Robert L. Holmes

{{Short description|American philosopher}} {{Infobox academic | honorific_prefix =  | name = Robert L. Holmes | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1935|12|28}} | birth_place = | death_date =  | death_place = | death_cause = | region = | nationality = | citizenship = | residence = | other_names = | occupation = Professor, Scholar | period = | known_for = Ethics Pacifism Political Philosophy | home_town = | title = | boards = Fellowship of Reconciliation | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = | relatives = | awards = National Humanitites Institute Fellowship Fulbright Fellowship Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies Fellowship | website = [https://www.robert-holmes.com/ Robert-Holmes.com] | education = | alma_mater = Harvard University University of Michigan | thesis_title = John Dewey's Ethics In The Light Of Contemporary Metaethical Theory | thesis_url = https://www.google.com/books/edition/JOHN_DEWEY_S_ETHICS_IN_THE_LIGHT_OF_CONT/zpFT1dfSB3EC?kptab=editions&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjLmuGA1d6QAxU8FVkFHT3oG5cQmBZ6BAgNEAg | thesis_year = 1961 | school_tradition = | doctoral_advisor = | academic_advisors = | influences =  | era = | discipline =  | sub_discipline = Philosophy of Nonviolence, Pragmatic Pacifism | workplaces = University of Rochester | doctoral_students =  | notable_students =  | main_interests = Ethics, Social philosophy, Philosophy of war, Pacifism | notable_works = | notable_ideas = | influenced =  | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | footnotes = }}

'''Robert L. Holmes''' (December 28, 1935) is a Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Rochester. As an expert on issues of peace, nonviolence and pacifism Holmes specializes in ethics, social and political philosophy. He has written numerous articles and several books on those topics while arguing in support of a presumptive moral imperative against waging war in the modern era. Holmes has been invited to address several national conferences as well as international conferences at the United Nations.

==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.<ref name="robert-holmes.com">[https://www.robert-holmes.com/about Robert L. Holmes biography on robert-holmes.com]</ref> Subsequently, Holmes earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy cum laude from Harvard University in 1957. His honors thesis was "Plato's Concept of God". Soon thereafter he earned an M.A (1959) and Ph.D. (1961) in Philosophy from the University of Michigan, where his dissertation was on "John Dewey's Ethics in the Light of Contemporary Metaethical Theory."<ref>[http://www.sas.rochester.edu/phl/people/faculty/holmes_robert/index.html University of Rochester - Faculty - Robert L. Holmes Professor Emeritus Professor of Philosophy - PhD. University of Michigan on sas.rochester.edu]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Currents--November 9, 1998 |url=https://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |access-date=2016-12-05 |website=www.rochester.edu |archive-date=2014-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230235957/http://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="robert-holmes.com"/>

==Career== thumb|left|The Rush Rhees Library at University of Rochester, as seen from the Eastman Quadrangle. Holmes joined the faculty at the University of Rochester in 1962.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Currents--November 9, 1998 |url=https://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |access-date=2016-12-05 |website=www.rochester.edu |archive-date=2014-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230235957/http://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 1976 he acquired a fellowship at the National Humanities Institute at Yale University. Subsequently, in 1982 he was appointed Senior Fulbright Lecturer at Moscow State university.<ref>[https://fulbrightscholars.org/grantee/robert-holmes Fulbright Scholars Program - Robert Holmes (1982) on fulbrightscholars.org]</ref> He also served as a Faculty Fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame in 1993.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24x6EAAAQBAJ&dq=University+of+Michigan+Dissertation+Robert+L.+Holmes&pg=PA319 |title=From the Eye of the Storm: Regional Conflicts and the Philosophy of Peace |date=4 July 2022 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-45880-2 |page=319}}</ref> In 1998, Holmes was appointed to the newly established Rajiv Gandhi Chair in Peace and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, where he shaped the mission of the chair on instruction, research, and lectures.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Currents--November 9, 1998 |url=https://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |access-date=2016-12-05 |website=www.rochester.edu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318193059/https://www.rochester.edu/currents/V26/V26N20/story1.html |archive-date=2017-03-18}}</ref><ref>[https://www.rochester.edu/news/printable.php?id=1196 University of Rochester Press Release: "University of Rochester 151st Commencement Highlights" April 25, 2001, p. 2 "Robert L. Holmes is a professor of philosophy ...appointed to the Rajiv Gandhi Chair in Peace and Disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India" on rochester.edu]</ref><ref>[https://www.robert-holmes.com/about Robert L. Holmes - "Positions Held: Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Dehli, India First recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Chair in Peace and Disarmament, 1998-1999" biography on robert-holmes.com]</ref>

