Thinking About Practice in Warfare
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20062888 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nathalie Wlodarczyk (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Pages | 41-51 |
| Publication date | 2009-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Magic and Warfare (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan US (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/9780230103344_4 |
| OpenAlex | W2503446832 |
| ISBN | 9780230103344 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 7 |
Evaluating the role of spiritual practice in warfare throws up a number of challenges. For a start, even though we can define magic as a type of practice with contemporary relevance, as seen in chapter 2, and identify examples of magical practice on African battlefields as in chapter 3, to reach deeper below the surface we need to look more carefully at specific practices. If we do not, our analysis risks straying into the territory of cultural essentialism, putting the use of magic down to the simple fact that "it is their culture" so it makes sense to them. Although this is not technically false, it does not help us understand why particular behavior is deemed appropriate at particular times, nor the extent of its impact on the war as a whole. It also does not allow us to incorporate the consideration of behavior like the use of magic into strategic theory, which is necessary if we want to include the analysis of cultural factors systematically in our study of warfare. To do that, however, we have to first come to terms with some apparently contradictory sets of principles.KeywordsSpiritual BeliefSpiritual PracticeRitual PracticeSecret SocietySpiritual PowerThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves
Aesthetics · Art · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Essentialism · MAGIC (telescope) · Political science · Relevance (law) · Sociology · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Law · Philosophy · Psychedelics and Drug Studies · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |