Military Ethics and Moral Blame Across Agency Lines
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Authors
Seagren, Chad W.
Subjects
collective responsibility
group responsibility
professional military ethics
methodological individualism
group responsibility
professional military ethics
methodological individualism
Advisors
Date of Issue
2015-08-25
Date
Publisher
Language
Abstract
In this article, I examine the extent to which military officers are morally responsible for the actions of others by virtue of shared membership in various groups. I argue that career military officers share membership in morally relevant groups that include their branch of service, Department of Defense and the entire Executive Branch of Government, and I outline the circumstances under which career officers bear moral culpability for the actions of members of this group. A number of implications arise from these findings. The first and most important is that military officers have an interest in ensuring the moral rectitude of government agents specifically as it pertains to their official capacities. Additionally, military officers have a duty not only to be informed about problematic government policies but also to educate themselves on the pertinent legal jurisprudence or ethical considerations. Finally, the Constitutional Paradigm of Military Ethics may be an insufficient guide for the particular sort of moral dilemma dealt with in this article.
Type
Article
Description
The article of record may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2015.1068499
Series/Report No
Department
Operations Research
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NPS Report Number
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Citation
JOURNAL OF MILITARY ETHICS, 2015
VOL. 14, NO. 2, 177–193
Distribution Statement
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This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.