Back to Aquinas Arguments

Moral and political theology

Just war theory

War can be just only under conditions such as legitimate authority, just cause, and right intention.

Guiding question

When can the use of public force be morally ordered rather than sinful violence?

Why it matters

Aquinas gives a compact but influential account of political responsibility and moral limits in conflict.

The argumentative movement

  1. 1War must be declared by legitimate public authority, not private initiative.
  2. 2There must be a just cause, such as response to wrongdoing.
  3. 3The intention must be rightly ordered toward peace and justice, not cruelty or domination.