Philosophy: about the God of war, anger, and nuance

2026-03-28

Raw link: YouTube OR Internet Archive

In this 30-minute video I talk about the Greek god of war, Ares. I note how the very concept of “god of war” can make us feel uncomfortable because (i) we associate the divine with something noble and (ii) we consider war ignoble.

I explain how we can appreciate the nuances by incorporating in our thinking the notion that there is no pure instantiation of good or evil. All that we are dealing with is in a state of admixture. What makes something “good” or “bad” is a matter of degree, relative to an inertial frame of reference.

Couched in those terms, I discuss the mechanics of conflict: it breaks a given status quo. As such, it has in it the potential to undo a given state of affairs which, in turn, may give way to something new.

By interpreting the world through its nuances, we move from the mode of judging to the mode of describing and of adapting accordingly. There is no opt-out from the things we do not like in this world.

As part of the presentation, I elaborate on why the Greeks think that the concept of “god of war” is appropriately descriptive. Though I also note that this is not a religious matter, but a view to how we make sense of phenomena.