Pick your own debate - 1C

{quote}I do not believe it could always mean justified. Killing someone may be justified, but that does not make it good. Rather, I take it to mean moral. {endquote} ----> How is justified not mean good? Justified is defined[1] as "[demonstrating] or [proving] to be just, right, or valid", which obviously is synonymous with good. If I can justify a war, then I can show that it is a "good" war. Remember, giving a reason for something is not the same as justifying something. ==================== Examples of justified wars ==================== My opponent states that because the Barbary pirates were the ones who committed the unjust acts of war, then the Barbary war overall is unjust, or "not good". For the sake of arguments, lets concede this argument. Let's suppose that BOTH of the motives of warring parties should be considered - sure. To be honest, I only used the Barbary wars as a stepping stone for my argument, and I will now give reveal my "trump card", if you will: To evaluate whether or not a war is good, I argue that we must look at it from a utilitarian perspective. As any historian does, we need to observe how the war has changed history, and to what extent. If the results of a war bring a greater amount of good than it took to go through it, then I argue that the war is a GOOD war. A justifiable war. My example is the American Revolutionary War. While blood was shed, and tears were drawn, it resulted in the formation of the United States of America. Despite the controversies and wars during it's history, as any countries history would have, the USA -- I would argue -- is overall a benefit to mankind, to the world. One war brought upon the formation of a great nation, how "good" can that get? ! My opponent may respond in several ways. He may say that from the colonists persepctive, it wasn't justifiable at the time (or Britons, whatever way you go). However, this is steering away from the point. It doesn't matter what their reason was originally in the war - instead, we should look at the world from an objective and timeless perspective. No matter what the reason was that caused it, it resulted in greater good for the world overall. For example, let's say a man planned to murder someone who killed his brother - an act of revenge. He confronts him, gives some Hollywood-esque lines, and blows the suckers brain apart. A definitely horrible situation, right? However, we find out that the murder victim is actually a GANG LORD BOSS! OF THE YAKUZA! THE HIGHEST RANKING OFFICIAL! This man's revenge has actually saved the lives of potentially thousands of people - this, we would call a great situation. A great murder, one can say. Even though his reasons were wrong, the situation came out favorably. So while wars may be caused for the wrong reasons, the situation (as seen in the American Revolutionary War) came out favorably. ==================== Final counterargument ==================== Yes, my argument basically boils down into a utilitarian argument. While it may be the twist, it certainly doesn't steal the debate from my opponent. He can still refute it in his last round, and he has a whole yummy 3 days to do it. My argument should be clear to understand - the overall benefits of a war deem it as "good", or as "favorable", or as "justified". Whether or not the original parties involved had evil intentions, the consequences are good. One last foreseeable argument my opponent may use is to say that the categorical imperative is superior. Of course, it is his burden to show why this would be so. For example, if a murderer came to your house and asked for the location of your mother, you would have to tell him. According to Kant, you can't lie. Now this isn't too pleasant, is it? ==================== Conclusion ==================== Once again, I am sorry for my short and lackluster response. I really could've expanded on the criticism of Kant and such, but I am really running out of time (due to personal reasons). Thanks for the debate ournamestoolong, it was an interesting topic ;D Anyways, VOTE PRO. ---References--- 1. . http://www.thefreedictionary.com...