"Guns don't kill people, I do."
Famous for being right.....but does this work to?
"Soldiers don't kill people, presidents do."
Can you 'dehumanise' soldiers to a point where they are not responsible for the life they take?
2006-06-16 07:48:49 · 7 answers · asked by Puppy Zwolle 7 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
Any sort of moral question like this is totally dependant on whatever metaphysics you deem to be true: If you think people are relatively autonomous individuals who make rational decisions and must be held accountable for them (like Kant thought), then soldiers are responsible. If you think people are social creatures influenced by the material reality around them (like Marx did) then the President is at fault, especially since he is exploiting their labour, etc. in the first place. It really depends on a further set of sub-beliefs than any distinct moral belief - they're all interconnected of course. You'd have a hard time getting any sort of agreement on something like that. I guess that's the point of this whole quesition thing though.
2006-06-16 08:25:28 · answer #1 · answered by crono37 2 · 3⤊ 2⤋
I don't think the correct word is 'dehumanize'. I believe that the soldiers are not responsible for the life they take but I don't agree with the statement of 'soldiers don't kill people, presidents do'. When they signed up for the military, they knew that if they were told to kill someone, they have to. It is their duty to follow any orders directed to them from a higher command. Soldiers do kill people but only because they were told to do so from the 'higher power'. The 'higher power' is not necessarily the president, but anyone able to have an influence on an important decision to kill someone.
Not sure if that made too much sense but philosophy doesn't make much sense anyway because there is no right or wrong answer.
2006-06-16 14:59:16 · answer #2 · answered by annmariet14 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question, I don't think the soldier feels dehumanized. But also there isn't nearly the "hand-to-hand" combat that there used to be, so I think even though taking a life would be hard-seeing the other person as an enemy and being able to say shoot them from afar or lob a grenade, or shoot from a tank makes the whole experience "easier" to live with and I mean that in a sensitive way. I do not think anybody in America joins the armed forces hoping to kill someone and I do not think it would be easy in any shape or form.
2006-06-16 14:56:34 · answer #3 · answered by jaemers24 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't a matter of 'dehumanising' soldiers.
Wars and strife exist, and you need to defend your people.
Leaving our idiot president (dubya) out of it, we had to respond to the World Trade Center destruction.
We got lucky. They did it an hour later, they would have killed 50 thousand people. They did it too freaking early.
So, we send out the army to do something about that.
And let's leave Iraq out of it, because it was just so stupid it makes me want to spit.
Afghanistan.
We send them out to do something about that. We had to. We knock out the Taliban. We stabilize the country. And we are freaking killing people while we do it. What an army is for you know?
We kill the bastards, then we try to find Osama. With the soldiers, with the predators, whatever the freaking hell it takes.
Now, back to your question. Are the soldiers responsible for the life they take? They sure in hell are. And if it Osaoma's I will take their freaking spot in hell for them. I am willing to rot in hell for the person that kills that bastard.
By what ever means possible.
War kills, but war is necessary. I really wish it was not.
They are responsible for the lives they take, but it becomes extremely difficult in war to decide what lives to take.
The Marines in that Iraqi town got it very, very wrong.
You have some heavy armor, and arms, and someone just killed your buddy with a bomb, well, you react.
Not making excuses, they need to be brought up on charges.
The soldiers do what they are asked to do. And we have leaders that put them there. And that is who is accountable.
Good luck making them accountable.
2006-06-16 15:15:15 · answer #4 · answered by diogenese19348 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Killing is wrong regardless of the purpose for killing. To justify killing anything you have to devalue the life of something. All life is of equal valuable.
2006-06-16 14:54:59 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
wooooowww
2006-06-16 14:50:17 · answer #6 · answered by john_bradley420 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no you cannot
2006-06-16 14:51:52 · answer #7 · answered by ... 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