While serving on the faculty at the University of Rochester, his lectures were always eagerly anticipated by students of the humanities as well as the sciences. 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.<ref>[https://www.sbu.edu/support-sbu/advancement-news/2012/03/12/noted-expert-on-nonviolence-to-talk-about-social-inequality-thursday-at-st.-Bonaventure "St. Bonaventure University - Noted Expert on Nonviolence to talk about social inequality Thursday at St. Bonaventure" - Robert L. Holmes Biography on sbu.edu]</ref>

During the course of an academic career which has spanned over forty years, Holmes has held a variety of scholarly positions including: Fulbright Fellow at Moscow State University and a visiting professor at Notre Dame, Hamilton College as well as an instructor at the University of Texas at Austin.<ref>[https://www.robert-holmes.com/about Robert L. Holmes Biography on robert-homes.com]</ref> In addition, he served as an editor of the philosophical journal ''Public Affairs Quarterly'' (1995–1999),<ref name="robert-holmes.com"/> contributed to the editorial review boards of both ''Social Theory and Practice'' (1975–1995) <ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lIpR-i9aawoC&q=Robert+Holmes+Editor+Social+Theory+and+Practice+Editorial+Committee |title=Social Theory and Practice |date=1993 |page=114}}</ref> and ''The Acorn: Journal of the Gandhi-King Society'' (1990–2003)<ref name="robert-holmes.com"/> and also participated on the national board of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matthews |first=Gareth B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky6itexKzWcC&dq=Robert+Holmes++Editor+Public+Affairs+Quarterly&pg=PA384 |title=The Augustinian Tradition |date=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-520-20999-0 |page=384}}</ref> He was also a longtime adviser to the University of Rochester Undergraduate Philosophy Council.<ref>[https://www.sbu.edu/support-sbu/advancement-news/2012/03/12/noted-expert-on-nonviolence-to-talk-about-social-inequality-thursday-at-st.-bonaventure "St. Bonaventure University - Noted Expert on Nonviolence to talk about social inequality Thursday at St. Bonaventure"] - Robert L. Holmes Biography on sbu.edu</ref> For several years he also served as the university's Acting Chairman of the Department of Philosophy (1972 & 1980–1981).<ref>[https://www.sas.rochester.edu/phl/about/history.html University of Rochester - Department of Philosophy on Google.com]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://peacephilosophy.org/about-cpp ''Concerned Philosophers for Peace - Officers- Presidents''] on peacephilosophy.org</ref>

{{ external media|width=175px|image1=Photograph of Professor Robert L. Holmes at the University of Rochester on [https://www.sas.rochester.edu/phl/people/faculty/holmes_robert/index.html '''Rochester.edu''']}}

