The morality of war is hard to determine. You have to break war down into the elements that make it up. War can contain a lot of different properties, which I will discuss later. In this paper I will try to explain the morality of war to the best of my abilities. .
The definition of morality according to the American Heritage Dictionary is a system of ideas of right and wrong conduct. The problem with this definition is that it leaves too much room for interpretation. It is solely based on the ideas of individuals and societies. You can never truly determine the morality of something. There is no right or wrong for everybody. Morality needs to be based on what is right or wrong for the majority of society.
War is a state of open, armed, often prolonged conflict carried on between nations, states, or parties. By this definition, war could be considered moral. Until you break it down into its basic components you don't see its bad qualities. Break war down into conflict. Conflict is a state of open, prolonged fighting. Is fighting immoral? Fighting is the attempt to harm or gain power over an adversary by blows or with weapons. This is beginning to sound immoral. The intent to harm anyone, no matter what the circumstances are, is immoral. To harm someone is to bring physical or psychological injury or damage. Can you honestly say that's not immoral? Would you want someone to try to harm you or some one you care about? Out of harm you get injury and damage. Injury means damage or harm done to or suffered by a person or thing. Damage means to harm or injury done to property or a person, resulting in the loss of value or the impairment of usefulness. War, once broken down this far seems immoral, but it can still be broken down even further. .
In war, killing occurs whether by accident or purposeful intent. The most common form of death during war is through killing, which means to commit murder (American Heritage Dictionary definition).
