Scientists say that one of the least developed topics of philosophy is war.
In most works devoted to this problem, authors, as a rule, do not go beyond the moral assessment of this phenomenon. The article will consider the history of the study of the philosophy of war.
Relevance of the topic
Even ancient philosophers spoke of the fact that humanity is in a state of military conflict for most of its existence. In the 19th century, researchers published statistics confirming the sayings of ancient sages. The period starting from the first millennium BC and ending with the nineteenth century from the birth of Christ was chosen as a time period for study.
Researchers have concluded that in three millennia of history, only three-plus-hundreds of years fall on peacetime. More precisely, for every quiet year, twelve years of armed conflict go. Thus, we can conclude that about 90% of the history of mankind passed in an atmosphere of emergency.
Positive and negative vision of the problem
The war in the history of philosophy was evaluated both positively and negatively by various thinkers. So, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Roerich and many others spoke of this phenomenon as the greatest vice of mankind. These thinkers argued that war is one of the most meaningless and tragic events in people's lives.
Some of them even built utopian concepts of how to overcome this social ailment and live in eternal peace and harmony. Other thinkers, such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Vladimir Solovyov, argued that since the war has been going on almost continuously since the advent of statehood to the present day, it certainly has a certain meaning.
Two different points of view
The prominent 20th-century Italian philosopher Julius Evola was inclined to view the war in a somewhat romanticized light. He built his teaching on the idea that since during armed conflicts a person is constantly on the verge of life and death, he is in contact with the spiritual, intangible world. According to this author, it is at such moments that people are able to realize the meaning of their earthly existence.
Russian philosopher and religious writer Vladimir Solovyov examined the essence of the war and its philosophy through the prism of religion. However, his opinion was fundamentally different from that of his Italian counterpart.
He argued that war, in itself, was a negative event. Its cause is the nature of man, corrupted as a result of the fall of the first people. However, it happens, like everything that happens, by the will of God. According to this point of view, the meaning of armed conflict is to show humanity how much it is mired in sins. After this realization, everyone has the opportunity to repent. Therefore, even such a terrible phenomenon can serve the benefit of sincerely believing people.
The philosophy of war according to Tolstoy
Leo Tolstoy did not adhere to the opinion that the Russian Orthodox Church had. The philosophy of war in the novel "War and Peace" can be expressed as follows. It is well known that the author adhered to pacifist views, which means that in this work he preaches the rejection of any violence.
Interestingly, in the last years of his life, the great Russian writer was keenly interested in Indian religions and philosophical thought. Lev Nikolaevich was in correspondence with the famous thinker and public figure Mahatma Gandhi. This man has become famous for his concept of nonviolent resistance. In this way he managed to achieve independence of his country from the colonialist policy of England. The philosophy of war in the novel of the great Russian classic is in many ways similar to these beliefs. But Lev Nikolaevich outlined in this work the foundations of his vision of not only interethnic conflicts and their causes. In the novel War and Peace, the philosophy of history appears before the reader from a point of view unknown until then.
The author says that, in his opinion, the meaning that thinkers put into some events is visible and far-fetched. In fact, the true essence of things always remains hidden from human consciousness. And only heavenly forces are given to see and know the whole real relationship of events and phenomena in the history of mankind.
He holds a similar opinion regarding the role of individuals in the course of world history. According to Leo Tolstoy, the influence on fate that is written by an individual politician is actually a pure invention of scientists and politicians who are thus trying to find the meaning of some events and justify the fact of their existence.
In the philosophy of the war of 1812, the main criterion for everything that happens for Tolstoy is the people. It was thanks to him that the enemies were expelled from Russia with the help of the "Club" of the general militia. In War and Peace, the philosophy of history appears before the reader in an unprecedented way, as Lev Nikolaevich sets forth events as they were seen by the participants in the war. His narrative is emotional because he seeks to convey the thoughts and feelings of people. This “democratic” approach to the philosophy of the war of 1812 was an indisputable innovation in Russian and world literature.
New War Theorist
The war of 1812 in philosophy inspired another thinker to create enough capital work about armed conflicts and how to conduct them. This author was an Austrian officer, Von Clausewitz, who fought on the side of Russia.
This participant in the legendary events, two decades after the victory, published his book containing a new methodology for conducting military operations. This work is distinguished by its simple and accessible language.
For example, Von Clausewitz interprets the purpose of the country's entry into armed conflict in this way: the main thing is to subordinate the enemy to his will. The writer offers to fight until the enemy is completely destroyed, that is, the state - the enemy will be completely wiped off the face of the earth. Von Clausewitz says that the struggle must be waged not only on the battlefield, it is also necessary to destroy the cultural values that exist on enemy territory. In his opinion, such actions will lead to complete demoralization of the enemy troops.
Followers of the theory
The year 1812 became a landmark for the philosophy of war, because this armed conflict inspired one of the most famous army management theorists to create labor, which guided many European military leaders, and which became a program in many universities of the corresponding profile around the world.
It was such a ruthless strategy that the German commanders adhered to during the First and Second World Wars. This philosophy of war was new to European thought.
