A Scientific Consideration of Military Thought

군사사상의 학문적 고찰

  • Jin, Seok-Yong (Dept. of Politics and Mass Communication, Daejeon University)
  • 진석용 (대전대 정치언론홍보학과)
  • Published : 2009.12.30

Abstract

This article deals with military thought in general. First I tried to distinguish 'thought' from 'theory', 'philosophy', and 'principle'. Thought means the act of thinking about or considering something, an idea or opinion, or a set of ideas about a particular subject, e.g. military affairs in the present discussion. Theory means a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas which are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation. Philosophy means the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of reality and existence, the use and limits of knowledge. Principle means a basic idea or rule that explains or controls how something happens or works. Chapter 3 summarized the characteristics of military thoughts into five points', (i) it is closely related with concrete experiences of a nation; (ii) it includes philosophical and logical arguments; (iii) it relies heavily on the political thought of a nation; (iv) it includes necessarily value-judgments; (v) it contains visions of a nation which are not only descriptions or explanations of military affairs, but also evaluations and advocacies. Chapter 4 considers the relation of international political thoughts to military thought. Throughout the history of the modem states system there have been three competing traditions of thought: the Hobbesian or realist tradition, which views international politics as a state of war; the Kantian or universalist tradition, which sees at work in international politics a potential community of mankind; and the Grotian or internationalist tradition, which views international politics as taking place within an international society. Chapter 5 considers the law of war, which is a body of law concerning acceptable justifications to engage in war (jus ad bellum) and the limits to acceptable wartime conduct (jus in bello). Among other issues, modem laws of war address declarations of war, acceptance of surrender and the treatment of prisoners of war, military necessity along with distinction and proportionality, and the prohibition of certain weapons that may cause unnecessary suffering.

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