O'Driscoll, C. (2009) Hedgehog or Fox? An Essay on James Turner Johnson's View of History. Journal of Military Ethics, 8(3), pp. 165-178. (doi: 10.1080/15027570903230182)
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Abstract
Drawing on Isaiah Berlin's celebrated essay on Tolstoy, this paper poses the question should James Turner Johnson be deemed a hedgehog or a fox? That is, it considers whether Johnson should be regarded as a monist (hedgehog) or a pluralist (fox) in his contribution to the just war tradition. It contends that his commitment to history, while superficially indicative of a hedgehog, serves to conceal a deep-lying pluralism - or at least the possibility of such - in his views on the meaning of history. Contrary to initial appearances, then, Johnson's commitment to history is not univocal: it does not speak with one voice, and to one purpose. Rather it suggests a variety of voices or positions, and is amenable to multiple interpretations, not all of which are of a piece with one another. This paper seeks to uncover these various voices or positions, with a view to raising some searching questions pertaining to how we should properly understand the just war tradition today.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | O'Driscoll, Professor Cian |
| Authors: | O'Driscoll, C. |
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JZ International relations J Political Science > JC Political theory |
| College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics |
| Research Group: | Historical International Normative Theory |
| Journal Name: | Journal of Military Ethics |
| Journal Abbr.: | JME |
| Publisher: | Taylor and Francis |
| ISSN: | 1502-7570 |
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