Citation

Garren DJ. J. Mil. Ethics 2022; 21(2): 162-182.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15027570.2022.2109314

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The United States has been waging the "War on Terror" for nearly two decades. Obscured among the more obvious costs of that war is the moral injury borne by many of the soldiers who have fought and participated in it. Unlike post-traumatic stress disorder, which is rooted in fear, moral injury is rooted in shame, shame for having committed a moral transgression, a violation of the moral code. Haunted by the memory of their misdeeds, these soldiers are plagued by all manner of illness and infirmity, from anxiety and depression to substance abuse and suicide. In this article, I explore whether these soldiers have a right to forget, one that would entitle them to use pharmacological or psychological manipulation to cleanse their minds of the memory that they have dirtied their hands, and in that way relieve themselves of the anguish and torment from which they suffer. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Language: en

Keywords

memory; moral injury; Dirty Hands; right to forget