Holmes is the author of several comprehensive texts on the subject of moral philosophy. Included among his publications is a collaborative work undertaken in 1968 with Lewis White Beck - a noted scholar on Kantian ethics (''Philosophical Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy'').<ref name="Prentice-Hall">{{Cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Lewis White |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7cXtgEACAAJ |title=Philosophic Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy |last2=Holmes |first2=Robert L. |date=1968 |publisher=Prentice-Hall |isbn=978-0-13-662494-3}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rochester.edu/news/show.php?id=1330 "Philosopher, Scholar Lewis White Beck Dies"] on Rochester.edu.news]</ref> 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''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cicovacki |first=Predrag |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWg9hOtdzIIC&q=Robert+Holmes |title=Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck |date=2001 |publisher=University Rochester Press |isbn=1-58046-053-4 |pages=227–244}}</ref> He also coauthored a work in 2005 with Barry L. Gan - Director of the Center for Nonviolence at St. Bonaventure University (''Nonviolence in Theory and Practice'').<ref>[https://www.sbu.edu/about-sbu/people-of-sbu/faculty-profiles/gan-barry-l- ''St. Bonaventure University Profiles - Barry L. Gan: Director of the Center for Nonviolence'' on sbu.edu]</ref><ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKg4bwAACAAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms | title=Nonviolence in Theory and Practice | isbn=978-1-57766-349-2 | last1=Holmes | first1=Robert L. | last2=Gan | first2=Barry L. | date=2005 | publisher=Waveland Press }}</ref> In addition, he has published numerous papers in several academic peer-reviewed journals including: ''Analysis'',<ref name="Holmes 1974 96–100">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1974 |title=Is Morality a System of Hypothetical Imperatives? |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3327492 |journal=Analysis |volume=34 |issue=3 |pages=96–100 |doi=10.2307/3327492 |jstor=3327492|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Ethics'',<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/291878?journalCode=et | doi=10.1086/291878 | title=University Neutrality and ROTC | date=1973 | last1=Holmes | first1=Robert L. | journal=Ethics | volume=83 | issue=3 | pages=177–195 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''International Philosophical Quarterly'',<ref name="Holmes 1997 483–484">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1997 |title=Just War: Principles and Cases |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?openform&fp=ipq&id=ipq_1997_0037_0004_0483_0484 |journal=International Philosophical Quarterly |language=en |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=483–484 |doi=10.5840/ipq199737453|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Journal of Medicine and Philosophy'',<ref name="Holmes 1990 143–159">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=R. L. |date=1990 |title=The Limited Relevance of Analytical Ethics to the Problems of Bioethics |url=https://academic.oup.com/jmp/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/jmp/15.2.143 |journal=Journal of Medicine and Philosophy |language=en |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=143–159 |doi=10.1093/jmp/15.2.143 |pmid=2351891 |issn=0360-5310|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Journal of Value Inquiry'',<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00208793?LI=true | doi=10.1007/BF00208793 | title=John Dewey's social ethics | date=1973 | last1=Holmes | first1=Robertl. | journal=The Journal of Value Inquiry | volume=7 | issue=4 | url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''Mind'',<ref name="Holmes 1964 291–295">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1964 |title=The Case Against Ethical Naturalism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2251823 |journal=Mind |volume=73 |issue=290 |pages=291–295 |doi=10.1093/mind/LXXIII.290.291 |jstor=2251823|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''The Monist'',<ref name="Holmes 1964 392–406">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1964 |title=The Development of John Dewey's Ethical Thought |url=https://www.pdcnet.org/pdc/bvdb.nsf/purchase?openform&fp=monist&id=monist_1964_0048_0003_0392_0406 |journal=The Monist |language=en |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=392–406 |doi=10.5840/monist196448324|url-access=subscription }}</ref> ''The Philosophical Forum'',<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=2015 |title=The Metaethics of Pacifism and Just War Theory |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/phil.12052 |journal=The Philosophical Forum |volume=46 |pages=3–15 |doi=10.1111/phil.12052|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and ''The Review of Metaphysics''.<ref name="Holmes 1966 42–70">{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1966 |title=John Dewey's Moral Philosophy in Contemporary Perspective |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20124148 |journal=The Review of Metaphysics |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=42–70 |jstor=20124148}}</ref><ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Robert+L.+Holmes%22 ''Robert L. Holmes''] on scholar.google.com</ref>

