Some findings which I wanted to share
After having been asked to look into warriors by a good frend and teacher, I at first couldn't find much. I decided to change my search a bit and look into what others feel a warrior truly is. Below I have put several things, separated by links to their resources, which pertain to this, and I hope you enjoy. Please, feel free to share your view and thoughts, for that will only clearify more clearly what is thought on the subject. Thank you for your time, and I hope you enjoy.
The Warrior’s Code
Prof. Shannon E. French, Ph.D.
U.S. Naval Academy
Dept. of Leadership, Ethics, and Law
2001
“Warrior” should not be used to describe every individual who now fights, has ever fought, or prepares to fight a war. The term would have more strength if we reserved it to apply only to those war fighters who meet other important criteria, which may be less tangible, but ultimately more significant, than that of having taken up arms against an enemy. Before we call any collection of belligerents a culture of warriors, we should first ask why they fight, how they fight, what brings them honor, and what brings them shame. The answers to these questions will reveal whether or not they have a true warrior’s code.
On the first day of the philosophy course I teach at the U.S. Naval Academy called, “The Code of the Warrior,” I ask my students, who are midshipmen preparing for careers as officers in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps, to reflect on the meaning of the word “warrior.” To facilitate this, I give them an exercise that requires them to identify whether any of a list of five words are perfect synonyms for “warrior.” They are then asked to write a brief explanation of why each of the five succeeds or fails as a synonym. The time constraint keeps their responses relatively raw, yet they are often surprisingly earnest or even impassioned.
The words I offer my students for their consideration are “murderer,” “killer,” “fighter,” “victor,” and “conqueror.” I have found them consistently to favor the rejection of all five. The reasons they offer to account for why they wish to dismiss each of these as synonyms for “warrior” regularly stress the idea that a true “warrior” has to be in some way superior to those who might qualify for the other suggested labels. Consider these representative comments from a variety of midshipmen:
MURDERER
“This word has connotations of unjust acts, namely killing for no reason. A warrior fights an enemy who fights to kill him.”
KILLER
“A warrior may be required to kill, but it should be for a purpose or cause greater than his own welfare, for an ideal.”
FIGHTER
“Simply fighting doesn’t make a warrior. There are rules a warrior follows.”
VICTOR
“Warriors will lose, too – and the people who win aren’t always what a warrior should be.”
CONQUEROR
“A conqueror may simply command enough power to overcome opposition. He can be very lacking in the ethical beliefs that should be part of a warrior’s life.”
Almost without exception, my students insist that a “warrior” is not a “murderer.” They can even become emotional in the course of repudiating this (intentionally provocative) potential synonym. It is very important to them to be sure that I understand that while most warriors do kill people, they never murder anyone. Their remarks are filled with contempt for mere murderers:
Ø “Murder is committed in cold-blood, without a reason. A warrior should only kill in battle, when it is unavoidable.”
Ø “Murder seems to me something that is done for an individual motive: a motive that has no real purpose or cause.”
Ø “Murderers have no noble reason for their crimes.”
Ø “While a murderer often kills innocent or defenseless people, a warrior restricts his killing to willing combatants. He may stray, but that is an error, not the norm.”
Ø “This word has connotations of unjust acts, namely killing for no reason. A warrior fights an enemy who fights to kill him.”
Ø “A murderer is someone who kills and enjoys it. That is not a warrior.”
Ø “This term has very negative connotations associated with it because a murderer is one who usually kills innocent, unarmed people – while a warrior has honor in battle and does not take advantage of the weak.”
Ø “A murderer murders out of hate. A warrior does not. He knows how to control his anger.”
Ø “Murdering involves taking an innocent life, which does not make someone a warrior.”
Ø “A warrior is not a murderer because a warrior has a code that he lives by which is influenced by morals which must be justified.”
Ø “Warriors fight other warriors. Therefore they kill, not murder.”
Ø “A murderer acts out of hate or personal selfishness.”
Ø “‘Murderer’ lacks any implication of honor or ethics, but rather calls to mind ruthlessness and disregard for human life.”
