English
Język Polski
Wars in the philosophical thought of Greeks and Romans An outline of selected issues
Abstract
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article aims to explore selected ancient Greek and Roman perspectives on war, with an effort to identify elements of these views that continue to hold cognitive and/or normative relevance in contemporary discourse.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The central research problem concerns the conceptualization of war by Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, focusing on its origins, nature, types, objectives, and the philosophical justifications for or against it. The article employs a philosophical approach, supplemented by cultural and theological analyses where appropriate. The hermeneutic-heuristic and comparative methods are utilized to examine the research problem.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: Based on an examination of source texts, the article presents a synthesis of the major Greek and Roman philosophical views on war, highlighting both the similarities and differences between them.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The analyses reveal the crucial role of philosophical interpretations of reality, particularly in the context of human coexistence. It identifies a persistent duality in thought: some traditions regard war as the fundamental principle of all existence, while others assign this primacy to peace. Despite their mutual critiques, these views endure, forming a lasting component of European reflections on war.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The examined perspectives on war have profoundly influenced European thought. Given their inherent logical structures and the enduring nature of the issues they address, these views remain relevant and worthy of consideration in contemporary discussions.
Keywords
external war ; internal war ; just war ; unjust war
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- Anna, Anna Krzynówek-Arndt, The concept of democracy and its relationship to Christianity as seen by Henri Bergson, Jacques Maritain and Robert Schuman , HORIZONS OF POLITICS: Vol. 16 No. 55 (2025): Przemiany porządku światowego
Details
References
Indicators
Authors
Zasady cytowania
Licence
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-ND licence that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are asked to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). We advise to use any of the following reserach society portals: