WAR AS AN EXTREME FORM OF CONFLICT

Abstract

War has been one of the most profound and tragic phenomena observed throughout the history of human civilization. It is not only a conflict between states, but also a process that “tests the contradictions of human nature, ethical boundaries and the meaning of existence”. Conflict is an integral part of every social system, but war constitutes the most “extreme, that is, acute and destructive form” of these conflicts.

Immanuel Kant, considering war as a “manifestation of the natural state”, noted that the absence of law between people and nations makes “permanent peace” impossible (Kant, 1795). For Hegel, war is an objective expression of the will of the state, that is, an “ethical space” where individual wills are subordinated to the common goal (Hegel, 1977). Karl Jaspers, on the other hand, considers war as a “limit state of human existence” because it leaves a person alone in the face of death, responsibility and conscience (Jaspers, 1951).

In a philosophical sense, conflict is a clash of mutual contradictions. Aristotle considered this phenomenon as “the cause of movement and change”. Hegel considered contradiction to be an internal source of development: every idea gives rise to its opposite and passes into a new synthesis through dialectical action (Hegel, 1977). From this point of view, conflict has not only destructive, but also creative potential.