Ø “A murderer kills for gain, or out of anger. He does not allow victims a fair fight.”
Ø “The term ‘murder’ represents an act done with malice. Warriors killed people in an honorable way.”
Ø “‘Murder’ implies senseless and unjustified killing.”
Ø “A murderer has no honor.”
Clearly, my students do not regard the distinction between a warrior and a murderer as a trivial one. Nor should they. In fact, the distinction is an essential one.
Every human society on earth deems some behavior to be morally unacceptable, and murder is a good example of an act that is cross-culturally condemned. Whatever their other points of discord, the major religions of the world agree in the determination that murder (variously defined) is wrong. According to the somewhat cynical 17th-Century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, the fear of our own murderous appetites is what drove us (humans) to form societies in the first place. We eagerly entered into a social contract in which certain rules of civilized behavior could be enforced by a sovereign power in order to escape the miserable, anarchic State of Nature where existence is a “war of every man against every man,” and individual lives are “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” In other words, people want to live under some sort of system that at least attempts to make good the guarantee that when they go to sleep at night, they will not be murdered in their beds.
Unfortunately, the fact that we abhor murder produces a disturbing tension for those who are asked to fight wars for their tribes, clans, communities, cultures or nations. When they are trained for war, warriors are given a mandate by their society to take lives. But they must learn to take only certain lives in certain ways, at certain times, and for certain reasons. Otherwise, they become indistinguishable from murderers and will find themselves condemned by the very societies they were created to serve.
Whatever additional martial activities they may engage in, such as conquering foreign peoples, acquiring booty or expanding territory, warriors (even the so-called “barbarian” warriors) exist for one primary purpose. That purpose is to defend their communities from any forces that may seek to undermine the security of the social contract: from the “Barbarians at the Gate.” The trick is that they must find some way to accomplish this goal without become the barbarians themselves.
Most projections into the haze of our prehistoric past suggest that early human societies were tribal, and that within these tribes a hunter class, charged with providing food for the tribe and protection from predatory animals, evolved into a warrior class having a broader mandate to protect the interests of the tribe generally against all threats, animal or human. Alterations in population sizes, migration, and the strained carrying capacity of certain regions of the earth caused more tribes to come in contact with one another and vie for resources. Inevitably, serious inter-tribal conflicts arose. Before long, a successful warrior class became essential to each tribe’s survival. As more complex social-political systems developed and civilization advanced, the composition and exact duties of warrior classes around the globe underwent some changes. But their primary role remained constant: to protect and promote their culture’s survival.
The survival of a society does not depend just upon the rescue of citizens or the retention of land. The survival of a culture depends as much, if not more, on the continued existence, recognition, and celebration of a coherent cultural self-conception – on the preservation of cultural identity – as it does on the continued existence of a sustained population or physical boundaries. Several cultures persist in the absence of any physical boundaries (e.g. nomadic cultures), and a culture can be destroyed or supplanted by other means than genocide or territorial conquest. A culture’s identity is defined by its deepest values: the values that its citizens believe are worth defending, worth dying for. These are the values that shape a society’s “way of life.” And it is that “way of life” that warriors fight to maintain.
Warrior cultures throughout history and from diverse regions around the globe have all constructed codes of behavior, which establish that culture’s image of the ideal warrior. These codes have not always been written down or literally codified into a set of explicit rules, yet they can be identified as they are carefully conveyed in some form to each succeeding generation of warriors. These codes tend to be quite demanding. They are often closely linked to a culture’s religious beliefs and can be connected to elaborate (in some cases, death defying or excruciatingly painful) rituals and rites of passage. And in many cases they seem to hold the warrior to a higher ethical standard than that required for an ordinary citizen within the general population of the society that the warrior serves. The warriors themselves frequently police strict adherence to these standards; with violators being shamed, ostracized, or even killed by their peers. [One relevant historical example comes from the Roman legions, where a man who fell asleep while he was supposed to be on watch in time of war could expect to be stoned to death by the members of his own cohort.]