Holmes is currently a professor emeritus at the University of Rochester but no longer instructs students on campus.<ref>[http://www.sas.rochester.edu/phl/people/faculty/holmes_robert/index.html University of Rochester - Faculty - Robert L. Holmes Professor Emeritus Professor of Philosophy on sas.rochester.edu]</ref> In recent years, he has also lectured at the Permanent India Mission to the United Nations during its annual International Day of Nonviolence (''"The Significance of Nonviolence in Today's World"'', 2017).<ref name="ReferenceA">[https://www.robert-holmes.com/speeches Robert L. Holmes: Partial List of Talks 2000-Present on robert=holmes.com]</ref> Subsequently, he was also invited to address the United Nations General Assembly in 2021. However, due to the emergence of the COVID pandemic in New York City, his lecture was cancelled.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

==Moral philosophy== Over the course of the past sixty years, Holmes has addressed several interrelated moral dilemmas posed in the modern age including terrorism, nuclear deterrence, pacifism and armed conflict in general. They are analyzed in depth in several of his peer-reviewed publications as well as in greater detail within the following texts.

===Academic works=== ====''On War and Morality''==== In his book ''On War and Morality'' (1989) he offers a robust philosophical defense of pacifism 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 (MAD) since the emergence of the cold war era. Citing a Reductio ad Absurdum argument and a prudential argument, Holmes rejects a reliance upon such an irrational set of principles and dismisses them as morally wrong.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2216042.pdf |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyers |first=Diana T. |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2185583.pdf |journal=The Philosophical Review |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=481–484 |doi=10.2307/2185583 |jstor=2185583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rock |first=Stephen R. |date=1989 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes; Paths to Peace: Exploring the Feasibility of Sustainable Peace, Richard Smoke, Willis Harman |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1961738.pdf |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=1447–1448 |doi=10.2307/1961738 |jstor=1961738}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2216042.pdf |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042}}</ref><ref name="Holmes">{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yGx-2-maackC |title=The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes |date=20 June 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-62356-962-4}}</ref>

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 that Wilsonian idealism inevitably led to the onset of World War II and confuse morality with moralism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyers |first=Diana T. |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2185583 |journal=The Philosophical Review |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=481–484 |doi=10.2307/2185583 |jstor=2185583|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rock |first=Stephen R. |date=1989 |title=Review of On War and Morality; Paths to Peace: Exploring the Feasibility of Sustainable Peace |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1961738 |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=1447–1448 |doi=10.2307/1961738 |issn=0003-0554 |jstor=1961738|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2216042 |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Holmes"/>

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 ''when'' a country may go to war (''Jus ad bellum'') or'' how'' a country conducts a war (''{{lang|la|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. In Holmes' view, all considerations of the logical ''necessity'' to use any military means in order to successfully wage war in accordance with ''Jus ad bellum'' are superseded by the moral requirement to avoid killing innocents which are embodied within the moral constraints of ''jus in bello''. As Holmes reminds his readers, :"To justify going to war...that is to establish ''jus ad bellum'' in the first place, requires showing that what one would be doing by waging it is justified. (178)" <ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyers |first=Diana T. |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2185583.pdf |journal=The Philosophical Review |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=481–484 |doi=10.2307/2185583 |jstor=2185583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rock |first=Stephen R. |date=1989 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes; Paths to Peace: Exploring the Feasibility of Sustainable Peace, Richard Smoke, Willis Harman |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1961738.pdf |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=1447–1448 |doi=10.2307/1961738 |jstor=1961738}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2216042.pdf |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042}}</ref><ref name="Holmes"/>

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 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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meyers |first=Diana T. |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2185583.pdf |journal=The Philosophical Review |volume=101 |issue=2 |pages=481–484 |doi=10.2307/2185583 |jstor=2185583}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2216042.pdf |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rock |first=Stephen R. |date=1989 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality, Robert L. Holmes; Paths to Peace: Exploring the Feasibility of Sustainable Peace, Richard Smoke, Willis Harman |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1961738.pdf |journal=The American Political Science Review |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=1447–1448 |doi=10.2307/1961738 |jstor=1961738}}</ref><ref name="Holmes"/>

