War and Philosophy

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

War and philosophy are often viewed as dialectical opposites – the one dominated by action, violence and inhumanity; the other associated with reason, reflection and the promotion of shared values. And in fact, there are few “Philosophers of War” and even fewer who would call themselves that. Nevertheless, most of the great philosophers have commented on various aspects of war; and no small number of military leaders have likewise addressed philosophical aspects of their profession. The purpose of this course is to bridge the gap between “action” & “reflection” by surveying the evolutionary development of the treatment of war in a variety of philosophical traditions, studying the logics and linkages between war and philosophy, and, in seminar discussion, reflecting on the various contributions and challenges in doing so. For this class, “philosophy” is defined in the three great questions posed by Immanuel Kant: • “What can we know? (epistemology, ontology);” • “How should we act? (ethics, morality, religion);” • “For what can we hope? (teleology).” The class will start with Confucius and end with post-modern Constructivism and include a variety of political philosophers and military thinkers treated in between There is no shortage of relevant thinkers -- including Sun Tzu, Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Xenophon, Cicero, Polybius, Maurice, Ambrose, Augustine, Aquinas, Vitoria, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Luther, Calvin, Menno, Erasmus, Grotius, Pufendorf, Locke, Hume, Rousseau, Voltaire, Kant, Hegel, Clausewitz, Lieber, Weber, Meinecke, Nietzsche, Tolstoy, Bloch, Marx, Lenin, Trotsky, Svechin, Mao, Gandi, Peirce, Dewey, Russell, Wittgenstein, Derrida, Bonhoeffer, Malraux, Parsons, Giddens, Rawls, Searle, Fuller, Liddell-Hart, Beaufre, Kahn, Brodie, Ramsay, O’Brien, Walzer, etc. Rather than treat these individually, the lectures and discussion will focus on thematic trends in different traditions and compare-contrast their arguments and insights. The course is designed as a combined lecture-seminar and, as such, student participation is expected. A typical class will involve a lecture on a pre-identified topic, with the second half of the class split between follow-up discussion informed by student readings as well as issues and insights related to the class conflict simulation. Student involvement will include several unique aspects: • Presentation in class of a summary of a major text addressing this issue. • Preparation of a 25 page research paper on either: -- A philosopher’s (philosophical movements’) treatment of the topic of war; or -- Specific philosophical issues raised in a specific conflict. • Participation in a modern conflict simulation (including ethnic cleansing and nuclear weapons) with discussion of the philosophical issues raised during it. The class will also involve a weekend field trip to Gettysburg where, under the guidance of a senior military officer as well as National Parks historian, students will be confronted on the battlefield with philosophical issues and decision-making dilemmas that real people had to address under pressure in a violent environment.