Background
Johnson, James Turner was born on November 2, 1938 in Crockett Mills, Tennessee, United States. Son of Walter Turner and Georgia Maie (Swanson) Johnson.
( In this volume, a sequel to Ideology, Reason, and the L...)
In this volume, a sequel to Ideology, Reason, and the Limitation of War, James Turner Johnson continues his reconstruction of the history of just war tradition by analyzing significant individual thinkers, concepts, and events that influenced its development from the mid-eighteenth century to the present. Originally published in 1981. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
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(When is the use of military force by a nation morally jus...)
When is the use of military force by a nation morally justified? How can the tendency toward unrestrained warfare between parties with major cultural differences be controlled? In this timely book, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral analysis of war on the real problems of contemporary armed conflicts and analyses the specific problems posed by warfare today.
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( In this book James Turner Johnson explores the cultural...)
In this book James Turner Johnson explores the cultural traditions of the Christian West and Islam in an effort to encourage a constructive dialogue on the nature of war for religion. No other issue highlights the difference between these two cultures more clearly or with more relevance for their interrelations throughout history and in the contemporary world. In the West, war for religion is most often dismissed as a relic of the past, belonging to a time less rational and less civilized than our own. From this perspective, Muslims who advocate holy war are seen as religious fanatics who are supporting criminal and terrorist activity. By contrast, war for religion has an honored place in the Islamic world, associated with a perennial religious requirement: striving in the path of faith by heart, tongue, and hands. This striving is designated by the now familiar term jihad. In fact, striving by the sword is the "lesser" jihad, and many Muslims themselves are troubled by reductionistic appeals to jihad to justify terrorism, revolution, and anti-western activity. According to Johnson, for there to be any dialogue between Islam and the West we must understand that in the West religion and politics are placed in separate spheres, while normative Islam regards religion as properly integral to the political order. From this perspective religious concerns should have a place in statecraft, including the use of military force. Three questions form the heart of Johnson's inquiry: Is there a legitimate justification for war for religion? What authority is required? What is the proper conduct in such wars? In each case, he asks the question by comparing religious wars with other kinds of wars. The picture that emerges is of war for religion not as an expression of fanatical excess but as a controlled, purposeful activity. With an eye to the present day, Johnson examines cases in history where distinctive models of war for religion were implemented by rulers. This in turn sets the stage for critical judgment on contemporary appeals to the idea of jihad in relation to political aims. Well known for his work on peace and just war, Johnson draws upon a wide base of historical and comparative scholarship. While the book is anchored primarily on the past, on the roots and historical development of the two traditions, his aim throughout is to shed light on contemporary attitudes, ideals, and behaviors, especially as they bear on real problems that affect relations between Western and Islamic cultures in the world today.
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(In this study, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral a...)
In this study, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral analysis of war on the real problems of today's armed conflicts. He argues that moral debates about nuclear war and annihilation fail to address the problems of actual contemporary uses of military force.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0300078374/?tag=2022091-20
( In this collaborative examination two diverse groups of...)
In this collaborative examination two diverse groups of scholars look at Western and Islamic approaches to war, peace, and statecraft from their own perspectives in an effort to bridge the gap of knowledge and understanding between the two traditions. Established scholars in religious ethics and international law--James Turner Johnson, John Langan, David Little, and William V. O'Brien--examine the substantial body of literature on the just war tradition that has been produced over time by historians, theologians, ethicists, and international lawyers. The Islamic tradition, which in both its classical and contemporary forms presents a rich variety of materials for discussions of statecraft, including issues connected with the justification, conduct, and ultimate aims of war, is then assessed by a group of leading Islamicists including Fred Donner, Richard C. Martin, Bruce Lawrence, and Ann Mayer. The two major themes stressed by the contributors are the historical and theoretical approaches to war and peace in the two great religious and cultural traditions. In every case, the chapters are broadly historical and comparative in nature. Kelsay and Johnson's Just War and Jihad, together with their companion volume, Cross-Crescent and Sword: The Justification and Limitation of War in Western and Islamic Tradition (Greenwood Press, 1990), represent the outcome of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural dialogues. An introduction takes up the various themes present in the chapters and reflects their significance for comparative studies of cultural attitudes on war and peace. In the book's first major division four chapters deal with foundational concerns. Here the authors identify sources and basic themes of religious thought that influence Western and Islamic approaches to war and peace. The two chapters of Part II take up particular questions connected with the phenomenon of holy war. In the final section two contributors assess the status of the international law on war and peace. For students and scholars of comparative religion, ethics, and international relations this comparative study, which establishes the persistence of certain human concerns across the boundaries of particular cultures, makes timely and important reading.
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(Now that mankind has created the capability of destroying...)
Now that mankind has created the capability of destroying itself through nuclear technology, is it still possible to think in terms of a "just war"? Johnson argues that it is, and in the context of specific case studies he offers moral guidelines for addressing such major contemporary problems as terrorist activity in a foreign country, an individual's conscientious objection to military service, and an American defense policy that requires development of weapons that may be morally employed in case of need.
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(James Turner Johnson, author of distinguished works on th...)
James Turner Johnson, author of distinguished works on the just war tradition, here goes beyond the examination of moral restraints on the occasion and conduct of war to a critical study of the moral thinking that has aimed at its prevention. The scrutiny of the "peace issue" in Western society covers nearly two thousand years of history and three traditions of the search for peace: the just war, the sectarian pacifism, and the utopial pacifism. This book reveals the historical depth of all three.
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Johnson, James Turner was born on November 2, 1938 in Crockett Mills, Tennessee, United States. Son of Walter Turner and Georgia Maie (Swanson) Johnson.
AB, Brown University, 1960. Bachelor's Degree, Vanderbilt University, 1963. Master of Arts, Princeton University, 1967.
Doctor of Philosophy, Princeton University, 1968.
Instructor philosophy and religion, Newberry (South Carolina.) College, 1963-1965; lecturer religion, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York, 1968-1969; assistant professor religion, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1969-1977; associate professor religion, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, 1977-1982; professor religion, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, since 1982; university director international programs, 1987-1996.
(Now that mankind has created the capability of destroying...)
(When is the use of military force by a nation morally jus...)
( In this volume, a sequel to Ideology, Reason, and the L...)
( In this collaborative examination two diverse groups of...)
(James Turner Johnson, author of distinguished works on th...)
( In this book James Turner Johnson explores the cultural...)
(In this study, James Turner Johnson refocuses the moral a...)
Member American Academy Religion, American Political Science Association, Society Christian Ethics.
Married Pamela Jane Bennett, October 19, 1969. Children: Christopher Edward Bennett, Ashley Elizabeth Bennett.