War is Humanity's Mold
Nothing in this world can stay truly constant forever. Animals, plants, and even humans have drastically changed over time. Since the beginning of their existence, humans have undergone many changes (including but not limited to anatomical, physical, and mental changes). These changes were necessary for them to cope with their surroundings and ensure their survival. Many things force humans to change. Nature and other species come to mind, but perhaps the largest source of change for humans, are humans themselves. Throughout history, humans had hundreds of thousands of conflicts and wars with each other. These wars took up a major section of their lives, and they helped mold them into the shape they are now. As such, a large part of their focus was studying war and mastering its tactics. One such book about the study of war is Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”. Perhaps no book other than it portrays just how significant war and its study was in molding humanity. Even today, war and its tactics continue to shape people’s lives and mentality, both directly and indirectly.
War is not a mindless conflict; it requires a great deal of strategic thinking. When reading “The Art of War” and similar books about the study of war, one cannot help but notice the cleverness of the authors. Throughout their history, humanity had greatly advanced its intellectual capabilities, and it is highly likely that war had a crucial role in that. People had to carefully form strategies and know how to exploit weaknesses in order to secure victory. Sun Tzu focuses on that frequently in his book: “The whole secret lies in confusing the enemy, so that he cannot fathom our real intent.” And so comes a question: Could war have been a reason/primary aid for humanity’s intellectual advancements? It is possible that war is the earliest field of critical thinking in mankind’s history, and it does make complete sense. It forces people to think out of the box and outwit their enemies. The strongest may survive temporarily, but only the smartest will prevail.
As humans change, so do their ideas and mentalities. Yet, some things remain relatively unchanged. Even though today wars are almost nonexistent compared to the past, some of war’s strategies and ideas seem to have made its way to modern day life. It is easy to draw parallels between Sun Tzu’s teachings and modern day life. Here are a few examples: “The wise warrior avoids the battle.” Just as a wise warrior avoids a battle, a wise person avoids engaging in problems and conflicts. “Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.” To be able to manipulate others is a great power, but to be able to be manipulated by others is a great detriment. “Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.” Humans are bonded together tightly through love and care. Treating one’s friends and allies well and morally is known to yield good results. “The Art of War” is filled with such teachings that apply to daily life. Perhaps the reason that much of them apply, is that daily life in itself is a kind of war. It is the subtle struggle of a human with his others and his environment. While it may not be an all out bloody conflict, it still requires wit and strategy to prevail. Succeeding in life is just as difficult as succeeding in war, and both require years of study to master.
While war may have plagued humans’ lives for millennia, it was still vital to their development and shaping of their mentalities. They learned to strategize and think critically to secure victory, and that carried on to this day. Many of the “war masters’” ideas and tactics apply to modern day life, and can in fact be a treasure of advice. It is ridiculously easy to forget how large of an impact war truly had on humanity. “The Art of War” is not one art. Rather, it is many arts (of deception, of ingenuity, of morality, etc) that all come together and work together under one hood. These same arts of war are crucial to life itself. Without them, humanity may have taken a completely different turn, perhaps a even slower development to reach today’s intellectual level. To quote Sun Tzu: “The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.”
References:
Tzu, S. (2014). The Art of War. Black & White Classics.