April 2005
Questioning to advance the cause of peace
By: Catherine McCormick
In a world riddled by war and terrorism, how do you teach peace?
James Sterba, professor of philosophy since 1973 and Fellow of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, has his own formula: Ask a lot of questions, anywhere and to anyone you can.
Following the September 11 attacks, Sterba was the first scholar to assemble philosophical essays on the topic of terrorism, according to his publisher, Oxford University Press. Titled “Terrorism and International Justice,” the book explores the questions: What is the nature and rhetoric of terrorism, who are the terrorists and why do they hate, and what is a morally justified response to terrorism?
Fellow essayists such as Noam Chomsky; University of Chicago’s Martha Nussbaum; Notre Dame’s Rev. David Burrell, C.S.C., Hesburgh Professor of Philosophy; and Sterba tailored their writings to make the book useful across the social sciences.
Sterba finds that teaching peace is a day-to-day process with Notre Dame students. One key, he says, is at first keeping his own views out of the discussion so that students can learn to state their own.
Again, questions are at the heart of the teaching and learning process. How should we understand the terrorism that the U.S opposes?Is terrorism always wrong, or are there morally justified terrorist acts? Is war a morally defensible response to the terrorism of 9/11?
Sterba aims to help students sort out the issues, evaluate all sides and come to conclusions they can defend against opposing views. He recalls once presenting competing essays on a topic and not wanting his students to know which side he favored. “I said the author of one essay was Paul James, the reverse of my first and middle names. Eventually I had to level with them. They always wondered how I knew the views of Paul James so well.
“They will do badly in the class if they just go along with what I say. They have to zero in on the strongest objections, look for good arguments. Sometimes their views change from the first paper they write to the second,” he says.
“In discussions, I always say, ‘What do you think?’ Asking for an evaluation. That’s typical of a philosopher. You don’t take anything for given.”
As he was finishing “Terrorism and International Justice,” Sterba reached out to an audience of local kindergarten through 12th grade teachers who were participating in the professional development program Teachers as Scholars (TAS). Among questions explored by those adult students: Is terrorism something only our enemies have employed or have our allies and we also engaged in terrorist acts?
Sterba addressed these issues last month when directors of the national Teachers as Scholars program held their annual meeting on campus. It was the first time the group met off the campus of Princeton University, headquarters of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, which provided the initial grants for TAS programs around the country.
Sterba found himself addressing a mature, well-educated audience, ready and willing to express their views, consider new ideas, and even change their minds.
That’s the way world leaders should act as well, Sterba believes, if they are interested in peace.
“Truth emerges from conflict, and you have to be willing to give up your view in the face of devastating criticism,” he says. “If you get enough people talking, you will find common ground.”
Contact James Sterba at James.P.Sterba.1@nd.edu