The forum presenter is Dr. James R. Walker of the Philosophy Department, asking the question: Is war an acceptable means of fighting mass atrocities? The lecture will be followed by discussion.

“After witnessing the murder of well over 12 million people in the Holocaust, the international community pledged that ‘never again’ would it allow such a mass atrocity to occur. Yet since that time, such atrocities have continued to occur, again and again,” Walker said. “Indeed, as we speak, some 400,000 innocent people have lost their lives in the Darfur region of Sudan, while another 2.7 million have been displaced from their homes. Unfortunately, this is not the only case of mass atrocity occurring in our world today. This has prompted many people to advocate the use of military force in the name of ending such atrocities.”

In this forum, several of the moral problems that arise in considering the permissibility of armed humanitarian intervention will be presented and discussed with a keen eye on making good on the promise of “never again.”

The lecture and discussion are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Jean-Marie Makang, chair, Philosophy Department at 301-687-3089 or at jmakang@frostburg.edu.