Peter Singer is a philosopher who used utilitarianism to explain “animal rights” in his 1975 book, Animal Liberation. Unfortunately, similar faulty reasoning is seen in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, justifying the targeting of Ukrainian civilians. Such reasoning speaks to nationalistic impulses that our lives are more valuable than their lives. It also denigrates the value of Japanese lives as less valuable than American ones. Such a statement fails to see the special protections we should apply to civilians during wartime.

In principle 7, about restrictions for the conduct of war, he argues that such an “atomic bomb” attack on civilians cannot be “just.” He said the argument that many American lives were saved was not justified by the more than 130,000 civilians that were killed in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Rawls had been to Japan just after World War II and had seen the devastation of the atomic bombs. In his book, Rawls expounds on each of the principles and gives examples of how they should be applied, but one principle was deeply personal for him. Peoples have a duty to assist other peoples living under unfavorableconditions that prevent their having a just or decent political and social regime.Peoples are to observe certain specified restrictions in the conduct of war.Peoples have the right of self-defense but no right to instigate war for reasons other than self-defense.Peoples are to observe a duty of non-intervention.Peoples are equal and are parties to agreements that bind them.Peoples are to observe treaties and undertakings.Peoples are free and independent, and these attributes are to be respected by others.

The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins