War is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon that cannot be
understood merely by isolating its underlying principles. The
elements that compose the vast mosaic of our conceptions of war
must be identified and examined in light of their philosophical
origins. Michael Gelven not only identifies what the fundamental
principles are, but he also extracts from the history of philosophy
the arguments and analyses of the concepts that explain how we
think about it.
War and Existence is primarily concerned with what war is or
what the truth about war is rather than the moral question of
whether war ever ought to be waged; it only indirectly considers
the military concerns of how war out to be carried out. The
elements or marks of war, such as courage, horror, heroism,
sacrifice, command, and vastness, are each examined by reference to
a great philosophical figure whose critical analyses of these
elements provide us with a deep understanding of them. Gelven does
not restrict his inquiry to mere formal concerns since the
philosophical marks of war are concretized in judgments about
actual wars. His holistic approach includes not only actual
historical events that surround our greatest military conflicts but
also literary figures, poets, and composers whose works wrestle
with the enormity of this splendid yet troubling phenomenon.
The two phenomena, war and peace, are viewed against the entire
background of humanity with all its folly and sublimity. War and
Existence thus offers a thoughtful, coherent response to one of the
most problematic issues of humanity.
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