The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of HistoryPartridge, G. E. (George Everett)
Philosophy
The Psychology of Nations: A Contribution to the Philosophy of History
Partridge, G. E. (George Everett)
Education; History -- Philosophy; War
only in war the truly heroic | but in governing the
comes into play, for the | community, they may be able
realization of which on earth | to show in practical fashion
militarism is above all | their insistence upon the
concerned; therefore, it | great truth that the eighth
seems to us who are filled | and ninth commandments are
with the spirit of militarism | directly related to everyday
that war is a holy thing, the | life, not only between men as
holiest on earth, and this | such in their private
high estimate of war in its | relations, but between men
turn makes an essential | and the government of which
ingredient of the military | they are a part. Indeed, the
spirit. There is nothing that | boys, even while only boys,
trades-people complain of so | can have a very real effect
much as that we regard it as | upon the conduct of the
holy." | grown-up members of the
| community, for decency and
| square dealing are just as
| contagious as vice and
| corruption."
The praise of war takes many forms, and invokes many fundamental
principles--ethical, aesthetic, biological, sociological. From
Leibnitz' saying that perpetual peace is a motto fit only for a
graveyard to Moltke's that peace is only a dream and not even a
beautiful dream, there is a long list of defenses of war. This
philosophy of war is by no means peculiarly German, although German
writers seem to have been the most ardent apologists of war in recent
times. Treitschke, Schmitz (29), Scheler (77), Nusbaum (86), Arndt,
Steinmetz, Lasson, Engelbrecht, Schoonmaker, all sing the praises of
war as the most glorious work of man, or as performing for
civilization some noble good. Even Hegel said that wars invigorate
humanity just as the storm preserves the sea from putrescence.
But this praise of war, we say, is by no means exclusively German.
Thucydides thought war a noble school of heroism, the exercise ground
of the nations. To Mohammed and his Arabs war seemed not only in
itself a heroism, we are told, but a divine act. This belief in war as
divine is an idea that is very wide-spread among primitive peoples.
Cramb, the English writer, says that it is very easy to demonstrate
that the glory of battle is an illusion, but by the same argument you
may demonstrate that all glory and life itself is an illusion and a
mockery. Redier says that the war has brought us all the noble joys so
necessary to stimulate mankind, and one no longer finds happiness,
therefore, in sleeping comfortably, but only in living bravely.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account