Introduction

Stephanie Carvin; Michael John Williams

doi:10.1017/CBO9781107589704.002

Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 December 2014

Stephanie Carvin and

Michael John Williams

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Stephanie Carvin: Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
Michael John Williams: Affiliation:
New York University

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Summary

Between annihilation and restraint

If we are to learn from the past then history must first be understood on its own terms. One general point worth emphasizing [is], namely that each society and culture tends to have a unique view of warfare which affects how they fight and as a result how they may be beaten.

Adrian Goldsworthy, The Fall of Carthage

Since its foundation as a republic in the eighteenth century, the United States has faced two broad imperatives: to be an example of liberty to the world and to maintain this role and protect itself by achieving absolute security. How the United States tries to balance these imperatives and the resulting tensions, particularly when it is engaged in armed conflict or perceives an immediate threat, is the purpose of this book.

We argue that the United States has often relied on science, especially applied science, to reconcile these two ends. As Auguste Comte wrote, “from science comes prevision, from prevision comes control.” Taking this maxim to heart, science has been seen as the key to controlling war, allowing the United States to achieve overwhelming and quick military victories, which are nevertheless relatively humane and worthy of its core liberal values. This is a reflection of America’s Enlightenment roots, with its faith in rationality and science to solve complex problems through understanding the natural world.

Type: Chapter
Information: Law, Science, Liberalism and the American Way of Warfare
The Quest for Humanity in Conflict
, pp. 1 - 20

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781107589704.002 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2014

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