Remember that you must hand in your
entire journal to receive a final grade on it. This includes material that I
have written comments on. The journals must be handed in by the last day of
class. You may give me a stamped, self-addressed envelope to return your
journal, or you may pick it up next semester if you write a note on your
journal. Here are the suggested questions for the third part of your journal:
1. At this point you should know the theory that you endorse. (There can
certainly be qualifications to your theory. You should explain those.)
2. Use your theory to evaluate just
war theory. Under what conditions do you believe that war is just? What is
required to fight justly within a just war? Are there lines that should not be
crossed in war? For example, is it moral to target civilians, to use weapons of
mass destruction, to torture, etc.
3. Use your ethical theory and your conclusions about the conditions under
which war is just to evaluate the justice of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. In
presenting your argumentation, show your knowledge of the relevant history.
4. Take and defend your position in the debates over white phosphorous and the
use of torture.
5. Take and defend a position on what the U.S. should do now.
6. Take and defend a position on what the U.S. should build an empire or act as
a global hegemon.
7. Make appropriate references to materials in the The Iraq War Reader.
8. If you would like to discuss some aspect of the readings not emphasized in
class, that is fine. You may also discuss any events you attended that were
relevant to the study of ethics.
9. End your journal by discussing if whether any of your views on ethics have
changed over the semester? If so, how?