But why to warriors need such a code? Why should a warrior culture want to restrict the actions of its members and require them to commit to lofty ideals? Might not such restraints cripple their effectiveness as warriors? What’s wrong with, “All’s fair in love and war?” Isn’t winning all that matters? Why could any warrior be burdened with concerns about honor and shame?
One reason for such warriors’ codes may be to protect the warrior him- (or her-) self from serious psychological damage. The things that warriors are asked to do to guarantee their culture’s survival are not always pleasant. There is truth in the inescapable slogan, “War is hell.” The combination of the warriors’ own natural disgust at what they must see in battle and the fact that what they must do on the battlefield seems so uncivilized, so against what they have been taught by their society, could make warriors feel tremendous self-loathing.
Warriors need a way to distinguish what they must do out of a sense of duty from what a serial killer does for the sheer sadistic pleasure of it. Their actions, like those of the serial killer, set them apart from the rest of society. Warriors, however, are not sociopaths. They respect the values of the society in which they were raised and which they are prepared to die to protect. Therefore it is important for them to conduct themselves in such a way that they will be honored and esteemed by their communities, not reviled and rejected by them. They want to be seen as proud defenders and representatives of what is best about their culture: as heroes, not “baby-killers.”
By setting high standards for themselves, warriors can create a lifeline that will allow them to pull themselves out of the hell of war and reintegrate themselves into their society. A warrior’s code may cover everything from the treatment of prisoners of war to oath keeping to table etiquette, but its primary purpose is to grant nobility to the warriors’ profession. This allows warriors to retain both their self-respect and the respect of those they guard.
The question can then be asked, if a warrior’s code is indeed crucial to the warrior’s moral psychology, is enough being done at today’s U.S. service academies to present our warriors-in-training with such a code and promote their internalization of it? Certainly, there are honor codes and honor concepts, character development seminars, ethics classes and core values. All of these efforts seem aimed in the right direction, but do they in fact add up to the successful transmission of a true warrior’s code?
I have asked many midshipmen and cadets this question in a variety of contexts. The answer they typically give is a mixed review. They do believe that they are given a code to follow; however, they are not necessarily certain either that it is an adequate warrior’s code or that they are sufficiently inspired to take it on board as their own personal credo (a way of life, not mere memorized words). I believe one of the reasons for this was captured by Mark Osiel in his book Obeying Orders, in which he argues that the modern military too often relies on a rule-following approach to character training, rather than employing a more Aristotelian method of promoting key virtues and providing strong role models so that young warriors can form deeply ingrained habits of excellence. A second problem I believe can be traced to changes in the educational approach at the academies, that may be lumped under the broad umbrella of “political correctness.” For example, there is a push these days to avoid any lessons that might give our young warriors a sense of superiority over their civilian counterparts. This is driven by a well-intentioned concern over tension in civilian/military relations (the “widening gap”), but it can undermine the critical formation of confidence among our students. Midshipmen and cadets are exhorted not to regard themselves as an elite group, distinct from other cadres of the population. While I certainly agree that those who serve in the military should show (and, more importantly, feel) respect for those who achieve great things in the civilian world and make their own contributions to society out of uniform, I see no reason why such respect should be thought incompatible with feeling elite themselves. There is nothing odd about feeling immense pride in being, say, an excellent fire-fighter, and yet still having great respect for those who are, for example, excellent coaches, artists, or scholars. A warrior may take tremendous pride in the fact that he is among those few best qualified to defend his nation and still think very highly of those civilians who are best qualified to teach in urban high schools or run successful businesses or write an immortal sonnet.
On the moral side, I see nothing wrong with withholding respect from persons, in or out of uniform, who make no real attempt to adhere to ethical standards. If warriors do in fact live up to the high standards they set for themselves, it is not unfair or hypocritical of them to expect the same from others. On the other hand, warriors who are justifiably proud of the ethical components of their own code should not assume that all civilians lack any equally demanding code, simply because a civilian’s code, unlike the UCMJ, may not be backed by the threat of formal punishment. There are plenty of civilians who firmly believe that adultery is wrong and will remain faithful to their marriage vows, even if no laws required them to do so.
