My question, then, is this: Shouldn't philosophers be able to bring more to an ethical dilemma than a highly intellectualized version of the debate that was already taking place before they intervened? The reason this is important is because philosophers have, from the very beginning of philosophy, been accused of doing nothing more than "navel gazing," of asking and answering questions that are of interest only to other philosophers rather than providing any practical benefit to the world outside of philosophy. Or, as Karl Marx put it, "The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways; the point is to change it."
Please find an essay or rather Open Letter which was written in response to the Kosovo crisis at the request of a high ranking UNHCR diplomat. It was reworked in response to Sept 11. It is obviously very app-licable to the dreadful situation in Israel-Palestine.
ReplyDeletewww.aboutadidam.org/readings/peace_law/index.html
The various themes of the Open Letter were extended and published in the book introduced via this reference:
www.dabase.org/not2p1.htm
Further elaborations are available via this reference:
www.beezone.com/news.html