Largely for this reason, many Western states have been unable to withstand the inhuman aggression of German troops.
The philosophy of war before Clausewitz
To understand what radically new ideas were contained in the book of an Austrian officer, one should follow the development of the philosophy of war from ancient times to modern times.
So, the very first violent clashes that occurred in the history of mankind took place because one people, having experienced a food crisis, sought to plunder the wealth accumulated by neighboring countries. As can be seen from this thesis, this campaign did not contain any political motive. Therefore, as soon as the soldiers of the aggressor army seized a sufficient amount of material wealth, they immediately left a foreign country, leaving its people alone.
Separation of spheres of influence
As the emergence and growing development of powerful highly civilized states, the war ceased to be a tool for food and acquired new, political goals. Stronger countries sought to subjugate small and weak ones to their influence. Winners, as a rule, did not want to achieve anything other than the ability to collect tribute from the losers.
Such armed conflicts usually did not end with the complete destruction of the defeated state. The commanders also did not want to destroy any values belonging to the enemy. On the contrary, the victorious side often tried to establish itself as highly developed in terms of spiritual life and the aesthetic education of its citizens. Therefore, in ancient Europe, as in many countries of the East, there was a tradition to respect the customs of other peoples. It is known that the great Mongol commander and ruler Genghis Khan, who conquered most of the states of the world known at that time, respected the religion and culture of the conquered territories with great respect. Many historians wrote that he often celebrated the holidays that existed in those countries that were supposed to pay him tribute. Similar foreign policy was followed by the descendants of an outstanding ruler. Chronicles indicate that the khans of the Golden Horde almost never gave orders to destroy Russian Orthodox churches. With great respect, the Mongols treated all sorts of artisans skillfully owning their profession.
Code of Honor for Russian Soldiers
Thus, it can be argued that the methodology of influencing the enemy by all possible means, up to its final destruction, was completely contrary to the European military culture that had developed by the 19th century. The recommendations of Von Clausewitz did not receive a response among the domestic military either. Despite the fact that this book was written by a man who fought on the side of Russia, the thoughts expressed in it came into sharp conflict with Christian Orthodox morality and therefore were not approved by the Russian high command staff.
The charter, which was used until the end of the 19th century, said that it was not necessary to fight in order to kill, but for the sole purpose of winning. The high moral qualities of Russian officers and soldiers were especially pronounced when our army entered Paris during the Patriotic War of 1812.
Unlike the French, who, on the way to the capital of the Russian state, robbed the population, officers of the Russian army behaved with dignity even on the territory of the enemy they had seized. There are cases when they, celebrating their victory in French restaurants, paid their bills completely, and when the money ran out, they took a loan from the institutions. The French for a long time recalled the generosity and generosity of the Russian people.
Whoever comes with a sword to us will die from the sword
Unlike some Western faiths, primarily Protestantism, as well as a number of Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, the Russian Orthodox Church has never preached absolute pacifism. Many prominent warriors in Russia are glorified as saints. Among them can be called such outstanding commanders as Alexander Nevsky, Mikhail Ushakov, and many others.
The first of these was revered not only in tsarist Russia among believers, but also after the Great October Revolution. The famous words of this statesman and commander, which served as the title of this chapter, became a peculiar motto of the entire national army. From this we can conclude that in Russia the defenders of their native land were always highly valued.
The influence of Orthodoxy
The philosophy of war, characteristic of the Russian people, has always been based on the principles of Orthodoxy. This can easily be explained by the fact that it is this faith that is cultural-forming in our state. Almost all domestic classical literature is saturated with this spirit. And the state language of the Russian Federation itself would be completely different without this influence. Confirmation can be found by considering the origin of words such as “thank you, ” which, as you know, means nothing more than a wish to the interlocutor to be saved by the Lord God.
And this, in turn, points to the Orthodox religion. It is this denomination that preaches the need for repentance of sins in order to deserve mercy from the Almighty.
Therefore, it can be argued that the philosophy of war in our country is based on the same principles. It is no coincidence that George the Victorious was always among the most revered saints in Russia.
This righteous warrior is also depicted on metal coins of Russia - kopeks.
Information war
Currently, the importance of information technology has reached unprecedented power. Sociologists and political scientists argue that at this stage of its development, society has entered a new era. She, in turn, replaced the so-called industrial society. The most important area of human activity in this period is the storage and processing of information.
This circumstance affected all aspects of life. It is no coincidence that the new educational standard of the Russian Federation speaks of the need to educate the next generation, taking into account constantly progressing technical progress. Therefore, the army, from the point of view of the philosophy of the modern period, should have in its arsenal and actively use all the achievements of science and technology.
Battles on another level
The philosophy of war and its significance is now easiest to illustrate with the example of the reforms that are being carried out in the defense sphere of the United States of America.
The term "information war" first appeared in this country in the early nineties of the XX century.
In 1998, he acquired a clear, universally accepted definition. According to him, information warfare is the impact on the enemy through various channels through which new information about various aspects of life comes to him.