In a peer-reviewed journal, it was noted that '"this is a carefully written and closely argued book, and a major contribution to our understanding of morality and war."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Steven |date=1992 |title=Reviewed work: On War and Morality., Robert L. Holmes |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2216042.pdf |journal=Noûs |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=559–562 |doi=10.2307/2216042 |jstor=2216042}}</ref> Another reviewer noted that, "...This is a piece of genuine scholarship; much of the analysis is original and the argumentation highly sophisticated. .. A thoughtful and thought-provoking call for pacifism in this decidedly militaristic age...deserves a wide audience."<ref>[https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1961738.pdf ''The American Political Science Review'' , The American Political Science Organization Dec., 1989, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Dec., 1989), pp. 1447-1448 "On War and Morality" by Robert L. Holmes reviewed by Stephen R. Rock on JSOTR.org]</ref>

====''Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence''==== 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.<ref>[https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pacifism/ ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy''- Zalta, Edward N., Nodelman, Uri. Eds. Stanford University (2023) "Pacifism"- "Authors such as Cheyney Ryan and Robert Holmes more strongly maintain that the just war framework is flawed. Holmes argues that the just war tradition typically ignores the central moral issue in war, which is about the presumptive immorality of the “massive, systematic and deliberate killing of human beings” that occurs in war (Holmes 2017a: xvii)" issn 1095-5054 on plato.standorf.edu]</ref> 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. His analysis suggests that the framework for the conventional Just War tradition is flawed precisely because it ignores the presumptive immorality of the "massive, systematic and deliberate killing of human beings" during war.<ref> [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/pacifism/ Fiala, Andrew, "Pacifism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2023 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2023/entries/pacifism/>. 8 May 2023]</ref> 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.<ref>[https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/pacificism-a-philosophy-of-nonviolence/ ''Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews'' - "Pacifism A Philosophy of Nonviolence" by Robert L. Holmes. Book review presented by Cheyney Ryan, the University of Oxford 6/7/2017 archived at the University of Notre Dame on ndpr.nd.edu]</ref> 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."<ref>[https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/pacificism-a-philosophy-of-nonviolence/ ''Pacifism A Philosophy of Nonviolence''. Holmes, Robert L. Bloomsbury, London, 2017 pp.265-266, "Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews" - "Pacifism A Philosophy of Nonviolence" Book review presented by Cheyney Ryan, the University of Oxford 6/7/2017 archived at the University of Notre Dame on ndpr.nd.edu]</ref> In Holmes view, this is entirely consistent with a new form of "existential pacifism".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |title=Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence |date=December 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-350-02982-8|pages=319 |accessdate=4 December 2025|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dq4mDQAAQBAJ&q=pacifism+holmes#v=snippet&q=existential%20pacifism&f=false}}</ref>

====''"Tolstoy On War"''==== In his essay ''"Tolstoy On War"'' (2024), Holmes collaborated with the contemporary philosopher Predrag Cicovacki to present an analysis of Leo Tolstoy's specific views on the historical impact of warfare as well as the irrationality and morality of waging war in general. In reference to the "irrationality of war", Holmes argues that Tolstoy is critical of humanity's repeated attempts to romanticize or glorify war. In Holmes's view, Tolstoy frames his criticism by underscoring the brutal, chaotic and irrational human motives which prevail during war despite the presence of orderly, rational calculations which are designed to achieve specific military strategies.<ref name="Cicovacki">{{Cite book |last=Cicovacki |first=Predrag |title=Tolstoy On War and Peace: Philosophical Perspectives |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-197-62591-0|pages=18-43 "Tolstoy On War" by Robert L. Holmes|accessdate=21 May 2026|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197625873.001.0001 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.robert-holmes.com/publications "Tolstoy On War" on robert-holmes.com]</ref>

Holmes also argues that Tolstoy is fundamentally skeptical of any appeal to a "Great Man Theory" during the practice of waging war. With this in mind, Holmes points toward Tolstoy's rejection of the assumption that specific powerful generals or commanders such as Napoleon are truly capable of exercising control over far reaching and vast historical events through the practice of war.<ref name="Cicovacki"/>

