(No) Morality in the Game?

Ethics on Both Sides of the War Game

Abstract

This article analyses the use of wargames and serious games for military purposes from an ethical perspective. First, it examines the normative prerequisites and moral structural characteristics of the game on a metaethical level and embarks on a search for the ontological definition of game morality. Building on this, it provides a normative-ethical assessment of the military use of game-based formats within the horizon of Protestant peace ethics. The article takes the form of a conversation between two authors who, from different perspectives, arrive at the same conclusion: that the ethical distinction between played and unplayed reality proves untenable.