these principles are commonly accepted, they are open for interpretation and extrapolation. They allow a certain amount of flexibility and do not provide a strict ethical framework, as the principles and the interpretations of them can be quite vague at times ("Catholic Just War", n.d). Possessing a just cause is the first principle and probably the most important one, and it is very intrinsic as it stems from the very definition of a just war. It is commonly held that initiating an act of aggression is an unjust thing, and gives the attacked party the right to defend itself and initiate a counter-strike. The latter will be declared as a just war, as it is merely a response to the aggression being performed by the first party. However, the very concept of aggression is quite open-ended, as it can refer to a violation against territory, an insult which represents aggression towards the national honor, a trade embargo, etc. be that as it may, if an act of aggression has been committed and recognized as such, the party to whom the act had been done has the just right to react to it as they choose, and this will be considered as just (Johnson, 1984). What this means is that self-defense against an act of aggression is basically the only sufficient reason for a just war. But this can also be expanded to cases in which the first party has not yet attacked but it is clear that this is his intention and that hell be doing so soon. This is referred to as a preemptive strike, and is relevant to some other principles for a just war. Another principle for a just war which is also very much connected to the situation of a preemptive strike is being a last resort. This addresses the