Stoic Warriors: The Ancient Philosophy Behind the Military Mind

I picked up this book by complete happenstance; it was in the "new" shelf at the library. The subject of stoicism happened to be on my mind. The book is very fine; I read it through at two sittings. There are details given in other reviews here which needn't be repeated. I found the insights in the book to be profound, and particularly the focus on the theraputic qualities of stoicism and how the insights of the stoics can supplement the findings of modern psychology. The value of the book is by no means limited to its application to soldiers and the military.

Dr. Sherman has produced a good book on military ethics concerning conduct on as well as off the battlefield. A clear overview of Stoic thought on what was and to a large extent still is considered the correct mindset/attitude towards self and other in a military context, interwoven with modern day examples of men and women in the US military struggling with their everyday realities as members of the 'fighting' forces upon whom rests the heavy responsibility of going into the hell more commonly known as war and 'taking care' of the problem at hand. However, according to what I make of Dr. Sherman's words, the Stoic lessons are no longer completely up to the task of handing the 'warrior' the necessary tools for dealing with the realities of modern warfare. That is, there are certain shortcomings in Stoic philosophy that shouldn't be overlooked. Dr. Sherman excellently communicates these shortcomings at the end of her book, by which means she has been able to present a well-rounded argument, making this work a valuable and highly recommended addition to any military ethics library.

Passing in Review "Stoic Warriors" by M. Vince Turner August 2005 In her recently released book "Stoic Warriors", professor/writer Nancy Sherman unpacks the ethos of stoicism popularized in Ancient Greece and for a time in Ancient Rome, bringing it forward into our contemporary history. I first learned about Sherman's book when reading her commentary in a recent Boston Globe. Titled "When Johnny comes home" it was a superb piece questioning how do we the citizens and how do the military officers and leaders face and embrace our wounded soldiers returning home from war? How do we make them whole again? That piece so moved me that I immediately got a copy of "Stoic Warriors" completed reading it within a week. A Vietnam War Era Veteran, I entered the United States Air Force right out of high school. While USAF was not and is not as ground-combat focused as the Marine Corps or the US Army, the Air Force still provided stoicism during boot camp (where most mili-tary personnel get their first lessons on stoicism). At the ripe age of eighteen, I learned and intuited what being stoic was about: rule out the distractions, rule out the pain of grueling exercise and marching. Stay centered and focused. Do not allow the "exter-nals" - those outside forces - to cloud, corrupt or contaminate your sense of virtue. Discipline. Virtue. Honor. Duty. Sherman focuses on the philosophical rooting of stoicism, that classical Greek attempt to rule out the outside world - the externals - and to find and take hold of one's inner vir-tue, virtue being the highest moral value. Discipline, focus, strength, determination and the capacity to "get beyond" the outer world form the core of stoicism, as we under-stand it. Whether it is actress Demi Moore in the movie "GI Jane" or Richard Gere in "An Officer and a Gentleman", it is about getting beyond the pain, pushing the body to its limits and beyond, ruling out the rigors placed upon the body and the mind through physical and emotional strain - the externals denied. Sherman brings ancient stoicism into our current time, using the ancient proponent of stoicism, Epictetus and his stoic philosophy as the pillar upon which even modern con-cepts of stoicism thrive. Segueing this framework of ancient stoicism into our contem-porary stoic ethos, Sherman reminds the reader that the human element cannot and must not be lost. Sherman uses Seneca frequently as the champion of humanism in stoicism, simultaneously lifting up the ancient voices of Aristotle and Cicero to guide the reader through the historical vestiges that have come to define stoicism in our modern world. Sherman cautions us to remember our human side, just as those ancients were remind-ing their own soldiers and athletes, as their contemporaries exhorted. One idealizes stoicism as feeling almost nothing that presents itself from the outside world, the "ex-ternals". Sherman makes frequent reference Admiral James Stockdale, recently de-ceased, as t

John Adams once famously wrote that his generation had to study war and politics so that subsequent generations might study Philosophy and Mathematics. Adam's observation had two clear implications: first, that subsequent generations would be free of war, with leisure to study more inviting topics; second, that studying war and Philosophy in the same scope is nearly impossible, sort of like squaring the circle. Ten-plus generations after Adams wrote we know the first implication was wrong -- if we want to study Philosophy at all it will likely be against the background music of artillery explosions and the screams of the wounded. Now, thanks to Nancy Sherman's new book, "Stoic Warriors", we know that Adam's second implication was also wrong, and that a disciplined approach to the realities of war and the deliverances of Philosophy can reveal extraordinary mutual illumination. To be clear: This is not a book about war from the point of view of the state, or the Presidents and Generals who act on its behalf by sorting through issues of foreign policy, developing over-arching military strategies, or engaging in the subtle thrust and parry of diplomacy. Instead, the point of view of this book is down on the ground, where the boots are. Where the killing and the dying and the maiming take place. It asks: What motivates the soldier to fight at all? To fight with integrity or fight with wanton brutality? What values shape a soldier's actions, and what values should shape them? In prose that is elegantly precise, Professor Sherman trains her spotlight on the ancient texts of the Stoic philosophers to illuminate and evaluate modern war-fighting. Then she shifts to a close analysis of the soldier's reality to critique and show the limits of classical Stoicism. As a combat Vietnam War veteran with an interest in Philosophy, I cherish Sherman's contribution. But its relevant audience is a lot wider than folks like me. It's an essential book for any concerned citizen who wants to think clearly and responsibly about issues of war and ethics, individual and collective responsibility, and how to live as humans in (unending) times of war.

In a world of modern approaches to resiliency and coping, Dr. Sherman rightly credits and makes accessible the enduring Stoic philosophical precepts which continue to inspire and shape military culture and virtue. Like Sun Tzu's Art of War, or Musashi's Book of Five Rings, certain philosophies are indispensible to modern warriors, and decoding their belief systems. Utilizing original Stoic sources, modern military narratives and current research, this world-class Scholar (Former Distinquished Chair of Ethics at the Naval Academy) dispels many mispercetpions of what real Stoicism is and argues that a compassionate and moderate version of this proven system will continue to protect those who employ it. Particulary fascinating was this author's explanation of military bearing and custom as a form of virtue in action. As a former Special Forces soldier and Army Officer, who is qualified as a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Supervisor, I have used Stoic principles in philosophic counseling successfully for over a decade and find them invaluable as a personal philosophy and as a core element of my counseling approach. There are many applications for military counseling uses as well. I especially recommend this work to any soldier, sailor, marine or airman, who requires greater understanding of virtue and reslience in their personal development. Special Operations warriors will find much that they already relate to, and many rich sources to continue their studies. Sherman's book will remain a classic for years to come. Thomas A. Jarrett, LCSW/BCD Stoic Wisdom Counseling and Coaching