--------Two opposing armies converge on a battlefield, strangely with same banner, Duckrabbit. Someone on the ground shouts: "There can be no peace until they renounce their Rabbit God and accept our Duck God."
Philosophers of war and of the rules of war ultimately divide into two schools of thought. One is represented by the pragmatic optimist Grotius, who believed in a loose global society and reciprocity; the other by the more cynical ‘realist’, Hobbes, who believed that the pragmatism of self-interest leads to the fear of the sword and the balance of power. The justifications which a person accepts for going to war – and for particular actions within a war – will depend on their other convictions and disposition. — The Philosophy of War
what a philosophy of war is supposed to be. — Ciceronianus the White
:100:I believe in the old Roman saying from Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus "Si vis pacem, para bellum". — ssu
Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius come to mind. Also the contemporary Stoicist writings of James Stockdale and Nancy Sherman.Is there another philosophy for war?
I remember what once war veteran once told me: "In war never forget your humanity".
I think that is a great philosophy especially for an officer to remember.
The Cuban Missile crises was averted by one Russian general who refused to launch a nuclear missile as his submarine was being bombed. — Manuel
Huh? One wages war to acquire territory, resources, people, trade routes, prestige, or buffer zones. Or else to eliminate or subjugate rivals who pose threats, real or imagined, to those things. — StreetlightX
I have always had a leaning towards pacifism and its philosophy — Jack Cummins
War is usually thought of as violence between states or, more broadly speaking, political communities. But the term “war” can also be applied to violent conflicts among individuals, as in Hobbes’ idea that the state of nature is a state of war. Similarly, although peace is usually thought of as a political condition of amicable relations between states, terms like “peace” or “peaceful” can also be used to describe a relation between individuals or even a person’s state of mind. — SEP: Pacifism
There is also the big question of just and unjust war, but I do still believe it is better to find solutions which don't involve war. — Jack Cummins
I'm uncertain just what a philosophy of war is supposed to be. Is it an explanation of it? Is it the consideration of how war should be waged? Does it involve the question of when war is "just"? — Ciceronianus the White
...for many, not warring is not an option. Where there is no choice philosophy cannot be of much help unless peripherally. For the people who choose war, I don't see how that can be justified. — tim wood
'Huh?' - what is that supposed to mean. It sounds dismissive. Why did you feel you had to start off with that, huh ? — Amity
Instead of just going by the instinct of fighting for the chance of spreading one's genes, we've conjured up other reasons driven by those instincts as the core drive. — Christoffer
most major powers of war mostly have a strong military as a necessary protection, but no one really wants to go to a major war (world war size), because it's draining resources and there are no resources left in the nations to conquer. — Christoffer
Wonder how he felt - relieved tinged with guilt ?...got out of the draft because of college and flat feet. — ArguingWAristotleTiff
Did he survive ?My Uncle (his brother) quit Loyala medical school before his senior year and left for Vietnam. — ArguingWAristotleTiff
Ave Maria (Schubert) (With Pavarotti)
Bono — ArguingWAristotleTiff
"Best job I ever had." — 180 Proof
Levinas suggests that war is the complete negation (suspension? à la Kierkeegaard) of ethics and (my read) therefore, paradoxically, it's raison d'etre is to remind us to oppose and then how to recover from war. — 180 Proof
The Treaty created much resentment in Germany, which was exploited by Adolf Hitler in his rise to power at the helm of Nazi Germany. Central to this was belief in the stab-in-the-back myth, which held that the German army had not lost the war and had been betrayed by the Weimar Republic, who negotiated an unnecessary surrender. The Great Depression exacerbated the issue and led to a collapse of the German economy. Though the treaty may not have caused the crash, it was a convenient scapegoat. Germans viewed the treaty as a humiliation and eagerly listened to Hitler's oratory which blamed the treaty for Germany's ills. Hitler promised to reverse the depredations of the Allied powers and recover Germany's lost territory and pride, which has led to the treaty being cited as a cause of World War II.[184][176] — Treaty of Versailles: Rise of the Nazis
I don't have high hopes for the goodness of man, for universal pacifism or other high mindedness and pompous grandstanding. I believe in the old Roman saying from Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus "Si vis pacem, para bellum". — ssu
Therefore let him who desires peace prepare for war."
The idea which it conveys also appears in earlier works such as Plato's Nomoi (Laws) and the Chinese Shi Ji.[3][4][5] The phrase presents the insight that the conditions of peace are often preserved by a readiness to make war when necessitated — Wiki
Is there another philosophy for war?
I remember what once war veteran once told me: "In war never forget your humanity".
I think that is a great philosophy especially for an officer to remember.
- ssu
Epictetus & Marcus Aurelius come to mind. Also the contemporary Stoicist writings of James Stockdale and Nancy Sherman. — 180 Proof
The 'chance of spreading one's genes', I would have thought would be more about making love than war. — Amity
Global resources such as oil are still available to plunder...
The economic resources involved in war efforts are astronomical.
The profit gained is what some see as the 'good of war'. — Amity
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.