«"historia magistra vitae": is it true?»
Filippo Di Blasio, Elisa Di Cerbo, Raffaele Di Sansimone, Leonardo Massaro, Giuseppe Ruggiero
VS2
introduction
Why has the present not learnt from the past? Shouldn't it be a source of inspiration, an inestimably precious mean to analyse historical courses and recurrences, together with the social context associated with them, in order to avoid the repetition of tragedies and deaths?
INDEX
1. Modern wars
2. Motivations of our days' wars
3. Roles (and limitations) of international institutions
4. Permanent media wars
5. Humanitarian and emotional side of conflicts
Modern warfare: between technology, human cost and current conflicts
Technological evolution
Painful constants
Current conflicts
- Ukraine;
- Middle East (Gaza);
- Sub - Saharian Africa;
- Sudan.
- Drones and surveillance;
- cyber warfare;
- precision weapons;
- artificial intelligence.
- Human suffering;
- destruction;
- economic cost;
- cycles of violence.
Key Reasons Behind Contemporary Conflicts
Climate change can cause resource scarcity and forced migration, increasing tensions and the risk of conflict.
Climate change
Wars can result from political instability, weak governments, civil wars, or power struggles within a country.aboratively.
Internal crises
Conflicts can arise from ethnic, religious, or cultural differences, especially when groups feel excluded, oppressed, or treated unfairly.
Identity tensions
Wars often start because countries or groups compete for oil, gas, water, minerals, and fertile land, which are essential for economic power and survival.
Strategic resources
3. Roles (and limitations) of international institutions
"The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which mightotherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair [...] and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact." "1984" (chapter 17, "The theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism" by Emmanuel Goldstein), George Orwell
Three are the essential wars' features Orwell identifies:
power concentration
conflict permanence
wealth destruction
Past: wars ended Present: constant belligerence atmosphere
External fear becomes internal justification
"...war is a fire which consumes what could make citizens' life better..."
VS
If we are in war, then we must obey
War is no longer just a military or geopolitical fact:
- social and psychological mechanism;
- cold gear to keep masses in precariousness;
- immense ritual of waste and fear.
+ info
human condition in modern wars
Modern war affects the human dimension mainly through what remains: emptied cities, destroyed infrastructure, and everyday objects stripped of their function. Technology makes conflict distant and impersonal, yet its consequences are profoundly human because they undermine the systems that sustain ordinary life. Trauma arises not only from immediate violence but from the persistence of damage, which turns the environment into a constant source of pressure and insecurity. Even after the fighting ends, the territory retains the memory of war, redefining the meaning of normality, safety, and everyday life.
Ukraine, a tragic end to the first week of school for children.
Bertolt Brecht
Brecht interprets modern war as a process rooted in the dehumanization of the enemy. The opponent is transformed into an abstract figure, no longer seen as human. This abstraction makes violence easier to justify and obedience easier to impose. Moral judgment is suspended, and responsibility is dissolved within the system. Dehumanization affects both those who suffer war and those who wage it. In his theatre and poetry, Brecht exposes the rhetoric that presents war as necessary. He shows how language and propaganda normalize violence and horror.His theatre avoids emotional identification in favor of critical distance. The spectator is encouraged to recognize the mechanisms that lead to violence.Brecht ultimately calls for a lucid and responsible gaze against hatred and simplification.
Thanks for your attention!
Roles
- Peacekeeping Missions
- Diplomacy and Mediation
- Security Council Mandates
Limitations
- Veto Power and Politics
- Reactive, not Preventive
- Limited Enforcement
- Member State Dependency
VS
Roles
- Promotes Rule of Law and Democracy
- Civilian Missions
- Cooperative Partnerships
Limitations
- No Unified Military Force
- Consent and Coordination Challenges
- Limited Global Reach
VS
«With what weapons will the third world war be fought?» “I don't know with what weapons the third world war will be fought, but the fourth world war will be fought with sticks and stones.” These are Einstein's words regarding a new world conflict that would be, and can be, fought with increasingly powerful and destructive weapons, causing such devastation as to destroy human civilization.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) In 1939, he, along with physicist Leo Szilard, sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the start of the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb.
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was a German playwright, poet and theater theorist, one of the most influential figures of theater and critical thought of the 20th century. He is best known for having developed "epic theatre", a theatrical form that rejects the passive emotional identification of the spectator and instead aims to stimulate critical reflection and political awareness. Brecht wanted the audience not to simply "feel", but to think about the social, economic and moral causes of what they saw on stage.
In modern wars, the human condition of civilians is marked by the loss of safety, continuity, and control over everyday life. For children, this rupture is even deeper: they grow up in unstable environments where fear replaces routine and uncertainty takes the place of the future. Access to education, play, and care is disrupted, and emotional development unfolds under constant pressure..
“War never spares children…” Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani activist for the right to education and one of the most important voices in the world in favor of children affected by war.
In "The Origin of Totalitarianism", the American phylosopher Hanna Arendt shows how regims of XX century turned fear into a weapon of government.
“The peculiar logicality of all the ‘isms’ and their naïve faith in the redeeming power of stubborn devotion—indifferent to concrete facts—already contains the first seeds of a totalitarian contempt for reality and factuality.”
Roles
- Collective Defence
- Conflict Prevention Through Partnerships
- Support to Peace and Stability (Post-Conflict)
Limitations
- Military Focus
- Internal Divergences
- Political consensus of member states
VS
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”
In his crowd psychology of 1895, Gustav Le Bon assumes that if reunited in groups or masses, individuals result more suggestible and ready to obey in the name of fear, anger and hatred.
