Iraq: A Morally Justified Resort to War

abstract   This paper begins by accepting, for argument's sake, a number of the central criticisms raised regarding the US led war in Iraq. In the remainder of the paper, it is argued that even if these criticisms are assumed to be true, the resort to war was still morally justified, both prospectively and retrospectively. The argument is made within the context of the just war tradition. It is argued that the resort to war met the conditions of sufficient just cause, last resort and proportionality, and that any failings in regards to legitimate authority and right intention do not undermine the morality of that resort. More specifically, the case is made that: humanitarian considerations provided a sufficient just cause, questions of international law do not undermine the moral legitimacy of the US led coalition, and that concerns about the intentions of the US, even if valid, would not impact on moral judgements about the act of resorting to war. In arguing for the last point, it is determined that the right intention condition should not be included among the set of conditions that form the basis of the just war tradition.     

ON "THE GIFT" IN TANNER's THEOLOGY: A PATRISTIC PARABLE

Kathryn Tanner's theology of “the gift” is examined and contrasted with that of John Milbank. To clarify the relation between spiritual and material gifts implied in Tanner's thought, as well as the role of “nature”, the author revisits patristic commentaries on the Lord's Prayer regarding “the gift” of daily bread. Differing interpretations by Origen and Gregory of Nyssa resemble differences obtaining between Tanner and Milbank; Maximus the Confessor's harmonizing reading may provide a way beyond the present impasse and illumine the importance of nature for further discussions of “the gift” in Anglo‐American theology.     

PREDISPOSITIONS TOWARD VERBAL BEHAVIOR IN TASK-ORIENTED INTERACTION

Two studies were conducted that examined the interaction patterns of dissimilar PVB subjects in task oriented discussions. Their interaction was content analyzed and subjected to computer assisted Markov analysis. We found predictable behavioral, cognitive, and content differences between high, middle, and low PVB subjects. High-PVB subjects talked longer, interrupted less, initiated and reinitiated more ideas, had higher credibility, and had more perceived influence than did low-PVB subjects.     

Sudden Infant Deaths: models of health and illness

ABSTRACT The assumptions underlying the traditional biomedical model of health and illness and criticisms of it are described. An examination of the historical development of ideas concerning cot (crib) deaths shows how early explanations, which were congruent with this model, came to be discredited. Because subsequent explanations have also been considered unsatisfactory, cot deaths have come to be regarded as medically problematic. The relationship of models of health and illness to cot deaths has therefore been exposed to an unusual degree of scrutiny. Two possible contending models, social epidemiological and socio-economic are identified, and their status vis-à-vis the biomedical model is considered. The choice as to which of these models is applied to cot deaths is shown to be not only of theoretical interest but also to have ethical implications for health care policy and medical practice.