By using a case-based analysis of human shields, students develop a moral continuum of paradigmatic cases, the purpose of which is to provide an instrument that helps to formulate more nuanced moral appreciations.
Lesson plan
The ethical problem of human shields
A case study that focuses on various examples of human shields during warfare. Students develop a moral continuum of paradigmatic cases of human shields.
| Author / creator | Curator | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Natascha Kienstra | Floris Velema | 10/2019 |
Aims and objectives
Content
The students are introduced to the concept of 'non-combatant immunity', as one of the basic principles of Just War Theory. Then, the students read various scenarios in which non-combatants (civilians) are used as human shields. After the concept pairs 'forced & voluntary' and 'blocking & dissuasive' are introduced, the human shields are categorised accordingly.
Learning activities
After getting acquainted with the various cases in which human shields play a role, the students are asked to place these cases on a 'moral continuum': the cases are arranged from the least unjust to the most unjust. Both the continuum and the cards can be downloaded here (in Dutch language). After the various cases are characterised as either forced or voluntary, and as either dissuasive or blocking, they are placed on the moral continuum once more.
Materials and resources
The lesson plan is based on the paper 'De immuniteit van non-combattanten en irreguliere oorlogvoering' ('Non-combatant Immunity and Irregular Warfare') by Carl Ceulemans, published in the journal 'Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte' (ANTW) in 2019. An English abstract can be read by following the link below.
Location
This lesson plan was presented at a conference organised by the Dutch association for philosophy teachers in secondary education (VFVO).