War as a Problem of Foreknowledge (original) (raw)

Continent, 2015

Abstract

The costs of prosecuting a war are egregious and fatiguing. There will be years of antagonisms developed between the belligerents with discontent, anxiety, and hostility saturating all strata of those societies. The states will redirect their means of life-sustaining activities toward generating the most death and mayhem across as many actors as possible. It will culminate in a single battle, but the process of victory-making will have been much greater, and the ensuing precarious period of stability will be riddled with opportunities for discordant social relations. Given these longterm social harms that accompany the prosecutions of wars, the sixth century BCE philosopher Sunzi argued that it is inhumane for generals and the states leadership to engage in such military actions without the use of advance intelligence. This foreknowledge, as Roger T. Ames calls it, can only be educed through the proper understanding of people. The sagely ruler and superior commander conquers their e...

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