Philosophy and the Battlefield

Duane J. Lacey (Bifrost University, Iceland)

Email: vlacey2@gmail.com

 

ABSTRACT:

Recent discussions and literature have generated the possibility of establishing a so-called philosophy of war, which presumably would be a subject that incorporates, yet also goes beyond, the more common texts concerning the theory of warfare (Sun-Tzu, von Clausewitz, etc.) as well as the perhaps more academically developed field of just war theory. The question remains, then, what such a philosophy of war would entail: what questions would it ask, what body of knowledge must it approach and in what way, in order to constitute a viable philosophical discourse? Furthermore, are there moral grounds for resisting such a subject, especially if warfare, as it is actually conducted, is based upon scientific principles — is it a science that we should not know; is it possible to defend such a position? Or is the opposite argument more accurate, namely that of all the bodies of knowledge it is the study of warfare for which we have the most pressing moral responsibility? Is either position correct? This paper broaches these questions by examining some arguments recently published in the U.S. Army War College’s journal Parameters, as well as material from other recently published texts. In so doing the paper seeks to evaluate the proper nature and status for this still developing field, and attempts to determine some basic principles for its possible universal study that address the elements of strategy and tactics in a direct, pragmatic manner.