“By the mere fact of being part of a crowd, a man descends several rungs on the ladder of civilization. Alone, he might be a cultivated individual; in the crowd, he becomes instinctive and therefore a barbarian.”
«"Historia magistra vitae": is it true?»
Elisa Di Cerbo
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Transcript
«"historia magistra vitae": is it true?»
Filippo Di Blasio, Elisa Di Cerbo, Raffaele Di Sansimone, Leonardo Massaro, Giuseppe Ruggiero
VS2
introduction
Why has the present not learnt from the past? Shouldn't it be a source of inspiration, an inestimably precious mean to analyse historical courses and recurrences, together with the social context associated with them, in order to avoid the repetition of tragedies and deaths?
INDEX
1. Modern wars
2. Motivations of our days' wars
3. Roles (and limitations) of international institutions
4. Permanent media wars
5. Humanitarian and emotional side of conflicts
Modern warfare: between technology, human cost and current conflicts
Technological evolution
Painful constants
Current conflicts
Key Reasons Behind Contemporary Conflicts
Climate change can cause resource scarcity and forced migration, increasing tensions and the risk of conflict.
Climate change
Wars can result from political instability, weak governments, civil wars, or power struggles within a country.aboratively.
Internal crises
Conflicts can arise from ethnic, religious, or cultural differences, especially when groups feel excluded, oppressed, or treated unfairly.
Identity tensions
Wars often start because countries or groups compete for oil, gas, water, minerals, and fertile land, which are essential for economic power and survival.
Strategic resources
3. Roles (and limitations) of international institutions
"The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labour. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking in the depths of the sea, materials which mightotherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist. War, it will be seen, is now a purely internal affair [...] and the object of the war is not to make or prevent conquests of territory, but to keep the structure of society intact." "1984" (chapter 17, "The theory and practice of oligarchical collectivism" by Emmanuel Goldstein), George Orwell
Three are the essential wars' features Orwell identifies:
power concentration
conflict permanence
wealth destruction
Past: wars ended Present: constant belligerence atmosphere
External fear becomes internal justification
"...war is a fire which consumes what could make citizens' life better..."
VS
If we are in war, then we must obey
War is no longer just a military or geopolitical fact:
+ info
human condition in modern wars
Modern war affects the human dimension mainly through what remains: emptied cities, destroyed infrastructure, and everyday objects stripped of their function. Technology makes conflict distant and impersonal, yet its consequences are profoundly human because they undermine the systems that sustain ordinary life. Trauma arises not only from immediate violence but from the persistence of damage, which turns the environment into a constant source of pressure and insecurity. Even after the fighting ends, the territory retains the memory of war, redefining the meaning of normality, safety, and everyday life.
Ukraine, a tragic end to the first week of school for children.
Bertolt Brecht
Brecht interprets modern war as a process rooted in the dehumanization of the enemy. The opponent is transformed into an abstract figure, no longer seen as human. This abstraction makes violence easier to justify and obedience easier to impose. Moral judgment is suspended, and responsibility is dissolved within the system. Dehumanization affects both those who suffer war and those who wage it. In his theatre and poetry, Brecht exposes the rhetoric that presents war as necessary. He shows how language and propaganda normalize violence and horror.His theatre avoids emotional identification in favor of critical distance. The spectator is encouraged to recognize the mechanisms that lead to violence.Brecht ultimately calls for a lucid and responsible gaze against hatred and simplification.
Thanks for your attention!
Roles
Limitations
VS
Roles
Limitations
VS
«With what weapons will the third world war be fought?» “I don't know with what weapons the third world war will be fought, but the fourth world war will be fought with sticks and stones.” These are Einstein's words regarding a new world conflict that would be, and can be, fought with increasingly powerful and destructive weapons, causing such devastation as to destroy human civilization.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) In 1939, he, along with physicist Leo Szilard, sent a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt that led to the start of the Manhattan Project and the creation of the atomic bomb.
Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956) was a German playwright, poet and theater theorist, one of the most influential figures of theater and critical thought of the 20th century. He is best known for having developed "epic theatre", a theatrical form that rejects the passive emotional identification of the spectator and instead aims to stimulate critical reflection and political awareness. Brecht wanted the audience not to simply "feel", but to think about the social, economic and moral causes of what they saw on stage.
In modern wars, the human condition of civilians is marked by the loss of safety, continuity, and control over everyday life. For children, this rupture is even deeper: they grow up in unstable environments where fear replaces routine and uncertainty takes the place of the future. Access to education, play, and care is disrupted, and emotional development unfolds under constant pressure..
“War never spares children…” Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani activist for the right to education and one of the most important voices in the world in favor of children affected by war.
In "The Origin of Totalitarianism", the American phylosopher Hanna Arendt shows how regims of XX century turned fear into a weapon of government.
“The peculiar logicality of all the ‘isms’ and their naïve faith in the redeeming power of stubborn devotion—indifferent to concrete facts—already contains the first seeds of a totalitarian contempt for reality and factuality.”
Roles
Limitations
VS
“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”
In his crowd psychology of 1895, Gustav Le Bon assumes that if reunited in groups or masses, individuals result more suggestible and ready to obey in the name of fear, anger and hatred.
“By the mere fact of being part of a crowd, a man descends several rungs on the ladder of civilization. Alone, he might be a cultivated individual; in the crowd, he becomes instinctive and therefore a barbarian.”