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1. Definition of War
According to Harper (2016), the word war comes from the late Old English wyrre or
werre which means large-scale military conflict. The word may also have been derived from
the Old French word guerre which translates to difficulty, dispute, hostility, etc. The German
word verwirren means to confuse or perplex, from which cognates propose that the original
sense of the word was to bring confusion. 1
Cicero (1625) provided a definition for war in which he designated the word as a
condition and not a contest. And thus, according to him, war is the condition of those
contending by force.2 In addition to this, Thomas Hobbes asserts that war is also an attitude
wherein he described war as a state of affairs, which may exist even while its operations are not
continued. For Denis Diderot, war is a convulsive and violent disease of the body politic, and
so on. Each of these definitions has its strengths and weaknesses, however, it is apparent that
each gratifies to the writers philosophical position.3
A. Causes of War
In a nutshell, war occurs as a consequence of certain ideas and aims, that when widely
accepted by the people of a given society, give rise to corresponding norms that may lead to war.
According to Biddle (2014), the fundamental causes of war are statism, collectivism, altruism,
mysticism, and evasion.4
Statism refers to the belief that the state has a right to force its people to act against
their judgement for the sake of some greater good.
Collectivism refers to the concept that the individuals identity is the personal
belonging of some group or collective, which then cause the said individual to think
or act accordingly with the dictates of the group.
Altruism denotes the concept of selfless service in a manner that does not allow the
individual to acquire advances in personal values or net profit. Rather, altruism entails
service that disparages personal values and leaves the individual with a net loss.
1 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=war
2 http://lonang.com/library/reference/grotius-law-war-and-peace/gro-101/
3 http://www.iep.utm.edu/war/
4 https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2014/10/causes-war-peace/
5 http://ezinearticles.com/?Types-of-War&id=2269121