The ethics of war and the admissibility of killing (In Polish)

Abstract

The article attempts to show that the broadly accepted views on the standards that apply to soldiers in war are in contradiction with general morality. The ethics of war allows actions which in ordinary situations would not only be regarded as morally unacceptable, but would in fact be worthy of the highest moral condemnation. I note two selected discrepancies between general ethics and the ethics of war, namely the existence of an asymmetry between the attackers and the attacked and the question of who is the object of morally unjustifiable acts of violence. Rejecting extreme positions (realism in international relations and various forms of pacifism), I recognize that there are two possible solutions to these discrepancies: either we accept the status quo, i.e. a strong incompatibility between the ethics of war and general ethics, or we admit that it is necessary to reformulate the traditional ethics of war and perhaps also the applicable standards of international law governing the admissibility and conduct of armed conflict.