Violence in Proportion
Almost everyone agrees that violence can sometimes be justified, but if it is to be justified it must be proportionate. Whether we are discussing war, self-defence, punishment, human rights law, protest, or free speech, most philosophers agree that inflicted harms or incursions into our most basic rights must be proportionate. Violence in Proportion closely examines this widely held proportionality principle, focusing on situations in which inflicted harm prevents harm to others. It finds that lurking beneath our surface agreement that violence must be proportionate, there are many philosophically knotty problems that we must address. The book uncovers, explores, and offers solutions to these problems. This is the first philosophical monograph dedicated to the study of this important concept. The book begins by mapping different species of proportionality, and the limits of their application. Focusing on a specific type of proportionality that Tomlin calls preventive limiting proportionality, Violence in Proportion goes on to explore puzzles concerning counterfactual baselines, proportionality under uncertainty, whether and when to continue a disproportionate course of conduct, the relationship between the proportionality of acts and courses of conduct, and aggregation. The book seeks to do three things: uncover and explain the philosophical puzzles that a commitment to a proportionality limit on violence and harm gives rise to; map out various positions that we may take in response to these puzzles; and to argue for certain responses, and in so doing build a novel account of proportionality. Along the way, Tomlin shows us how complex this seemingly simple idea is.
1147259046
Violence in Proportion
Almost everyone agrees that violence can sometimes be justified, but if it is to be justified it must be proportionate. Whether we are discussing war, self-defence, punishment, human rights law, protest, or free speech, most philosophers agree that inflicted harms or incursions into our most basic rights must be proportionate. Violence in Proportion closely examines this widely held proportionality principle, focusing on situations in which inflicted harm prevents harm to others. It finds that lurking beneath our surface agreement that violence must be proportionate, there are many philosophically knotty problems that we must address. The book uncovers, explores, and offers solutions to these problems. This is the first philosophical monograph dedicated to the study of this important concept. The book begins by mapping different species of proportionality, and the limits of their application. Focusing on a specific type of proportionality that Tomlin calls preventive limiting proportionality, Violence in Proportion goes on to explore puzzles concerning counterfactual baselines, proportionality under uncertainty, whether and when to continue a disproportionate course of conduct, the relationship between the proportionality of acts and courses of conduct, and aggregation. The book seeks to do three things: uncover and explain the philosophical puzzles that a commitment to a proportionality limit on violence and harm gives rise to; map out various positions that we may take in response to these puzzles; and to argue for certain responses, and in so doing build a novel account of proportionality. Along the way, Tomlin shows us how complex this seemingly simple idea is.
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Violence in Proportion

Violence in Proportion

by Patrick Tomlin
Violence in Proportion

Violence in Proportion

by Patrick Tomlin

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Overview

Almost everyone agrees that violence can sometimes be justified, but if it is to be justified it must be proportionate. Whether we are discussing war, self-defence, punishment, human rights law, protest, or free speech, most philosophers agree that inflicted harms or incursions into our most basic rights must be proportionate. Violence in Proportion closely examines this widely held proportionality principle, focusing on situations in which inflicted harm prevents harm to others. It finds that lurking beneath our surface agreement that violence must be proportionate, there are many philosophically knotty problems that we must address. The book uncovers, explores, and offers solutions to these problems. This is the first philosophical monograph dedicated to the study of this important concept. The book begins by mapping different species of proportionality, and the limits of their application. Focusing on a specific type of proportionality that Tomlin calls preventive limiting proportionality, Violence in Proportion goes on to explore puzzles concerning counterfactual baselines, proportionality under uncertainty, whether and when to continue a disproportionate course of conduct, the relationship between the proportionality of acts and courses of conduct, and aggregation. The book seeks to do three things: uncover and explain the philosophical puzzles that a commitment to a proportionality limit on violence and harm gives rise to; map out various positions that we may take in response to these puzzles; and to argue for certain responses, and in so doing build a novel account of proportionality. Along the way, Tomlin shows us how complex this seemingly simple idea is.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780192635891
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication date: 07/16/2025
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 320
File size: 958 KB

About the Author

Patrick Tomlin is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, where he is also a member of the Centre for Ethics, Law, and Public Affairs. He was previously at the University of Reading, and before that was a Junior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford. He studied at Nottingham, UCL, and Oxford. Professor Tomlin works in moral, political, and legal philosophy. His work has appeared in journals such as Philosophy & Public Affairs, Ethics, Journal of Political Philosophy, and Philosophical Quarterly. He is a former Associate Editor of Law and Philosophy and Philosophy & Public Affairs. He is a recipient of the American Philosophical Association's Berger Memorial Prize in Legal Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. Proportionality: A Conceptual Map

Chapter 2. Limiting Proportionality: Scope and Defence

Chapter 3. Baseline Problems

Chapter 4. Baselines: A New Hope?

Chapter 5. Further Baselines

Chapter 6. Wars and Acts of War

Chapter 7. Subjective Proportionality

Chapter 8. Carry on Killing?

Chapter 9. Killing vs Headaches: Wide Proportionality and Aggregation

Chapter 10. A Real Headache: Proportionality, Necessity, and Relevance

Chapter 11. Infinite Killing? Narrow Proportionality and Aggregation

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