SI
SI
discoversearch

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor.  We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community.  If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.
Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  
To: The Philosopher who wrote (31004)10/5/2001 6:14:52 PM
From: Lane3  Read Replies (1) of 82486
 
but he slides over certain things.

I don't think he slides over that at all. It seems to me that his point is to distinguish between pacifists, who are absolutists, by definition, and their fellow travelers of whatever stripe, including what you call situational pacifists. Opposing violence in a given situation is not the same as being a pacifist. It's simply a preference for a alternate strategy. The criticism of the dissenters that I've heard seems to lump them all together (into what JLA would probably call traitors rather than pacifists). In this case, the dissenters are very, very few. All the more reason, IMO, to hear their different voices.

I found this point particularly telling:

<<But for those who are pacifists, there is also a lesson in Niebuhr's words. Pacifists weaken their claims whenever they seem more eager to condemn our own violence than the violence of our adversaries. Those who espouse an absolutist creed should be especially wary of moral relativism.>>

Karen
Report TOU ViolationShare This Post
 Public ReplyPrvt ReplyMark as Last ReadFilePrevious 10Next 10PreviousNext  

HomeMailHotSubjectMarksPeopleMarksKeepersSettings
Terms Of UseContact UsCopyright/IP PolicyPrivacy PolicyAbout UsFAQAdvertise on SI
© 2025 Knight Sac Media.  Data provided by Twelve Data, Alpha Vantage, and CityFALCON News