Questions tagged [philosophy-of-war]

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Is nationalism ethical?

This is discussed by Margaret Moore in The Ethics of Nationalism. Is national sovereignty worth a single human life? Is a nation justified in using disproportionate force to protect its citizens and ...
Meanach's user avatar
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6 answers
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When is war justified? Is defence of national sovereignty a sufficient moral justification? [closed]

If aggressive war is always wrong, is defensive war always right?
Meanach's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
119 views

Do any philosophers argue for a state of constant war?

Do any philosophers argue for a state of constant war? Not as a state that needs to be prevented, but an ideal state. I don't think that's Marx, but it may be some variants of Marxism. Does ...
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2 votes
3 answers
215 views

What is the morality of joining the military?

What is the morality of joining the military? Clearly, military men and women can have any number of virtues, but also are trained killers. There is the argument that they are legally so, but while I ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
68 views

Attacker accuses the defender. What fallacy is going on here?

Suppose one country, the aggressor, launches a missile attack against another country, the defender. During the attack, the defender activates its anti-missile defense system and successfully shoots ...
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0 votes
2 answers
64 views

Is there a moral dilemma in democide studies?

Accusing a regime or other political organization of mass killing can be a fairly effective way of riling people up. But a lot of the relevant statistics seem lacking in direct support; we don't often ...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
435 views

Exploring philosophy behind "Catch-22" novel: individual in war

I am looking for the name and possibly deeper development of the system of ethics / morality exemplified by the attitude of Yossarian, the main protagonist of Catch-22 novel by Joseph Heller. ...
Roger V.'s user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Would a physical near-equivalent to continental nuclear war have roughly the same moral status as an actual such war?

Qualifications. Barring the future advent of antimatter, black-hole, or similar weaponry, nuclear weapons are the standard-bearer for destruction in our world. Their comparison with chemical ...
Kristian Berry's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
127 views

What is the doctrine of using violence to preserve peace called?

What is the correct way to describe the philosophy on the subject of 'war to make peace' or 'justification of short-term violence on the road to long-term peace'. Si vis pacem, para bellum is another ...
dave's user avatar
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2 answers
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The Philosophy of War and Value Judgement [closed]

With the war in Ukraine, I think a field has been opened up for studying the philosophy of war deeper. First of all, I would like to state that I oppose the war in Ukraine and Russian government's ...
Xemorphy's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
183 views

Can man live without war? Can a state live without war?

Just imagine when a man sees our planet from a different planet (like Mars), the man sees no causes of war. Why are all wars not finished? Please propose books/articles to understand it.
Vitalii Pro's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
168 views

Famous "mistranslation" of Clausewitz

Properly translated, however, the title reads “War Is a Mere Continuation of Policy with Other Means.” “With,” not “by.” There is zero ambiguity in the German. The translators, or perhaps their ...
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5 answers
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Is fascism intrinsically violent?

Has every group or nation that is generally considered to be fascist, descended from the nationalist ideology of Mussolini (I don't mean 'fascism' in the sense of just any right wing demagogy), ...
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1 answer
116 views

Would it be reasonable to air-drop suicide pills during the Rwandan Genocide?

Thus I ask a different question - barring legal requirements, is my question a reasonable one? By the bye, has any philosophers published on the ethics of suicide in a war? Original Question on ...
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-1 votes
1 answer
202 views

Authors who think war and violence are part of the American culture and economy

The United States Military budget exceeds the next 9 countries on the list combined ref. here. A great deal of Hollywood movies portrait the glory of war and present violence as something entertaining ...
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0 votes
2 answers
144 views

Authors on wars making societies evolve [closed]

Let's presume Nazi Germany did not happen. Young kids would not have references on how damaging extreme nationalism can be therefore the Third Reich could have append anywhere in the world an can ...
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4 answers
485 views

Is philosophy mostly a male pursuit and is it a method to attain status?

