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> Napoleon demonstrated how frighteningly effective it was to win a battle and immediately chase down and kill the opposition. What a gruesome, ruthless and in

> Napoleon demonstrated how frighteningly effective it was to win a battle and immediately chase down and kill the opposition. What a gruesome, ruthless and inhumane methodology. Killing every petty soldier just coz he happened to be in the army (for whatever reason). Do you really think enemy soldiers (who are also human beings after all) deserve to all die even after you've won? Seriously? That sounds more like it'd be Adolf Hitler's or the Japanese Imperial Army's idea -- not that of some civilization that has even a bare bit of humanity in it.

Houshalter 13y ago
Human beings do not generally see their enemies as other human beings. And if you really don't care about the morality of it, then it can be an effective strategy of making them fear you or preventing them from ever fighting you again (not to mention not having to deal with prisoners.)
- winter_blue 13y ago
  I do care about the morality of it. I don't believe in fear. You should earn the respect and love of the people. Not instill fear in them. Even if you've conquered them, I believe this is still possible, if you treat them as fellow human beings and treat them nicely. IMO no self-respecting democracy should follow this disgusting condemnable tactic of fear..
  - Houshalter 13y ago
    Of course not, but you won't get far applying modern morality to history.
    - winter_blue 13y ago
      > applying modern morality I would say morality is something that is ingrained in every human being. While it's true that some cultures had less of what you might call "modern morality" -- the fundamental things like forgiveness, compassion, empathy, love, etc. and finally the sense of what is right and wrong. These, I believe are ingrained in every human being. While some might choose to be more loving and compassionate, and other might choose not to -- the sense of one being good, and other being bad is crosses cultural and historic boundaries. For more see Mere Christianity: http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926 http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652... Regarding the book: you can use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature to read the first chapter (The Law of Human Nature), which covers the question of right-and-wrong/morality as a universal human thing. Although written from a Christian perspective (I'm a believer), its arguments are valid from a secular viewpoint as well.
      - Houshalter 13y ago
        The author makes some good points, but I still disagree. If you look through history, people did barbaric things. Slavery happened. Genocides happened. In wars, the winning side would sometimes rape all the women in the conquered village before killing them. Don't even get into medieval torture devices. This quote from HPMOR is a bit long, but relevant and completely sums up the problem: "A few centuries earlier - I think it was definitely still around in the seventeenth century - it was a popular village entertainment to take a wicker basket, or a bundle, with a dozen live cats in it, and - roast it over a bonfire. Just a regular celebration. Good clean fun. And I'll give them this, it was cleaner fun than burning women they thought were witches. Because the way people are built, the way people are built to feel inside - is that they hurt when they see their friends hurting. Someone inside their circle of concern, a member of their own tribe. That feeling has an off-switch, an off-switch labeled 'enemy' or 'foreigner' or sometimes just 'stranger'. That's how people are, if they don't learn otherwise. You grew up in a post-World-War-Two society where 'I vas only followink orders' is something everyone knows the bad guys said. In the fifteenth century they would've called it honourable fealty. Do you think you're, you're just genetically better than everyone who lived back then? Like if you'd been transported back to fifteenth-century London as a baby, you'd realize all on your own that burning cats was wrong, witch-burning was wrong, slavery was wrong, that every sentient being ought to be in your circle of concern?"
        winter_blue 13y ago
        Why did we move away these forms of societies? It's because someone listened to their inner voice and conscience -- they felt deep inside there was something wrong with what was going around them. Few act on these things, but those who do, brought change about in the world.

Houshalter 13y ago

Human beings do not generally see their enemies as other human beings. And if you really don't care about the morality of it, then it can be an effective strategy of making them fear you or preventing them from ever fighting you again (not to mention not having to deal with prisoners.)

winter_blue 13y ago
I do care about the morality of it. I don't believe in fear. You should earn the respect and love of the people. Not instill fear in them. Even if you've conquered them, I believe this is still possible, if you treat them as fellow human beings and treat them nicely. IMO no self-respecting democracy should follow this disgusting condemnable tactic of fear..
- Houshalter 13y ago
  Of course not, but you won't get far applying modern morality to history.
  - winter_blue 13y ago
    > applying modern morality I would say morality is something that is ingrained in every human being. While it's true that some cultures had less of what you might call "modern morality" -- the fundamental things like forgiveness, compassion, empathy, love, etc. and finally the sense of what is right and wrong. These, I believe are ingrained in every human being. While some might choose to be more loving and compassionate, and other might choose not to -- the sense of one being good, and other being bad is crosses cultural and historic boundaries. For more see Mere Christianity: http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926 http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652... Regarding the book: you can use Amazon's "Look Inside" feature to read the first chapter (The Law of Human Nature), which covers the question of right-and-wrong/morality as a universal human thing. Although written from a Christian perspective (I'm a believer), its arguments are valid from a secular viewpoint as well.
    - Houshalter 13y ago
      The author makes some good points, but I still disagree. If you look through history, people did barbaric things. Slavery happened. Genocides happened. In wars, the winning side would sometimes rape all the women in the conquered village before killing them. Don't even get into medieval torture devices. This quote from HPMOR is a bit long, but relevant and completely sums up the problem: "A few centuries earlier - I think it was definitely still around in the seventeenth century - it was a popular village entertainment to take a wicker basket, or a bundle, with a dozen live cats in it, and - roast it over a bonfire. Just a regular celebration. Good clean fun. And I'll give them this, it was cleaner fun than burning women they thought were witches. Because the way people are built, the way people are built to feel inside - is that they hurt when they see their friends hurting. Someone inside their circle of concern, a member of their own tribe. That feeling has an off-switch, an off-switch labeled 'enemy' or 'foreigner' or sometimes just 'stranger'. That's how people are, if they don't learn otherwise. You grew up in a post-World-War-Two society where 'I vas only followink orders' is something everyone knows the bad guys said. In the fifteenth century they would've called it honourable fealty. Do you think you're, you're just genetically better than everyone who lived back then? Like if you'd been transported back to fifteenth-century London as a baby, you'd realize all on your own that burning cats was wrong, witch-burning was wrong, slavery was wrong, that every sentient being ought to be in your circle of concern?"
      - winter_blue 13y ago
        Why did we move away these forms of societies? It's because someone listened to their inner voice and conscience -- they felt deep inside there was something wrong with what was going around them. Few act on these things, but those who do, brought change about in the world.