Conscientious Objection as an Act of Civil Disobedience

Abstract

Chapter 5 studies the nature of conscientious objection and its relationship with civil disobedience. It examines the conflict between conscience and law. To clarify whether conscientious objection to military service is an act of civil disobedience, it utilises Charles Moskos and Whiteclay Chambers’s classification of conscientious objection and John Rawls’s definition of civil disobedience. It contributes to the current philosophical debate on civil disobedience by providing empirical evidence on the differences and similarities between civil disobedience and conscientious objection in Turkey. It argues that a conscientiously motivated act – namely, conscientious objection to military service – could form a collective act that aims to bring about a change in society.