War: Essays in Political Philosophy

Larry May

May 2008 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

War has been a key topic of speculation and theorising ever since the invention of philosophy in classical antiquity. This anthology brings together the work of distinguished contemporary political philosophers and theorists who address the leading normative and conceptual issues concerning war. The book is divided into three parts: initiating war, waging war, and ending war. The contributors aim to provide a comprehensive introduction to each of these main areas of dispute concerning war. Each essay is an original contribution to ongoing debates on various aspects of war and also provides a survey of the main topics in each subfield. Serving as a companion to the theoretical issues pertaining to war, this volume also is an important contribution to debates in political philosophy. It can serve as a textbook for relevant courses on war offered in philosophy departments, religious studies programs, and law schools.

About the author

Larry May is Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St Louis and Research Professor of Social Justice at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt and Australian National Universities. He is the author of many books, most recently Crimes against Humanity, which won an honorable mention from the American Society of International Law and Best Book award from the North American Society for Social Philosophy, and War Crimes and Just War, which won the Frank Chapman Sharp Prize for the best book on the philosophy of war and peace from the American Philosophical Association.