War Is Hell: Studies in the Right of Legitimate Violence"Unlike the fiends of hell, in order to carry out the work of war effectively, humans need to be changed, as any military drill instructor (DI) knows. This book examines the various ways of enabling essentially peaceful humans to carry out the work of war: invoking the authority of the sacred, dehumanizing the enemy, attempting to limit war by just rules, asserting that there is no other way to establish order. It notes the price soldiers pay when these fictions collapse, forcing them to confront what they have done. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is no recent problem, but dates to Euripides's tale of the madness of Heracles. The book concludes by reviewing the theories of power of Hannah Arendt and Mohandas Gandhi. Indeed, war is hell, the great difference being that those who must carry out war are not fiends, but human beings"--Publisher, page 4 of cover. |
Other editions - View all
War Is Hell: Studies in the Right of Legitimate Violence Charles Douglas Lummis No preview available - 2023 |