[lit-ideas] Re: On the prospect of World Peace
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2006 17:05:21 -0400
Lawrence Helm wrote:
"If someone says, like I took Phil Enns to be saying, [he never said
this in so many words, but this is what I took him to be saying -- sort
of] "I don't care how many casualties are incurred by opposing all wars.
I do it out of principle and don't care about the total number of
casualties in my Plan A vs the possible number of casualties in plan B.
A war is a war and I shall oppose them all?.
This bears no similarity at all to my beliefs. While all wars are evil,
there are some wars that are justifiable insofar as they respond to a
greater evil. I consider myself a pacifist because I believe that
violence can never bring about the Good. There may be occasions where
violence is needed to stop a greater evil, but no good comes from
violence. If people want the conditions for freedom, these conditions
cannot come about through war or violence. Freedom and the Good require
something different, and so any claim that war can bring about freedom
and the Good is necessarily false. As a pacifist, I am not opposed to
war, rather I am opposed to war as a means for achieving anything that
is worth living for.
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Toronto, ON
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