-
Contract Theory and Morality in International RelationsDissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1994.This dissertation seeks a grounding in contract theory for international moral rules. After a preliminary discussion of contract theory, I examine the approaches of Hobbes and Rawls, and try to extend them to include international obligations. I argue that Hobbes, and those who follow him closely, are caught in a dilemma. If the laws of nature apply between states, then states do not provide us with adequate security and it is rational to work toward world government. And this is incompatible wi…Read more
-
8Careerism in the Military Services: A Moral Analysis of its Nature, Types, and Contributing CausesIn James C. Gaston & Janis Bren Hietala (eds.), Ethics and national defense: the timeless issues, For Sale By U.s. G.p.o.. pp. 35--55. 1993.
-
46How to Teach a Bad Ethics CourseTeaching Philosophy 32 (1): 53-68. 2009.Moral experience may be parsed at different levels of abstraction. We might work variously at the level of meta-ethical reflection; normative ethics; the principles, doctrines, and character traits of everyday morality; or the sometimes simple, sometimes messy, business of actual moral judgment. We should strive to be clear with our students (and ourselves) about the differences between these levels and the hazards of crudely conflating them.
-
1Law at the End of Life: The Supreme Court and Assisted Suicide (review)USAFA Journal of Legal Studies. 2001.
-
Software Engineering as a Profession: A Moral Case for LicensureIn Linda L. Brennan & Victoria E. Johnson (eds.), Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Systems, Information Science Publishing. 2003.Unlike in most professions, a license is not required to work as a software engineer. This essay argues software engineers, because they now render an essential service to society, should be licensed in a process that resembles licensing for doctors, lawyers and teachers.
-
Careerism: A Moral AnalysisIn James C. Gaston & Janis Bren Hietala (eds.), Ethics and national defense: the timeless issues, For Sale By U.s. G.p.o.. 1993.In this essay I explore the concept of careerism in military service, identify what's wrong with it, and suggest several ways to thwart some of its contributing causes.
-
23Kamm, F. M. The Moral Target: Aiming at Right Conduct in War and Other Conflicts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pp. 288. $35.00 (review)Ethics 124 (1): 192-197. 2013.
-
28Must a Marxist be a Globalist?Quarterly Journal of Ideology 29 (3&4): 01-39. 2006.Some have claimed that commitment to Marxist theory and doctrine also requires a commitment to a single, global political structure. This essay argues that the claim is mistaken. A Marxist need not be a "globalist" in this sense.
-
Implementing Selective Conscientious Objection: Some Guiding PrinciplesIn Dr David Whetham, Professor Paul Robinson & Dr Andrea Ellner (eds.), When Soldiers Say No: Selective Conscientious Objection in the Modern Military, Ashgate. 2013.Assume that military professionals should have the right to exercise selective conscientious objection (SCO). Implementing policies and programs to facilitate the right to SCO would be tricky. This essay offers suggestions for how to proceed.
-
2The Leader's Imperative: Ethics, Integrity, and Responsibility (edited book)Purdue University Press. 2001.This edited collection contains all the distinguished Reich and McDermott lectures in ethics, delivered at the US Air Force Academy, from 1988 to 1999.
-
Military Ethics: Some Lessons Learned from Manuel DavenportAir and Space Power Journal (4): 90-98. 2006.Originally presented to the Manuel Davenport Memorial Conference, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, on 15 September, 2001. In its present form the essay aims primarily to underscore Davenport's good example as a teacher of military ethics, to present several key and unique themes in his work, and to recommend his effective method for approaching problems of military ethics in general.
-
28Discrimination by GeneralityPublic Affairs Quarterly 10 (3): 203-217. 1996.In assigning the benefits and burdens of society, we sometimes discriminate using a broad category (age, gender, race, etc.) we think correlates well with the possession of some other skill, qualification, or character trait. In this essay, I explore one rationale for this type of discrimination. I suggest a method for determining when this rationale provides a moral justification for the discrimination, and when it does not. I defend the method against some potential criticisms, and point ou…Read more
-
10Kantian Thinking About Military EthicsAshgate. 2010.This is a collection of essays on various issues in military ethics, undertaken by the author in a broadly Kantian spirit.
-
1Moral RelativismIn Ruth Chadwick (ed.), The Encyclodpedia of Applied Ethics, Elsevier. 2012.This entry explores the concept of moral relativism, examines and finds wanting various arguments that have been offered to support its most robust forms, and concludes with some modest concessions to the relativist's program.
-
Are Military Professionals Bound by a Higher Moral Standard?Armed Forces and Society 24 (1). 1997.This essay explores and partially debunks claims about higher moral standards for all aspects of a military professionals' lives. Using a functional approach, I develop a more restricted but also more defensible version of the claim.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
Areas of Specialization
Normative Ethics |
Social and Political Philosophy |