Holmes concludes by presenting a review of Tolstoy's philosophical pacifism, while underscoring Tolstoy's belief that the presence of institutionalized violence in warfare is a reflection of structures within society which underlie widespread suffering.<ref name="Cicovacki"/>

== Publications == {{ external media|width=175px|topic=You may preview selections from Holmes' book ''Nonviolence in Theory and Practice'' on [https://archive.org/details/nonviolenceinthe00holm '''archive.org''']}}

===Texts=== Included among Robert L. Holmes publications are the following texts:<ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=Robert+L.+Holmes&btnG= Robert L. Holmes' publications on Google Scholar]</ref> * ''Philosophic Inquiry: An Introduction to Philosophy'' by Lewis White Beck and Robert L. Holmes, (1968)<ref name="Prentice-Hall"/> * ''On War and Morality'' by Robert L. Holmes, (1989)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TBoABAAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms |title=On War and Morality |date=14 July 2014 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6014-2}}</ref> * ''The Augustinian Tradition'' Editor: Gareth B. Matthews. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "St. Augustine and the Just War Theory" (1999)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matthews |first=Gareth B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ky6itexKzWcC&q=%2522Robert+L.+Holmes%2522+-wikipedia |title=The Augustinian Tradition |date=1999 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-21001-1 |language=en}}</ref> * ''Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck'' Editor: Predrag Cicovacki. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes -"Consequentialism and its Consequences". (2001)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cicovacki |first=Predrag |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWg9hOtdzIIC&q=Robert+Holmes |title=Kant's Legacy: Essays in Honor of Lewis White Beck |date=2001 |publisher=University Rochester Press |isbn=978-1-58046-053-8}}</ref> * ''Social and Political Philosophy: Contemporary Perspectives'', Ed. Sterba, James P. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "Pacifism for Nonpacifists". (2001)<ref>[https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203462645-42/pacifism-nonpacifists-robert-holmes ''Social and Political Philosophy: Contemporary Perspectives''], Ed. Sterba, James P. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "Pacifism for Nonpacifists" Routledge, New York, (2001) Chapter 20 {{ISBN|978-0-203-46264-5}} on taylorfrancis.com</ref><ref>[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/0047-2786.00025 ''Journal of Social Philosophy'' 19 December 2002 "Pacifism for Nonpacifists". Holmes, Robert L. on Wiley online Library]</ref> * ''Nonviolence in Theory and Practice'' by Robert L. Holmes and Barry L. Gan, (2005)<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Holmes |first1=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UKg4bwAACAAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms |title=Nonviolence in Theory and Practice |last2=Gan |first2=Barry L. |date=2005 |publisher=Waveland Press |isbn=978-1-57766-349-2}}</ref> * ''The Ethics of Nonviolence - Essays by Robert L. Holmes'' by Robert L. Holmes, Editor: Predrag Cicovacki, (2013)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XbHAgAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms |title=The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes |date=20 June 2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-62356-580-0}}</ref><ref>[https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/the-ethics-of-nonviolence-essays-by-robert-l-holmes/ ''The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes''], Holmes, Robert L. Bloomsbury (2013) {{ISBN|978-1-62356-805-4}} Book reviewed in Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews by Andrew Fiala, California State university, 2013.12.18 on ndpr.org</ref> *''Basic Moral Philosophy'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2014)<ref name="Jr.2008">{{Cite book |last=Ghiraldelli |first=Paulo Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LVKkH52zb1kC&pg=PA111 |title=Contemporary pragmatism |date=February 2008 |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=978-90-420-2371-0 |pages=111– |accessdate=9 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BxH7CAAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms |title=Basic Moral Philosophy |date=8 October 2014 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-305-89026-8}}</ref> * ''Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2016)<ref name="Pacifism-2016">{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dq4mDQAAQBAJ&q=pacifism+holmes |title=Pacifism: A Philosophy of Nonviolence |date=December 2016 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-4742-7983-3 |pages=368– |accessdate=4 December 2016}}</ref> * ''Introduction to Applied Ethics'' by Robert L. Holmes, (2018)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6BIDwAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms |title=Introduction to Applied Ethics |date=22 February 2018 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-1-350-02982-8}}</ref>

