I work on moral and political philosophy. I specialise in the ethics of harming, particularly harming in war and self-defence. I'm Professor of Practical Philosophy and Wallenberg Academy Fellow in the Philosophy department at Stockholm University, where I run the Stockholm Centre for the Ethics of War and Peace.
Much work in the ethics of war is structured around the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus... more Much work in the ethics of war is structured around the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. This distinction has two key roles. It distinguishes two evaluative objects— the war 'as a whole', and the conduct of combatants during the war—and identifies different moral principles as relevant to each. I argue that we should be sceptical of this framework. I suggest that a single set of principles determines the justness of actions that cause nonconsensual harm. If so, there are no distinctive ad bellum or in bello principles. I also reject the view that whilst the justness of, for example, ad bellum proportionality rests on all the goods and harms produced by the war, the justness of combatants' conduct in war is determined by a comparatively limited set of goods and harms in a way that supports the ad bellum–in bello distinction.
I argue that any successful account of permissible self- defence must be action-guiding, or pract... more I argue that any successful account of permissible self- defence must be action-guiding, or practical. It must be able to inform people’s deliberation about what they are permitted to do when faced with an apparent threat to their lives. I argue that this forces us to accept that a person can be permitted to use self-defence against Apparent Threats: characters whom a person reasonably, but mistakenly, believes threaten her life. I defend a hybrid account of self-defence that prioritises an agent’s subjective perspective. I argue that it is sufficient to render the use of defence permissible if an agent reasonably believes that (a) she is morally innocent, and (b) if she does not kill this person, then they will kill her. I argue that the correct account of self-defence must distinguish between whether an agent is permitted to inflict harm, and whether the target is liable to bear that harm.
Much work in the ethics of war is structured around the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus... more Much work in the ethics of war is structured around the distinction between jus ad bellum and jus in bello. This distinction has two key roles. It distinguishes two evaluative objects— the war 'as a whole', and the conduct of combatants during the war—and identifies different moral principles as relevant to each. I argue that we should be sceptical of this framework. I suggest that a single set of principles determines the justness of actions that cause nonconsensual harm. If so, there are no distinctive ad bellum or in bello principles. I also reject the view that whilst the justness of, for example, ad bellum proportionality rests on all the goods and harms produced by the war, the justness of combatants' conduct in war is determined by a comparatively limited set of goods and harms in a way that supports the ad bellum–in bello distinction.
I argue that any successful account of permissible self- defence must be action-guiding, or pract... more I argue that any successful account of permissible self- defence must be action-guiding, or practical. It must be able to inform people’s deliberation about what they are permitted to do when faced with an apparent threat to their lives. I argue that this forces us to accept that a person can be permitted to use self-defence against Apparent Threats: characters whom a person reasonably, but mistakenly, believes threaten her life. I defend a hybrid account of self-defence that prioritises an agent’s subjective perspective. I argue that it is sufficient to render the use of defence permissible if an agent reasonably believes that (a) she is morally innocent, and (b) if she does not kill this person, then they will kill her. I argue that the correct account of self-defence must distinguish between whether an agent is permitted to inflict harm, and whether the target is liable to bear that harm.
... Divisions: Faculties > Humanities > School of European Culture and Languages. I... more ... Divisions: Faculties > Humanities > School of European Culture and Languages. ID Code: 25972. Deposited by: Helen Frowe. Deposited on: 27 Oct 2010 17:06. Last Modified: 27 Oct 2010 17:06. Repository staff only: item control page. ...
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