Analysis: Nonviolence

Religious practitioners and political demonstrators the world over have used the concept of nonviolence to cultivate inner peace and protest injustice. The most popular advocates of nonviolence are men like Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Martin Luther King, Jr. These people staunchly argue for more serious consideration of the practical benefits of nonviolence. While most would agree with these luminaries that the use of violence is in general unacceptable, many people make exceptions for a variety of reasons. This paper will argue that no use of violence is ever justified. First, the extenuating circumstances under which most people justify the use of violence will be examined and refuted. Then the paper will discuss the philosophical sophistry of the doctrine of violence.

To begin a discussion of nonviolence, it is necessary to highlight the situations in which violence is often excused. One of the circumstances in which people most readily believe that the doctrine of nonviolence can be violated is war. "Just wars" are most often cited as events that call for the courage to fight against whatever evil is being put upon an innocent people. Indeed, in most circles it is considered immoral to ignore unjust actions. However, trying to end violence with violence is not a logical or moral proposition. In fact, wars often cited as "just wars," such as World War II and the Civil War, were begun under normal pretenses and later justified because of moral reasons. The Civil War w

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oth countries possessed weapons of mass destruction), President Bush argued against such a peaceful measure in 2003, claiming that only violence could pacify Iraq (Chapman, "Rejecting the Policy that Won the Cold War"). Sanctions, which have helped to prevent violence with a nuclear North Korea, were abandoned in regards to Iraq to disastrous effects. While containment had worked to pacify the Middle East since the Gulf War, the decision to resort to violence has enflamed terrorism in the Middle East and retarded the United States' efforts to win back the hearts and minds of the region. Essentially, justifying violence results in the discarding of viable alternatives that may work just as well. In this section of the paper, the philosophical drawbacks to violence will be laid out. Philosophically, the doctrine of nonviolence is morally superior to brute force. Civilization is the product of man's decision to treat other people with respect; in short, to behave morally. As discussed above, too often civilization becomes a system in which violence is not sublimated, but instead organized and put off into formal acts. These acts, or wars, are often considered necessary or at least more practical because they are more expedient, b

Category: Philosophy - N