“We Need to Talk about This More”: Students on Just War and How to End War

Abstract

This article describes two Socratic Seminar discussions, one focused on questioning just war and the other offering a perspective on how to end war. These discussions are the focus of this article because they show the complex and nuanced thinking and questioning students engaged in about what might constitute a just war (if anything) and how war can be ended by determined humans.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 During their discussion as the quotes indicate, students struggled with the idea of being wounded, with the loss of limbs. In retrospect students were likely not adequately prepared for this conversation leading to what could be considered ableist language. If this text is used in conversation with youth, this complication should be considered and proper preparation used.