­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Philosophy of war:

The war beyond strategy and weaponry is examined by the philosophy of war which inquires the relationship between the human nature and the war, the etiology and the meaning of the war, and even the ethics of war. It is found that there are certain aspects in the philosophy of war which are overlapped with the philosophy of law, political philosophy, and philosophy of history.

In the philosophy of war, the book “On War” by Carl von Clausewitz is considered as the greatest and most influential work. It deals with the questions about the purpose of war and the human nature. The teleology of war is mainly examined by Clausewitz who hit the basics of the war asking whether war can be an end in itself or is a way to an end outside.

Another work which gained importance is War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy which is surfaced with frequent digressions of philosophies in the philosophy of war. The Art of War by SunTzu focuses on weaponry and the strategy of war and gives more importance to it than to the philosophy of war. But, Sun Tzu’s findings that are broadened in philosophy are applied to different a situation that goes beyond the actual war.

There are three main teleological traditions that are identified by J. J Graham’s translation of Clausewitz’s On War in the philosophy of war. The three teleological traditions are the cataclysmic, the political and the eschatological. According to Clausewitz these three are considered as the most common philosophies of war but it doesn’t mean that these are only possible teleological philosophies of war.

He compares the war to a game of chess in political philosophy, and again in eschatological philosophy he compares it to a mission of a drama, and again in the cataclysmic philosophy, he compares it to an epidemic or to a fire.

Rapoport says in his work “On war”,

“war has at times been viewed as a pastime or an adventure, as the only proper occupation for a nobleman, as an affair of honor (for example, the days of chivalry), as a ceremony (e.g. among the Aztecs), as an outlet of aggressive instincts or a manifestation of a "death wish", as nature's way of ensuring the survival of the fittest, as an absurdity (e.g. among Eskimos), as a tenacious custom, destined to die out like slavery, and as a crime.”  (On War, Rapoport's introduction, 17)

Questions:

• What is the purpose of philosophy of war?
• What does Rapoport compare war with?­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­