Following a similar military philosophy, it is necessary to influence the public consciousness of the enemy country's population not only at the time of hostilities, but also in a peaceful period. Thus, the citizens of an enemy country, without knowing it, will gradually acquire a worldview, assimilate ideas that are beneficial for the aggressor state.
The armed forces can also affect the mood prevailing in their own territory. In some cases, this is required to raise the morale of the population, instill patriotic feelings, and solidarity with the current policy. An example would be American operations in the mountains of Afghanistan, with the goal of destroying Osama bin Laden and his associates.
It is known that these actions were carried out exclusively at night. From the point of view of military science, this cannot be given a logical explanation. Such operations would be much more convenient to carry out in the daytime. In this case, the reason lies not in the special strategy of conducting air strikes at the points where the militants are supposedly located. The fact is that the geographical location of the USA and Afghanistan is such that when it is night in an Asian country, day is in America. Accordingly, much more viewers can see live television broadcasts from the scene if they are broadcast when the vast majority of people are awake.
In the American literature on the philosophy of war and modern principles of its conduct, the term "battlefield" has now changed somewhat. Now the content of this concept has expanded significantly. Therefore, the very name of this phenomenon now sounds like “battle space”. Here it is understood that the war in its modern meaning is already taking place not only in the form of combat battles, but also at the informational, psychological, economic and many other levels.
This is largely consistent with the philosophy of the book "On War", written almost two centuries ago by the veteran of the Patriotic War of 1812, Von Clausewitz.
Reasons for the war
This chapter will examine the causes of war, as various thinkers saw them, from adherents to the pagan religion of antiquity to Tolstoy’s theory of war. The most ancient Greek and Roman ideas about the essence of interethnic conflicts were based on the mythological worldview of a person of that time. The Olympic gods worshiped by the inhabitants of these countries appeared to people as creatures that were no different from themselves except for their omnipotence.
All the passions and sins inherent in the ordinary mortal were not alien to the celestials. The gods of Olympus often quarreled with each other, and this enmity, according to religious doctrine, led to a clash of different peoples. There were also individual gods whose purpose was to create conflict situations between different countries and incite conflicts. One of such higher creatures, who patronized the people of the military estate and organized numerous battles, was Artemis.
Later ancient philosophers of war held more realistic views. Socrates and Plato spoke about its reasons on the basis of economic and political considerations. Therefore, the paths went Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In their view, most armed conflicts in the history of mankind have occurred due to disagreements between classes of society.
In addition to the philosophy of war in the novel "War and Peace", there were other concepts within which attempts were made to find, for interstate conflicts, reasons other than economic and political.
For example, the famous Russian philosopher, artist and public figure Nikolai Roerich argued that the root of the evil that engenders armed clashes is cruelty.
And she, in turn, is nothing but materialized ignorance. This quality of a human person can be described as the sum of ignorance, lack of culture and profanity. And accordingly, in order to establish eternal peace on earth, it is necessary to overcome all the defects of humanity listed below. An ignorant person, from the point of view of Roerich, does not have the ability to be creative. Therefore, in order to realize his potential energy, he does not create, but seeks to destroy.
Mystical approach
In the history of the philosophy of war, among others, there existed concepts that were distinguished by their excessive mysticism. One of the authors of this teaching was the writer, thinker and ethnographer Carlos Castaneda.
His philosophy in The Way of War is based on a religious practice called nagualism. In this work, the author claims that overcoming the errors prevailing in human society is the only true way of life.
Christian point of view
Religious doctrine, based on the commandments given to mankind by the Son of God, considering the causes of wars, says that all the bloody events in the history of mankind have occurred because of the tendency of people to sin, or rather, because of their corrupt nature and inability to cope with it on their own.
Here, in contrast to Roerich's philosophy, it is not a question of individual atrocities, but of sinfulness as such.
A man cannot get rid of many atrocities without God's help, including envy, condemnation of his neighbors, profanity, greed, and so on. It is this property of the soul that underlies the small and large conflicts between people.
It must be added that the same reason lies at the basis of the emergence of laws, states, and so on. Even in ancient times, realizing their sinfulness, people began to fear each other, and often themselves. Therefore, they invented a tool of protection against the unseemly deeds of their brothers.
Однако, как уже говорилось в этой статье, защита собственной страны и себя от врагов в православии всегда рассматривалось как благодеяние, поскольку в данном случае такое применение силы воспринимается как борьба со злом. Бездействие в подобных ситуациях может быть приравнено ко греху.
Однако православие не склонно излишне идеализировать профессию военных. Так, один святой отец в письме к своему духовному ученику укоряет последнего за то, что его сын, имея способности к точным и гуманитарным наукам, выбрал для себя армейскую службу.
Также в православной религии священникам запрещено совмещать их служение церкви с военной карьерой.
Православным воинам и полководцам многие святые отцы рекомендовали совершать молитву перед началом битвы, а также по ее завершении.
Также тем верующим, которым по воле обстоятельств необходимо служить в армии, нужно всеми силами стараться исполнять то, что в воинском уставе обозначено словами «с достоинством переносить все тяготы и лишения».
