Robert L. Holmes (December 28, 1935) is a

Professor Emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, and an expert on issues of

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

and

nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

. Holmes specializes in

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

, and in

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and

political philosophy Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and Political legitimacy, legitimacy of political institutions, such as State (polity), states. This field investigates different ...

. He has written numerous articles and several books on those topics, and has been invited to address national and international conferences.

Early life

Holmes was raised in northern New York State by his parents who died when he was still in his teens. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1953 after serving as president of the student council, editor of the school magazine, and captain of a sectional championship cross country team. He also undertook studies in classical piano at the Watertown Conservatory of Music for ten years and won several awards while competing in New York City, Canada and Washington D. C.Robert L. Holmes biography on robert-holmes.com
/ref> Subsequently, Holmes earned his

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ed ...

in Philosophy cum laude from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1957. His honors thesis was "Plato's Concept of God". Soon thereafter he earned an M.A (1959) and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1961) in

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, where his dissertation was on "John Dewey's Ethics in the Light of Contemporary Metaethical Theory."

Career

Holmes joined the faculty at the

in 1962. By 1976 he acquired a fellowship at the National Humanities Institute at Yale University. Subsequently in 1982 he was appointed Senior

Fulbright Lecturer The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

at Moscow State university. He also served as a Faculty Fellow at the

Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies The College of Arts and Letters is the oldest and largest college within the University of Notre Dame. The Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Letters is Michael Pries. History The College of Arts and Letters is the oldest in the universi ...

at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

in 1993. In 1998, Holmes was appointed to the newly established Rajiv Gandhi Chair in Peace and Disarmament at

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

in New Delhi, India, where he shaped the mission of the chair on instruction, research, and lectures. While serving on the faculty at the

, his lectures were always eagerly anticipated by students of the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

as well as the

sciences Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

. He received the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Undergraduate Teaching in 2001 and the Professor of the Year Award in Humanities in 2006. At the 2007 convocation ceremony, Holmes was awarded the Goergen Award for Distinguished Achievement and Artistry in Undergraduate Teaching. Also, Holmes is known for being one of the very few professors to receive perfect or near perfect reviews every year since the university began student review services in 2001. During the course of an academic career which has spanned over forty years, Holmes has held a variety of scholarly positions including:

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

and a visiting professor at Notre Dame,

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York, Clinton, New York. It was established as the Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and received its c ...

as well as an instructor at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. In addition, he served as an editor of the philosophical journal ''

Public Affairs Quarterly ''Public Affairs Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that covers current issues in social and political philosophy. The current editor is Jason Brennan (Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private J ...

'' (1995-1999), contributed to the editorial review boards of both ''

Social Theory and Practice ''Social Theory and Practice'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that features discussion of theoretical and applied questions in social, political, legal, economic, educational, and moral philosophy, including critical studies of classical and c ...

'' (1975-1995) and '' The Acorn: Journal of the Gandhi-King Society'' (1990-2003) and also participated on the national board of the

Fellowship of Reconciliation The Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR or FOR) is the name used by a number of religious nonviolent organizations, particularly in English-speaking countries. They are linked by affiliation to the International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR). ...

. He was also a longtime adviser to the University of Rochester Undergraduate Philosophy Council. For several years he also served as the university's Acting Chairman of the Department of Philosophy (1972 & 1980-1981). In 1992 he also served as president of the professional organization Concerned Philosophers for Peace which strives to improve international understanding and peace through scholarly analysis of the causes of war. Holmes is the author of several comprehensive texts on the subject of

moral philosophy Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied et ...

. Included among his publications is a collaborative work undertaken in 1968 with

Lewis White Beck Lewis White Beck (September 26, 1913 – June 7, 1997) was an American philosopher and scholar of German philosophy specializing in German idealism at the University of Rochester. As Chairman of the Department of Philosophy, he achieved int ...

- a noted scholar on

Kantian ethics Kantian ethics refers to a Deontology, deontological ethical theory developed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant that is based on the notion that "I ought never to act except in such a way that I could also will that my maxim should become a un ...

(''Philosophical Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy''). Subsequently, in 2001 he served as a contributory author to the book ''Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck'' with an essay on ''Consequentialism and Its Consequences''. He also coauthored a work in 2005 with

Barry L. Gan Barry L. Gan (born 1948) is an American academic. He is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at St. Bonaventure University. From 1986 until 2020 he directed the Center for Nonviolence, formerly the Peace Studies program at St. Bonaventure Universit ...

- Director of the Center for Nonviolence at

St. Bonaventure University St. Bonaventure University is a private university, private Franciscan university in St. Bonaventure, New York. It has 2,760 undergraduate and graduate students. The Order of Friars Minor, Franciscans established the university in 1858. In ath ...

