Law. Ethics. Morality. Character.

What do these words mean, and why are they important in the profession of arms. That is the subject of this week’s Midrats.

We have just the right person to dig in to this topic, returning to Midrats, Dr. Pauline Shanks-Kaurin.

Professor Shanks-Kaurin is the Admiral James B. Stockdale Chair in Professional Military Ethics at the Naval War College. She holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Temple University and specializes in military ethics, “just war theory” and philosophy of law and applied ethics. She is author of “On Obedience: Contrasting Philosophies for Military, Community and Citizenry” and “Achilles Goes Asymmetrical: The Warrior, Military Ethics and Contemporary Warfare.” She served as a contributor for The Strategy Bridge and has published in War on the Rocks, Real Clear Defense, The Wavell Room, Grounded Curiosity, Newsweek and Just Security.

Showlinks:

• Reviewing The Character Gap: 2021 review at The Strategy Bridge of, The Character Gap: How Good Are We?, by Christian B. Miller.
• The Smartest Guys in the Room.
• Ethics: Starting at the Beginning: 2018 article in The Wavell Room.
• High Noon.
• The Cruel Sea.
• Dereliction of Duty: Johnson, McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Lies That Led to Vietnam
• Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy
• With the Old Breed
• My Helmet for a Pillow