State violence and moral horror / Jeremy Arnold.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Arnold, Jeremy, 1980-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political violence--Moral and ethical aspects.

Political violence.

State, The--Moral and ethical aspects.

State, The.

Physical Description:

xxv, 187 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, 2017.

Summary:

Can state violence ever be morally justified? In State Violence and Moral Horror, Jeremy Arnold critically engages a wide variety of arguments, both canonical and contemporary, arguing that there can be no justification. Drawing on the concept of singularity found in the work of French philosopher Jean-Luc Nancy, Arnold demonstrates that any attempt to justify state violence will itself be violent and, therefore, must fail as a justification. On the basis of this argument, the book explores the concept of ?moral horror? as the experience of living amidst and acquiescing to unjustifiable state violence. The careful explanation of arguments from across the spectrum of political theory and exceptionally clear prose will enable both advanced undergraduates and more general readers interested in political thought to understand and engage the central argument. State Violence and Moral Horror is a unique contribution to the growing literature on violence and will be of interest to political theorists and philosophers in both the analytic and continental traditions, philosophers of law, international relations theorists, law and society scholars, and social scientists interested in normative aspects of state violence.

Contents:

Legitimacy and violence in contemporary life and political thought

The strengths and limits of philosophical anarchism

The strengths and limits of the paradox of politics

The "concept" of singularity

Singularity and the impossibility of justifying state violence

Moral horror

(In)conclusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Arnold, Jeremy, 1980- State violence and moral horror

ISBN:

9781438466750

1438466757

OCLC:

984973163