(''Nonviolence in Theory and Practice''). In addition, he has published numerous papers in several academic

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

journals including: ''

Analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

'', ''

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

'', ''

International Philosophical Quarterly The ''International Philosophical Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal edited by a group of academics at Fordham University, with the collaboration of the Université de Namur in Belgium. The journal was established in 1961 to provide a ...

'', ''

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy ''The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering bioethics and philosophy of medicine. It was established in 1976 and is published by Oxford University Press. The founding editor-in-chief was Edmun ...

'', ''

Journal of Value Inquiry The ''Journal of Value Inquiry'' is a peer-reviewed philosophical journal focused on value studies. It was founded in 1967 by James Wilbur. The journal publishes essays, letters, book reviews, interviews, dialogues, reports, and news. According ...

'', ''

Mind The mind is that which thinks, feels, perceives, imagines, remembers, and wills. It covers the totality of mental phenomena, including both conscious processes, through which an individual is aware of external and internal circumstances ...

'', ''

The Monist ''The Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General Philosophical Inquiry'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of philosophy. It was established in October 1890 by American publisher Edward C. Hegeler. History Init ...

'', ''

The Philosophical Forum ''The Philosophical Forum'' is a philosophy journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. It is currently edited by Alexus McLeod. History ''The Philosophical Forum'' was founded in 1943 as an annual philosophy journal, published by the Boston Universit ...

'', and ''The

Review of Metaphysics ''The Review of Metaphysics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of philosophy. It was established by Paul Weiss and the first issue was published in September 1947. The journal's primary sponsor is and has been The Catholic University of America ...

''. Holmes is currently a Professor Emeritus at the University of Rochester but no longer instructs students on campus. In recent years, he has also lectured at the Permanent India Mission to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

during its annual International Day of Nonviolence (''"The Significance of Nonviolence in Today's World"'', 2017). Subsequently, he was also invited to address the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 2021. However, due to the emergence of the

COVID pandemic Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fev ...

in New York City, his lecture was cancelled.

Moral philosophy

Over the course of the past forty years, Holmes has addressed several interrelated

moral dilemmas In philosophy, an ethical dilemma, also called an ethical paradox or moral dilemma, is a situation in which two or more conflicting moral imperatives, none of which overrides the other, confront an agent. A closely related definition characterizes ...

posed in the modern age including

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

nuclear deterrence Deterrence theory refers to the scholarship and practice of how threats of using force by one party can convince another party to refrain from initiating some other course of action. The topic gained increased prominence as a military strategy d ...

and

armed conflict War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

in general. In his book ''On War and Morality'' (1989) he offers a robust philosophical defense of

pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...

and its application in a world which is plagued with recurrent outbursts of international violence despite its adherence to upholding the principles of nuclear deterrence and

mutual assured destruction Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in ...

(MAD) since the emergence of the cold war era. Holmes rejects a reliance upon such an irrational set of principles and dismisses them as morally wrong. Instead, he advances a form of "moral personalism" based upon the maxim that any intelligible moral theory must include an abiding interest in the lives and well being of all people. In his view, violence is a form of abrogation of this maxim which is prima facia wrong and that Just War Theories in general are inadequate to the task of surmounting such a moral presumption. Holmes offers a systematic critical review of the two major schools of thought which claim to defend warfare in the modern world. In the first group are the "positivistic realists" who claim that concepts of "right" or "wrong" are irrelevant in international affairs and the "normative realists" who claim that moral considerations should not be permitted to play a role in determining foreign policy. Holmes dismisses the later by observing that they have misread the history of the twentieth century by suggesting the Wilsonian idealism inevitably led to the onset of World War II and confuse morality with moralism. In the second group, Holmes identifies the defenders of just war theories. Holmes rejects their attempts to justify the taking of innocent human lives in order to save other innocent human lives as morally unjustifiable in so far as both killing and any appeal to violence is morally unjustified in the first place, despite the consequences which may follow from such an act. Even if a war is considered "just" in accordance with the standards of ''jus ad ballo'' or ''jus in bello'', it may not be deemed morally acceptable based upon a consideration of the organized violence which it engenders in the modern world With this in mind, Holmes outlines a four stage argument to support the view that warfare is unjustified even within the context of modern world conditions. First he observes that warfare in general cannot be justified if the means of waging the war are, when taken by themselves, also morally unjustified. Secondly, he contends that modern warfare by its very nature inevitably involves the killing of innocent people. Thirdly, he denies that the presumption against killing innocent people can be overridden by conditions related to the waging of war. Lastly, he identifies nonviolence as an embodiment of a viable alternative to warfare. Specifically, he outlines a

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi,one of the prominent figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environ ...

