What you think?

Question

Herakleitos wrote "war is the king and father of all". Did societies and institutions of any sort developed or evolved in response to the stimulus of war. Could one argue that the positive effects of war outweighed the negative effects, or not?

Answer 1

Heraclitus is right, of course. The trouble is that he is
one of the most difficult philosophers to wrap your head
around because all that we have of his writings are
various fragments attributed to him. Consequently
there is no way to be sure what exactly he means or
intends by this or that saying. Therefore Heraclitus
is one philosopher that requires a *great* deal of
interpretation.
.
Here's my interpretation: War is king because war is
mankind's favorite pastime; it is what men (and a lot
of women too) do best. Even Canada, a supposedly
"advanced" and "peaceful" country is now engaged
in an evil war it cannot win. Why? Is it not because
war is the king and father of all?
.
As to your first question, the answer is yes. The most
dramatic example of a society responding to war is the
ancient Spartans, who basically turned everyone into
soldiers, and the entire country into an army camp.
They took their warfare *very* seriously!
.
As to your 2nd question, the answer is yes again.
Obviously, anyone who says 'no' to this question is a
dolt, and should be avoided at all cost. 4X: Suppose you
are a small, but peaceful, country, and one day your
neighboring country decides to expand its borders by
taking over your country. Will you just let them walk in
and kill you and your people? Or will you resist? If you
resist, you go to war. If you go to war and defeat the
invaders, you have just proved that the positive effects
of war *greatly* outweigh the negative effects!
.
"The goal of philosophy is not to know the world,
but rather to put men on the right path." -- Heraclitus

Answer 2

What positive effects can be realized by the senseless killing of the youngest and strongest of any given generation.
The only logical alternative is through constructive conversation.
Also realizing that different societies regard things in a different way would be a major step.
As someone once said," War is HELL!", what is to be gained from experiencing hell?

Answer 3

i believe herakleitos was a fool even though i do not know the man. "the king and father of all"? hah!