Overview

According to one wag, war ‘died in Hiroshima’ more than half a century ago. And yet it has never gone away. Terrorist acts, Israeli-Palestinian and Middle Eastern conflicts, the implosion of Yugoslavia, countries torn apart by factions, not to mention other wars: economic, psychological, computer, gender or generational... Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reshuffled the cards. This time, they say, it's the return of real war, with its atrocities, its horrors, its violence. But what is a real war? By calling on the great political philosophers, from Plato to Marx, via Machiavelli and Hobbes, this book attempts to answer this question, along with a series of others: what is a just war? What moral forces are involved in a conflict? Does the state make war, or does war make the state? Finally, after exploring the meanings and stakes of the spectre of ‘total’ war, he tackles the ultimate question: why war?

Full Product Details

9781804296028

Table of Contents

Reviews

A brilliant essay. * Lire-Magazine littéraire * In 162 pages as clear as they are dense, Gros in the lineage of Raymond Aron, untangles this mystery of the dark side of humanity. * Le Point * Masterful. * Nice Matin * An accessible essay that asks questions as crucial as they are dizzying. * Marianne * A beautiful philosophical lesson. -- Psychologies Have history's most devastating conflicts taught us nothing? Philosopher Gros mines the writings of thinkers ancient and modern to discern the root of mankind's insatiable urge to conquer. * The Washington Independent Review of Books *

A brilliant essay. * Lire-Magazine littéraire * In 162 pages as clear as they are dense, Gros in the lineage of Raymond Aron, untangles this mystery of the dark side of humanity. * Le Point * Masterful. * Nice Matin * An accessible essay that asks questions as crucial as they are dizzying. * Marianne * A beautiful philosophical lesson. -- Psychologies

Author Information

Frédéric Gros is both philosopher and writer. In France, he was the leading editor of Michel Foucault's works and lectures. He teaches political humanities at Sciences-po Paris. His first major success was a book on walking (A Philosophy of Walking), translated into some twenty languages.

Tab Content 6

Countries Available