Abstract

"War's origins are complex: they are found in the nebulous systems of thoughts generated in cultures over time. But while reason and explication can unravel those origins - and explain why man wages war - the task of abolishing war can never be completed by reason alone... The unfolding philosophy of war is much more complex than asserting that 'man is free to choose war and therefore he is free to not choose war.' We need to explore the causal relationships between his nature and his thinking, and in doing so we need to explore the realms of ideas that motivate and restrain him."The author presents a unique interdisciplinary framework for understanding war's nature and causation, examining biological and anthropological theories as well as relating traditional philosophical positions to war, from Plato to Sartre, Christianity to Marxism. This book is distinctive in producing a coherent theory of war that goes beyond the usual analyses and explanations generated in academic sub-disciplines. The range of philosophical analysis is broad and where appropriate the author applies his philosophical outline to particular conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the Thirty Years War. DR. ALEXANDER MOSELEY is a political philosophy editor for the IEP (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy) and is affiliated with the Mises Institute, the Cato Institute, the Institute for Humane Studies and with the US Society for Philosophy in a Contemporary World. He has lectured on the philosophy and morality of war at several British universities including the London School of Economics. Currently, he teaches Economics in the UK and is preparing a second volume to A Philosophy of War for publication in Fall 2002, to be followed by Great Philosophers On War.