By disanalogy, cyberwarfare is utterly new

Selmer Bringsjord

John Licato

pp. 339-358

in: Ludovica Glorioso (ed), Cyber-conflicts, Philosophy & Technology 28 (3), 2015.

Abstract

We provide an underlying theory of argument by disanalogy, in order to employ it to show that cyberwarfare is fundamentally new (relative to traditional kinetic warfare, and espionage). Once this general case is made, the battle is won: we are well on our way to establishing our main thesis: that Just War Theory itself must be modernized. Augustine and Aquinas (and their predecessors) had a stunningly long run, but today's world, based as it is on digital information and increasingly intelligent information-processing, points the way to a beast so big and so radically different, that the core of this duo's insights needs to be radically extended.