Ethics Education in the Military

by Robinson, Paul; De Lee, Nigel; Carrick, Don

• ISBN13: 9780754671145
• ISBN10: 0754671143
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-08
• Publisher: Ashgate Pub Co

Summary

With formal ethics training programs being a rarity in most countries' armed forces, there is a growing importance for servicemen to undergo additional military ethics training, including lessons in 'core warrior values'.However, whilst it is one thing to say that soldiers will have to undergo ethics training, it is quite another to ensure that they learn the right lessons from it. Furthermore, it is clear from a survey of ethics training programs in place in various nations that there is no uniformity of approach, a lack of coherence even within programs, let alone between them, and even disagreement as to the degree to which such programs are necessary. Given the fact that few Western states now send their military forces on operations independently, the lack of uniformity about what constitutes ethical behavior and how troops should be educated in it, is potentially a cause for serious alarm.This book:advances knowledge and understanding of the issues associated with this subjectbrings together experts from 10 countries and analyses what ethics training and development programs are in existence, their content, mode of instruction and theoretical underpinnings, and the effect of cultural and national differencesexplores whether such programs are best run by military officers, chaplains or academic philosophersreflects whether it is feasible to develop common principles and approaches for the armed forces of all Western countriesAn invaluable volume for military academies and staff colleges to enhance understanding of a matter which requires much further thought and which is becoming a vital force in influencing outcomes on the battlefields of the twenty-first century. This book will primarily be of interest to military officers and others directly involved in ethics education in the military, as well as to philosophers and students of military affairs.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction: education in the military

Case Studies

Education in an ethos at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

An ethics curriculum for an evolving army

Teaching military ethics in the British armed forces

Ethics education, ethics training, and character development: who 'owns' ethics in the US Air Force Academy?

Canada's defence ethics programme and ethics training

What ought one to do? Perspectives on military ethics education in the Australian defence force

Ethics training in the Norwegian defence forces

Ethical education and character development in the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany

Reshaping the ethical training of future French commissioned officers

The ethics curriculum at the Netherlands Defence Academy, and some problems with its theoretical underpinnings

Teaching and training military ethics: an Israeli experience

Ethics Training for the samurai warrior

Responses

What is the point of teaching ethics in the military?

The ethical warrior: a classical liberal approach

The future of ethics education in the military: a comparative analysis

Conclusion

Index

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