Free Essays on A Critical Examination Of Valls’ Interpretation Of Just War Theory

A Critical Examination of Valls’ Interpretation of Just War Theory In light of recent events and the current â€Å"war on terrorism† it seems critical to move away from political rhetoric and approach the issue with as much reasonable objectivity as possible. The central question that Andrew Valls attempts to answer is weather terrorism can be justified. He argues that it can in some cases when measured against just war theory. Just war theory sets moral limits on the waging of war while justifying its legitimacy. I am in agreement with his conclusion but my defense of his argument relies on acceptance of his definition of terrorism, which seems to me rather broad. Valls defines terrorism as political violence done to persons or property committed by nonstate actors. It must be politically motivated for any other form of violence is considered crime and subject to domestic laws. He adds violence against property to include attacks that would be considered terrorism even though they do not harm people. An example of this would be the bombing of an abortion clinic. When he limits the violence to nonstate actors, he doesn’t deny the existence of state sponsored terrorism. He states that this type of violence is a matter of domestic justice, and in cases outside its borders, just war theory can be applied. With this definition he attempts to avoid two difficulties. He does not prejudge the issue by characterizing terrorism as something intrinsically wrong, which is what Walzer seems to do. How can there be serious discussion about a normative issue if it is already defined as unjustifiable? He also attempts to avoid making his definition stipulative. I would argue that Valls’ definition is too broad with respect to his contention that it is nonessential to include fear or intimidation as a deliberate strategy of terrorism. Of course if this provision were added, it would weaken his argument by disqualifying many case... Free Essays on A Critical Examination Of Valls’ Interpretation Of Just War Theory Free Essays on A Critical Examination Of Valls’ Interpretation Of Just War Theory A Critical Examination of Valls’ Interpretation of Just War Theory In light of recent events and the current â€Å"war on terrorism† it seems critical to move away from political rhetoric and approach the issue with as much reasonable objectivity as possible. The central question that Andrew Valls attempts to answer is weather terrorism can be justified. He argues that it can in some cases when measured against just war theory. Just war theory sets moral limits on the waging of war while justifying its legitimacy. I am in agreement with his conclusion but my defense of his argument relies on acceptance of his definition of terrorism, which seems to me rather broad. Valls defines terrorism as political violence done to persons or property committed by nonstate actors. It must be politically motivated for any other form of violence is considered crime and subject to domestic laws. He adds violence against property to include attacks that would be considered terrorism even though they do not harm people. An example of this would be the bombing of an abortion clinic. When he limits the violence to nonstate actors, he doesn’t deny the existence of state sponsored terrorism. He states that this type of violence is a matter of domestic justice, and in cases outside its borders, just war theory can be applied. With this definition he attempts to avoid two difficulties. He does not prejudge the issue by characterizing terrorism as something intrinsically wrong, which is what Walzer seems to do. How can there be serious discussion about a normative issue if it is already defined as unjustifiable? He also attempts to avoid making his definition stipulative. I would argue that Valls’ definition is too broad with respect to his contention that it is nonessential to include fear or intimidation as a deliberate strategy of terrorism. Of course if this provision were added, it would weaken his argument by disqualifying many case...

Calorimeter Definition in Chemistry

Calorimeter Definition in Chemistry A calorimeter is a device used to measure the heat flow of a chemical reaction or physical change. The process of measuring this heat is called calorimetry. A basic calorimeter consists of a metal container of water above a combustion chamber, in which a thermometer is used to measure the change in water temperature. However, there are many types of more complex calorimeters. The basic principle is that heat released by the combustion chamber increases the temperature of the water in a measurable way. The temperature change may then be used to calculate the enthalpy change per mole of substance A when substances A and B are reacted. The equation used is: q Cv(Tf - Ti ) where: q is the amount of heat in joulesCv  is the calorimeters heat capacity in joules per Kelvin (J/K)Tf and Ti are the final and initial temperatures Calorimeter History The first ice calorimeters were built based on Joseph Blacks concept of latent heat, introduced in 1761. Antoine Lavoisier coined the term calorimeter in 1780 to describe the apparatus he used to measure heat from guinea pig respiration used to melt snow. In 1782, Lavoisier and Pierre-Simon Laplace experimented with ice calorimeters, in which heat needed to melt ice could be used to measure heat from chemical reactions. Types of Calorimeters Calorimeters have expanded beyond the original ice calorimeters. Adiabatic calorimeter: Some heat is always lost to the container in an adiabatic calorimeter, but a correction factor is applied to the calculation to compensate for heat loss. This type of calorimeter is used to study runaway reactions.Reaction calorimeter: In this type of calorimeter, the chemical reaction occurs within an insulated closed container. Heatflow versus time is measured to arrive at the reaction heat. This is used for reactions intended to run at a constant temperature or to find the maximum heat released by a reaction.Bomb calorimeter: A bomb calorimeter is a constant-volume calorimeter, constructed to withstand the pressure produced by the reaction as it heats the air within the container. The temperature change of water is used to calculate the heat of combustion.Calvet-type calorimeter: This type of calorimeter relies on a three-dimensional fluxmeter sensor made of rings of thermocouples in series. This type of calorimeter allows for a larger sample size and reacti on vessel size, without sacrificing the accuracy of the measurement. An example of a Calvet-type calorimeter is the C80 calorimeter. Constant-pressure calorimeter: This instrument measure the enthalpy change of a reaction in solution under conditions of constant atmospheric pressure. A common example of this type of device is the coffee-cup calorimeter.