===Journal articles=== Selected peer-reviewed articles published by Robert L. Holmes include:<ref>[https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Robert+L.+Holmes%22 ''Robert L. Holmes'' on scholar.google.com]</ref>

* "The Case Against Ethical Naturalism". ''Mind'' (1964):291-295<ref name="Holmes 1964 291–295"/> * "The Development of John Dewey's Ethical Thought". ''The Monist''(1964):392-406<ref name="Holmes 1964 392–406"/> * "John Dewey's Moral Philosophy in Contemporary Perspective". ''The Review of Metaphysics'' (1966):42-70<ref name="Holmes 1966 42–70"/> * "John Dewey's Social Ethics". ''The Journal of Value Inquiry'' (1973):274-280<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1973 |title=John Dewey's social ethics |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00208793?LI=true |journal=The Journal of Value Inquiry |volume=7 |issue=4 |doi=10.1007/BF00208793|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * "On Pacifism". ''The Monist'' (1973):489-506<ref>{{Cite journal | last= Holmes |first= Robert L. |date=1973 |title=On Pacifism |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27902328 | journal =The Monist |volume=57 |issue=4 |pages=489-506 }}</ref> * "University Neutrality and ROTC". ''Ethics''(1973):177<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Holmes |first=Robert L. |date=1973 |title=University Neutrality and ROTC |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/291878?journalCode=et |journal=Ethics |volume=83 |issue=3 |pages=177–195 |doi=10.1086/291878|url-access=subscription }}</ref> * "Is Morality a System of Hypothetical Imperatives?". ''Analysis'' (1974):96-100<ref name="Holmes 1974 96–100"/> * "The Limited Relevance of Analytical Ethics to the Problems of Bioethics." ''The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy'' (1990):143-159<ref name="Holmes 1990 143–159"/> * "Just War: Principles and Causes". ''International Philosophical Quarterly''(1997):483-484<ref name="Holmes 1997 483–484"/> * "The Metaethics of Pacifism and Just War Theory". ''Philosophical Forum Quarterly'' (2015):2-15<ref name=":0" />

==See also== * Nonviolence * Mahatma Gandhi * Pacifism *Kantian ethics {{Portal bar|Philosophy}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{wikiquote}} * [https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL398570A/Robert_L._Holmes Robert L. Holmes - publications on McMillan's openlibrary.org] * [https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C33&q=Robert+L.+Holmes&btnG= Robert L. Holmes' publications on Google Scholar] *[https://philpapers.org/s/Robert%20Holmes Robert L. Holmes' publications on Philpapers.org] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=BxH7CAAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms ''Basic Moral Philosophy'' by Robert L. Holmes on books.google.com] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=TBoABAAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms ''On War and Morality'' by Robert L. Holmes on books.google.com] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=0XbHAgAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms ''The Ethics of Nonviolence - Essays by Robert L. Holmes'' Editor: Predrag Cicovacki on books.google.com] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=a6BIDwAAQBAJ&q=Robert+L.+Holms ''Introduction to Applied Ethics'' by Robert L.Holmes on books.google.com] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=SWg9hOtdzIIC&q=Robert+Holmes ''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] * [https://books.google.com/books?id=ky6itexKzWcC&q=%22Robert+L.+Holmes%22+-wikipedia ''The Augustinian Tradition'' Editor: Gareth B. Matthews. Contributor: Robert L. Holmes - "St. Augustine and the Just War Theory" on books.google.com] * [https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Robert+L.+Holmes&dblist=638&fq=ap%3A%22holmes+robert+l%22&qt=facet_ap%3A ''Robert L. Holmes'' on worldcat.org]

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