ABSTRACT
A very negative development, however, is the increased employment of “force” as a euphemism for what is actually violence, even the extreme violence of warfare. The euphemistic use of “force” for resort to invasion, bombing, and shooting enemies tends to sanitize and obscure the need for strong moral reasons for resorting to such violence. One way of differentiating forms of violence is by agent adjectives, e.g., police violence, insurgent violence, state violence, family violence, male violence. Another might be by way of differentiating means, e.g., conventional war, nuclear war, or drone war. Sexual violence against children, as well as other forms of child abuse, have provided another shocking revelation, and the fact that so much violence and abuse was perpetrated by trusted clerics has produced a crisis in religious adherence. While ‘narrow’ definitions of violence run the risk of being blind towards different forms of violence [and injustice], ‘wide’ definitions – despite contributing to an increased sensitivity towards violence.
