A Philosophy of War - by Frédéric Gros (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Drawing on the great political philosophers, from Plato to Marx, via Machiavelli and Hobbes, Frederic Gros attempts to answer the age-old questions regarding humanity's propensity to wage war: What is a just war? What moral constraints operate on the combatants? Does the state make war or does war make the state? Finally, after exploring the meaning and the spectre of total war, he tackles the ultimate question: why war?"-- Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

War - what is it good for? The best-selling author of A Philosophy of Walking, Frédéric Gros returns with a book on this highly topical subject.

According to one wag, war 'died in Hiroshima' more than half a century ago. And yet it has never gone away.

When Russia invaded Ukraine, they said, it's the return of real war, with its atrocities, its horrors, its violence. But what is a real war? Was the violence we had been witnessing in of the war on terror, the implosion of Yugoslavia, Israel's destruction in the Middle East, or the war on women not 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?

About the Author

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.