Browsing by Author "Byrne, Edmund F."

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Assessing Arms Makers' Corporate Social Responsibility
    (Springer, 2007) Byrne, Edmund F.
    Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a focal point for research aimed at extending business ethics to extra-corporate issues; and as a result many companies now seek to at least appear dedicated to one or another version of CSR. This has not affected the arms industry, however. For this industry has not been discussed in CSR lierature, perhaps because few CSR scholars have questioned this industry's privileged status as an instrument of national sovereignty. But major changes in the organization of political communities call traditional views of sovereignty into question. With these considerations in mind I assess the U.S. arms industryon the basis of CSR requirements regarding the environment, social equity, profitability, and use of political power. I find that this industry fails to meet any of these four CSR requirements. . . . So, I conclude, they should be held responsible for the foreseeable consequences that flow from use of their products, be it via civil liability or responsibility under international human rights standards.
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    Making Drones to Kill Civilians: Is it Ethical?
    (Springer, 2015) Byrne, Edmund F.; Department of Philosophy, School of Liberal Arts
    A drone industry has emerged in the US, initially funded almost exclusively for military applications. There are now also other uses both governmental and commercial (in the US and abroad). Many military drones are still being made, however, especially for surveillance and targeted killings. Regarding the latter, this essay calls into question their legality and morality. It recognizes that the issues are complex and controversial, but less so as to the killing of non-combatant civilians. The government using drones for targeted killings maintains secrecy and appeals to non-traditional justifications. Most scholars who assess these killer drone practices support citizen immunity, either by favoring a modified just war theory that prioritizes civilians’ right to life or by challenging official deviations from applicable laws. They accordingly declare such killing immoral if not a war crime. The manufacturers of these killer drones are not themselves the killers, but they are abetters, i.e., sine qua non facilitators. So, I argue that any company concerned about its corporate social responsibility should cease manufacturing them.
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    The Post-9/11 State of Emergency: Reality versus Rhetoric
    (Philosophy Documentation Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2004) Byrne, Edmund F.
    After the 9/11 attacks the US Administration went beyond emergency response towards imperialism, but cloaked its agenda in the rhetoric of fighting "terrorists" and "terrorism". After distinguishing between emergency thinking and emergency planning, I question the Administration's "war on terrorism" rhetoric in three stages. First, upon examining the post-9/11 antiterrorism discourse I find that it splits into two agendas: domestic, protect our infrastructure; and foreign, select military targets. Second, I review (legitimate) approaches to emergency planning already in place. Third, after reviewing what philosophers have said about emergencies, I recommend they turn their attention to the biases inherent in and misleading uses of antiterrorism terminology.
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    Review of James P. Sterba, ed., Terrorism and International Justice
    (Philosophy Documentation Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2004-06) Byrne, Edmund F.
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    Review of John Keane, Violence and Democracy
    (Philosophy Documentation Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2005-06) Byrne, Edmund F.
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    Review of Peter Singer, The President of Good & Evil: The Ethics of George W. Bush
    (Philosophy Documentation Center, Charlottesville, VA, 2004-12) Byrne, Edmund F.