Violence: Philosophical selections

The book "Violence... Philosophical Selections" addresses the issue of violence from several different levels: social, political, economic, anthropological, and ethical. The author points out that research into violence is no longer surprising but has become one of the activities that rapidly grow in social sciences, and published works on prevalent forms of violence are evidence of this. Vitorio Buftchi explains that each branch of knowledge monopolizes certain areas of violence according to the division rule among sciences, a rule that is unwritten but widely spread: studies of wars and related conflicts dominate the field of international relations, crime studies the science of criminology, punishments are studied within law and the philosophy of legislation, family violence is studied in sociology, and terrorism and other forms of political violence are studied in political science. In our efforts to understand most forms of human action holistically, philosophy can play its role in this matter. In fact, the contribution of philosophy to this discussion is unique, fundamental, and represents a possible research shift. There is no justification for violence. The selections include philosophical articles written by professional philosophers, and perhaps the two main questions that have been thoroughly examined through the articles in the book are: What is violence? And can violence be justified? These two questions are also fundamental for any empirical research in social sciences on violence rates. However, the contribution of philosophy is often equal to that of social sciences. According to the author, it is practically impossible to agree on finding a true justification for practicing violence. Therefore, the aim of these selections is not to provide definitive answers to these questions but to remind the reader of their complexities in a simple way, highlighting the valuable contribution of philosophers to important issues across multiple generations.