Historically the vast majority of famous philosophers have been male. Males are (generally) combative and concerned with attaining status. Can philosophy be separated from the earthly evolutionary ...
Jimmy Widdle's user avatar
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3 answers
453 views

Question about war [closed]

If we are civilized enough to be able to set rules for war, why can't war be non-lethal? Why not something else competitive? If we still want to be violent, why not just have an MMA match?
Sipher_'s user avatar
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1 answer
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Had the Second World War an underlying philosophical issue? [closed]

Was WWII a fight between different serious interpretations of the world, apart from the usual superficial descriptions of military fights between countries? Does there exist some philosophical secret ...
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2 answers
96 views

Violence and War in life

Link: Does the violence make us understand some idea? If so, what? What is the purpose of such detail? I'm doing a report for the novel Ender's Game. The large role in this novel is violence and war.
Spirit In Motion's user avatar
3 votes
4 answers
352 views

Does the existence of total warfare (i.e. win or die) prove that free-will is limited?

When you look at history there seems to be two types of wars: 1) the "unilateral" or asymmetric wars (like recently the Iraq war where one group of people overwhelmingly keep the conflict under their ...
Jerome's user avatar
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-1 votes
4 answers
161 views

Is it ethical to earn money by convincing young men to enlist in the army during wartime? [closed]

Firstly, is it ethical to convince young men (and women) to risk death and injury by enlisting in the army and going to war? Secondly, if the person running such an enlistment campaign has absolutely ...
Krishnaraj Rao's user avatar
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1 answer
119 views

Is The War on Terror Civil War? [closed]

Premise: Country-X is in a War on Terror (not a War on Terrorism). Country-X incarcerates greatest % of its population compared to all others. Imagine taking a dog and putting him in a small concrete ...
Ronnie Royston's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
231 views

Books or articles on military thought?

I'm looking to find writings on military thought. Not in the sense of tactics or history of war, but in the sense of being in or running a military force in the abstract. Ideally, possible topics ...
ewkochin's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
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Paul Valery's Crisis of the Mind [closed]

An excerpt from Paul Valery's Crisis of Mind: I was saying the other day the peace is the kind of war that allows acts of love and creation in its course; it is, then, a more complex and ...
maregor's user avatar
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3 answers
154 views

What is the 'War on Terror'? [closed]

It isn't War, as classically defined by Clauswitz, which is defined to be declared by states against states; states are of course the pre-eminant form of political organisation since the Peace of ...
Mozibur Ullah's user avatar
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0 answers
160 views

What are prominent pro-war 20th century philosphers?

I'm asking from a sociological perspective here. Motivation: I wonder if it is true that technological development is better during war time, and if so, why? Is it because the review process is ...
Nikolaj-K's user avatar
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2 answers
771 views

What are the reasons for human conflict? [closed]

In his "The French Revolution, a History", 3.3.II, Thomas Carlyle writes the following: "for all battle is well said to be misunderstanding" He is speaking in reference to the terrible conflict ...
Vector's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
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What does this quote from Albert Camus mean?

“To be born to create, to love, to win at games is to be born to live in time of peace. But war teaches us to lose everything and become what we were not. it all becomes a question of style.” — ...
omeid's user avatar
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-1 votes
3 answers
874 views

Art of War: Do not criticize your enemies? [closed]

I read The Art of War by Sun Tzu but don't recall the author mentioning anything directly regarding criticizing one's enemies. It seems that when you get into an argument with your enemy and start ...
Tom Jones's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
2k views

How much if any suspension of civil liberties can be ethically justified during a "state of war"? [closed]

We constantly see civil liberties getting sacked because the country/state/city/town is in a state of war (let it be curfews or bugging civilian mobile phones). How much is ok? At what level is it ...
ritwik's user avatar
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8 votes
5 answers
5k views

How has the philosophy of war changed since Sun Tzu's The Art of War?

The Art of War, an ancient military treatise written by Sun Tzu, is composed of thirteen chapters detailing strategies for war ranging from simply laying plans to the extensive use of fire and spies ...
Edward Black's user avatar