hi,
To much commentary on Anthropology for me not to jump in
hi,
To much commentary on Anthropology for me not to jump in
Please introduce yourself here before you take the leap.
I'd highly recommend reading Jon Sumida's new book Decoding Clausewitz (Univ. of Kansas Press, 2008). It provides a new, and I believe useful, look at On War. Sumida makes a couple of propositions that put On War into a new light. The first is that the ordering of the "Clausewitz notes" has been mis-interpreted and that On War was substantially complete upon Clausewitz's death (not just Book I as many claim). The second is that Clausewitz was not trying to produce a "theory of a phenomenon", or to explain war, but rather to describe a "theory of practice", to describe a framework for examining and learning about war. In this light Book II, with its description of the process of critical analysis as a means to learn from history, is really the focus of the book.
Fully agree with it or not, I believe this is a good approach for members of this forum to consider. It especially comes to my mind as I track the current multiple SWJ discussion threads on various aspects of Maneuver Warfare, John Boyd and the OODA loop. What comes out is that the value isn't really in what a doctrine or theory says is, but rather the thinking and discourse it promotes. More thinking and discourse means better educated practitioners (whether they be military or civilian).
Last edited by PhilR; 10-01-2008 at 11:42 AM. Reason: spelling
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