Christopher Eberle

Published: Jan 12, 2015 by The Monist
Authors: Christopher J. Eberle
Subjects: Philosophy, Military & Security Studies, Religion

According to the Just War Tradition, a polity can have a fully sufficient just cause to wage war and yet be morally forbidden to do so. According to its ad bellum proportionality requirement, a polity may wage war when it has a just cause only if the relevant goods achieved thereby are proportionate to the relevant evils caused thereby. My main aim in this paper is to assess what makes certain goods and evils relevant to proportionality assessments.

Published: Jan 12, 2014 by San Diego Law Review
Authors: Christopher J. Eberle
Subjects: Philosophy, Religion

In this paper, I provide a detailed explication and assessment of Brian Leiter's claim that there is no sufficient reason for liberal polities to treat religious claims of conscience any differently than secular claims of conscience.

Published: Jan 05, 2014 by Politics and Religion
Authors: Christopher Eberle, Kraig Beyerlein
Subjects: Philosophy, Sociology & Social Policy, Religion

Recent debates in political theory have seen political liberals advocate and defend a doctrine of restraint, according to which citizens may not rely solely on religious reasons when supporting their favored public policies. This debate notwithstanding, very rarely have social scientists assessed the extent to which citizens actually violate this doctrine. This article evaluates the “political decision-making” model of political liberalism.

Published: Jan 03, 2013 by Journal of Military Ethics
Authors: Christopher J. Eberle
Subjects: Philosophy, Military & Security Studies

My aim is to reflect on a narrow question: under what conditions might a cyber-attack provide a just cause for war? I begin by articulating what makes for a just cause, briefly address the problem of attribution, and then discuss three categories of cyber-attack: those that clearly do not satisfy the just cause requirement, those that clearly do satisfy the just cause requirement, and three ambiguous cases – the destruction of property, logic bombs, and the failure to prevent cyber-attacks.

Published: Jan 12, 2012 by Journal of Law and Religion
Authors: Christopher J. Eberle
Subjects: Philosophy, Military & Security Studies, Religion

In this article I explore the relevance of theistic conviction to the justification and restriction of military violence. I do so by reflecting on the relevance of theistic convictions to the Just War Tradition. I provide various reasons to be skeptical of 'secular' conceptions of the Just War Tradition.

Published: Jan 06, 2010 by Journal of Military Ethics
Authors: Christopher J. Eberle, William Rubel
Subjects: Philosophy, Religion

Many political theorists have argued that religious reasons should play a rather limited role in public or political settings. According to the Doctrine of Religious Restraint, citizens and legislators ought not allow religious reasons to play a decisive role in justifying public policies. Many believe that a version of that doctrine applies in military settings. We explain why the Doctrine of Religious Restraint should not apply to military professionals.