About this episode

The episode explores whether war can ever be considered just from a Stoic perspective, focusing on internal character rather than external outcomes.

Join Prokoptôn, a private community of dedicated practicing Stoics working together to improve. Learn more at https://skool.com/prokopton -- Support my work for as little as $1 a month: https://stoicismpod.com/members -- Subscribe to my Stoic Brekkie newsletter: https://stoicbrekkie.com -- I pull heavily from Leonidas Konstantakos' "Stoicism and Just War Theory" doctoral dissertation in this episode. I encourage you to download it and read it yourself: ⁠https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/record/13724⁠ -- In this episode, I take up a difficult question: can war ever be just in Stoicism? Not justified. Not strategically useful. Not legal. But truly just — meaning virtuous and right. I begin by setting aside the two dominant modern frameworks for thinking about war: utilitarianism and deontology. Utilitarianism evaluates war based on consequences. If enough good results from it, the war can be defended. Deontology evaluates war based on rules. Some actions are always wrong, regardless of outcomes. Stoicism does neither. Using the firebombing of Dresden and the ticking time bomb scenario, I explain how the Stoic approach shifts the focus away from body counts and legal rules and onto…

People in this episode

Host: Tanner Campbell

Topics covered

• Stoicism
• Just War Theory
• Ethics of War
• Moral Philosophy
• Character
• Decision Making

Keywords

• Stoicism
• Just War
• Ethics
• Cicero
• Moral Indifference
• Character
• War Theory

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Stoicism and Just War Theory, On Duties

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