Saint Augustine and the Theory of Just War (Google eBook)

John Mark Mattox

Continuum International Publishing Group, Sep 1, 2006 - Philosophy - 208 pages

The decline of the Roman Empire gave rise to two problems, which combined to form one of the most perplexing philosophical questions of late antiquity.
On the one hand, Rome found itself under constant military threat as various tribes from the north and east encroached along its borders to fill the power vacuum left by the receding Empire. On the other hand, adherents to the Empire's new official faith - Christianity - found themselves without clear guidance as to what military roles their faith would permit; the death of the apostles left them without revelatory guidance, and the New Testament writings were not definitive on the subject. The question, then, became:  "Can a Christian answer the empire's call to military duty and still answer a clear conscience before God?" 
Fifth-century philosopher, St Augustine of Hippo, sought to provide a solution to the two problems. His approach formed the foundation of the 'just war' tradition, which has had enormous influence upon moral-philosophical thought on military issues in the West ever since. This major new study identifies the fundamental Augustinian premises and evaluates them in light of historical, neo-Platonic, and Christian contexts. It also identifies the effect of the Augustinian legacy upon medieval and modern philosophical reflections on the nature of warfare and on how war might be waged justly and morally.

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User Review -

Book is detailed and complete with cites. A good reference.

Contents

• 1 Saint Augustine and the JustWar Tradition: 1
• 2 The Historical and Philosophical Landscape: 14
• 3 Augustines JustWar Theory: 44
• 4 NeoPlatonism and the Augustinian Just War: 92
• 5 Christianity and the Augustinian Just War: 121
• 6 Augustines Theory and Beyond: 161
• Bibliography: 180
• Index: 191

About the author

Lieutenant Colonel John M. Mattox, Ph.D., is a serving soldier in the United States military. He has lectured and published widely on military ethics, and is currently Senior Research Fellow Center for the Study of WMD at the National Defense University, USA.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Saint Augustine and the Theory of Just War; Continuum Studies in Philosophy Series
• Author: John Mark Mattox
• Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006
• ISBN: 1847141110, 9781847141118
• Length: 208 pages
• Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical