Ethical Perspectives on Nuclear Warfare: An Analysis

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When it comes to nuclear war, most people will have mixed feelings on it. Nuclear war is a difficult area to touch on. Whether or not someone sees it as ethically right or wrong, all depends on the person and their moral values. The reason I chose this was because I don’t think it is necessarily right to engage in nuclear warfare even if it is the only means to end war. Just-war theory, utilitarianism, and Virtue ethics all help show a different perspective on nuclear warfare. There are many solutions to it, however. Some solutions are getting other nations to place embargos on the country and forcing peace talks without resorting to military action. Significantly, it is important that nuclear war is addressed in the world so that nations …show more content…

Utilitarianism believes that whatever action produces the best consequences for the greater number is the one that is morally correct. To a Utilitarian, they would have viewed the U. S’s decision of as justifiable. The reason for this is because if the US had not dropped the two atomic bombs then that would have forced them to deploy hundreds of thousands of ground troops. As well, there would have been a horrifying amount of civilian devastation. However, utilitarians are consequentialists so they do believe in the overall consequences from the result of the actions. In this case, the results of the atomic bombs proved to be devastating and partially unethical. The ethical results of the atomic bomb were that it saved many more lives from being killed and in all ended the war quicker. The unethical sense of it was that it killed innocent civilians and it wrecked the cities that those civilians resided it. Also, another consequence that Utilitarians would deem is the long term effects of the radiation that a nuclear bomb caused. In all, I think it is right to say that a utilitarian would be neutral in their decision on the United States actions during

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