ABSTRACT

This chapter talks about realism which is divided into two branches: realism about recourse to war and realism about the conduct of war. The first branch of realism avers that war among states is neither right nor wrong; it is outside morality altogether. The second branch of realism contends that there are no moral restrictions on what combatants do during war. Over the years, some have held that morality itself is relative, simply a function of what a particular society happens to believe. Known as ethical or cultural relativism, this thesis asserts that right and wrong are determined by what a given society or culture deems to be right and wrong. In support of ethical relativism, its advocates point to the apparent diverseness of human values and the multiformity of moral codes across societies and through history.