The Necessity of War in Preserving Human Rights and Liberty: A Philosophical Analysis
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War, liberty, rights, human rights, natural law, philosophy of right, war and law, conflict, freedom, equity, justice, political association, preservation of rights, resistance to oppression, property, security, Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, French Revolution, Kant, Hannah Arendt, Hobbes, Hegel, Leibniz, Junger, natural rights, imprescriptible rights, crime against humanity, war and human rights, philosophy of war
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Abstract
Explore the complex relationship between war and human rights in this thought-provoking analysis. Discover how historical conflicts have shaped our understanding of liberty, freedom, and the preservation of rights. From the philosophical insights of Kant and Hegel to the reflections on the French Revolution and World War II, this work challenges the notion that war is the absolute enemy of human rights. Instead, it reveals how war has been a catalyst for the creation of new rights and protections. Uncover the paradox that sometimes war is necessary to maintain our liberty and rights, and examine the fine line between war and justice. This in-depth examination is essential reading for those seeking to understand the intricate dynamics between conflict, freedom, and human rights.
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[...] What may seem paradoxical is then the necessity sometimes to make war in order to keep our liberty and rights. Is war necessary to maintain our liberty as well as our rights? We will see that war seems to be a natural fact among humans, then we will see that it can be seen as contradictory in depriving peoples of liberty. Finally, we will see that certain rights and reflections have been born from war throughout history. War appears under certain principles as necessary. [...]
[...] It is in the face of domination and violence that humans can become aware of the rights and freedoms they can lose. It is indeed after a bloody revolution that human rights and those of citizens were written. Thus, it appears that history attests that it is possible to wage war in the name of human rights. However, one must be wary of justifications for war, for man knows very well how to invent excuses when he wants to impose his power, and history has proven this. [...]
[...] We then see the limits between war and rights being drawn. Leibniz, throughout his reflection, wanted to show that natural law includes equity, which is not compatible with a war, for example, between states. A state with troops gathering a hundred thousand men will not have the same chance as a state with a million men. Equity then loses all meaning here and this raises questions about the equality and freedom of man in war, which are, however, the two fundamental notions in his natural rights. [...]
[...] There is therefore a rational aspect to war since the defense by war is a means of preserving one's rights. Junger also sees war as a necessity. In his work War as Inner Experience, he explains that war is inscribed in the laws of nature: 'It is war that has made men and times what they are. ( . ) The fight, father of all things, is also ours.' Beyond a simple deprivation of rights, war is like a salvation, that is, it allows one to emancipate and affirm oneself. [...]
