Morality and War- A Reply

In his article “Moral Judgment in Time of War” (DISSENT, May-June 1967) Michael Walzer has stated the case well for the need of a moral judgment applicable within the context of war. I think, though, that his argument is incomplete inasmuch as it concentrates on the standpoint of rule-ethics and does not explore the possibility of an approach closer to situational ethics or what I would prefer to call moral atomism. The one approach judges acts categorically by their conformity to categories or rules; the other individually, by their likely concrete consequences, creative and destructive.

I do not suggest that the general in the field be called upon to use his “moral discretion” on the spur of the moment to...