October
15
/ 2021
When pondering themes of war and peace, there is a general perception among modern people of the Western world that the time we live in is decidedly more civilized and peaceful than any other era of human history. Most believe that modernity is characterized by the continued decline of violence in all its forms, with a decrease in public displays of brutality and an increase in inter-personal civility. We collectively gasp in horror at the sight of medieval torture devices like the rack, or at the idea that crowds of people might go to see a heretic burned at the stake in the town square and consider it a form of entertainment. Even in the Early Modern period, with its