approach to resolving conflicts, which rejects the utilization of mutual concessions in order to achieve a provisional or temporary standoff between the waring parties. This is replaced with a process of actively creating peace through negotiations which engender mutual progress for all parties involved in the conflict. Taken together, these arguments suggest that an appeal to nonviolence is a viable ethical alternative even within the modern world. In his more recent book, ''Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence'' Holmes offers a supplement to the analysis presented above. Here, Holmes ventures beyond philosophical considerations of how to best distinguish between ''just wars'' and ''unjust wars'' in particular and presents an analysis of what he describes as a more "basic moral question" by exploring the general case of whether war is ''ever'' morally permissible. This is accomplished by examining the concept of warfare from a more global perspective, as opposed to concentrating primarily on the particular subjective perceptions of "just" or "unjust" outcomes which may prevail among the combatants. With this in mind, he offers a critical review of the "constellation of social, political, economic, religious and ethical values and practices" which are required to wage war systematically over time. He concludes by arguing that a prima facie presumption against warfare in general is sufficiently compelling in the modern era due to a variety of factors including: the killing of both innocent and non-innocents alike, the inevitable displacement of large populations of people, along with the inevitable harm done to both animal life and the environment in the long term. Stated more simply, "To be a pragmatic pacifist one need only hold that the large-scale, organized and systematic violence of war is impermissible in today's world."

Publications

Texts

Included among Robert L. Holmes publications are the following texts: * ''Philosophic Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy'' by

and Robert L. Holmes, (1968) * ''On War and Morality'' by Robert L. Holmes, (1989) * ''The Augustinian Tradition'' Editor: Gareth B. Matthews. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "St. Augustine and the Just War Theory" (1999) * ''Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck'' Editor: Predrag Cicovacki. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes -"Consequentialism and its Consequences". (2001) * ''Social and Political Philosophy: Contemporary Perspectives'', Ed. Sterba, James P. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "Pacifism for Nonpacifists". (2001) * ''Nonviolence in Theory and Practice'' by Robert L. Holmes and Barry L. Gan, (2005) * ''The Ethics of Nonviolence - Essays by Robert L. Holmes'' by Robert L. Holmes, Editor: Predrag Cicovacki, (2013) *''Basic Moral Philosophy'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2014) * ''Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2016) * ''Introduction to Applied Ethics'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2018)

Journal articles

Selected peer-reviewed articles published by Robert L. Holmes include: * "The Case Against Ethical Naturalism". ''

'' (1964):291-295 * "The Development of John Dewey's Ethical Thought". ''

''(1964):392-406 * "John Dewey's Moral Philosophy in Contemporary Perspective". ''

The Review of Metaphysics ''The Review of Metaphysics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of philosophy. It was established by Paul Weiss and the first issue was published in September 1947. The journal's primary sponsor is and has been The Catholic University of America ...

'' (1966):42-70 * "John Dewey's Social Ethics". ''

The Journal of Value Inquiry The ''Journal of Value Inquiry'' is a peer-reviewed philosophical journal focused on value studies. It was founded in 1967 by James Wilbur. The journal publishes essays, letters, book reviews, interviews, dialogues, reports, and news. According t ...

'' (1973):274-280 * "University Neutrality and ROTC". ''

''(1973):177 * "Is Morality a System of Hypothetical Imperatives?". ''

'' (1974):96-100 * "The Limited Relevance of Analytical Ethics to the Problems of Bioethics." ''

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy ''The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering bioethics and philosophy of medicine. It was established in 1976 and is published by Oxford University Press. The founding editor-in-chief was Edmund ...

'' (1990):143-159 * "Just War: Principles and Causes". ''

''(1997):483-484 * "The Metaethics of Pacifism and Just War Theory". '' Philosophical Forum Quarterly'' (2015):2-15

References

External links

Robert L. Holmes - publications on McMillan's openlibrary.org

Robert L. Holmes' publications on Google ScholarRobert L. Holmes' publications on Philpapers.org

''Basic Moral Philosophy'' by Robert L. Holmes on books.google.com

''On War and Morality'' by Robert L. Holmes on books.google.com

''The Ethics of Nonviolence - Essays by Robert L. Holmes'' Editor: Predrag Cicovacki on books.google.com

''Introduction to Applied Ethics'' by Robert L.Holmes on books.google.com

''Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck'' Editor: Predrag Cicovacki. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes -"Consequentialism and its Consequences" on books.google.com

''The Augustinian Tradition'' Editor: Gareth B. Matthews. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "St. Augustine and the Just War Theory" on books.google.com

''Robert L. Holmes'' on worldcat.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Robert L. 1935 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American philosophers 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American philosophers 21st-century American essayists American ethicists American male essayists American male non-fiction writers American pacifists American philosophy academics American political philosophers Analytic philosophers Harvard University alumni Academic staff of Jawaharlal Nehru University Living people American nonviolence advocates American philosophers of culture Philosophers of history American philosophers of social science Philosophers of war Theorists on Western civilization University of Michigan alumni University of Rochester faculty American lecturers

Early life

Career

Moral philosophy

Publications

Texts

Journal articles

See also

References

External links