With regard to their martial abilities, warriors-in-training should be encouraged to feel that they are capable of things that most civilians (by choice or nature) are not. What is the point of training if, at the end of it, you do not feel that you can do or withstand what those not similarly trained cannot? Unfortunately, many rites of passage (events intended to prove to the participants that they can do or withstand what others cannot) have been softened to the point that they now carry little emotional significance. This was done to prevent a negative form of hazing, but it seems that the baby may have been thrown out with the bath water. Some hazing is nothing more the foolish exercise of petty power by one group over another. Hazing that claims the status of a rite of passage but in actuality does nothing to make the warrior feel more prepared to face the demands of his or her future career of service should indeed be avoided. True rites of passage, in contrast, are carefully designed to allow those who endure them to prove something to themselves. Even if they involve lessons in humility, they are ultimately intended to make the warrior feel more like a warrior, not to make those administering or observing the rite feel better about themselves. Well-conceived rites of passage enhance individual dignity; they do not damage it. It should be noted that in historical warrior traditions, many of the most powerful rites are entirely self-administered. Sioux braves willingly pierced their pectoral muscles and attached themselves by cords to a tall pole, dancing around it until the cords ripped loose out of their torn flesh. The Chinese monks of Shaolin entered the Corridor of Death of their own free will, knowing that even if they survived its deadly gauntlet of booby-traps, they could not escape without lifting a 300-pound, red-hot cauldron away from the exit, using only their bare arms (which would be permanently branded in the process with the images of a dragon and a tiger). Such rituals may seem unnecessarily savage, but a similar criticism has been raised in modern times against mere blood pinning. I think it is both ridiculous and cruel to “protect” future warriors from rites of passage that may give them the confidence they will need to survive a genuine conflict, on the grounds that such rites may cause them physical or emotional distress, when we have no intention of protecting them from much greater physical and emotion distress in their careers or in combat. It is equally ludicrous to use the inclusion of women in warrior training as an excuse for watering down training. The desire to face real challenges, to demonstrate competence, and to build confidence by mastering trials is not gender-specific.
True rites of passage, along with other lessons and experiences conducive to making young men and women feel like warriors, have to be maintained at this country’s most prestigious service academies and other centers of military training. We must not send our defenders off to hunt through the caves of Afghanistan or subdue warlords in Somalia without first arming them with the internal strength and confidence that comes from struggling to live up to the demands of a warriors’ code. The specific skills and abilities that warriors need to succeed in responding to modern threats will continue to evolve, but as long as war involves killing and dying, there will be a need for warriors who feel like warriors. It is doing them a disservice to pretend that their jobs are no different than those of businesspeople, computer specialists, or engineers in the civilian world. They certainly need to know the difference between a warrior and a murderer. But they also need to know the difference between a warrior and a bureaucrat.
http://www.usafa.edu/isme/JSCOPE02/French02.html
What IS a Warrior?
by Cmdr.K'Blade sutai-Hov bo'Degh
What is a Warrior? A question for the soul. Many will have several different answers. Some will be similar. Some will not.
Speaking for myself, I say, a Warrior is one who stands for the one who cannot. One who cares for those who are forgotten. One who gives for those who have little. One who is willing to bear the pain for another who cannot. One who fights for what is right regardless of the cost. One who is willing to help an enemy, to make him a freind.
One who makes mistakes and is willing to admit to them. One who occasionally commits a wrong and shows the honor of doing all he can to make it right.
A Warrior is one who will not always win every battle life puts in his path.
He is one who will face those battles and never quit.
http://www.kag.org/ms/ms66/klin.html
Warrior seems to be a word that has been misused and now has many interpretations attached to it…honour is not something that is restricted solely to a warrior…all men and woman can act with honour Other words for warrior…Knight or paladin
Throughout this writing the term "he/his" may be used due to the fact that I looked in many places online for writing that seemed to say what I felt (I just haven't been able to change all these references)…I have a firm belief that in this world it is just as likely form women to become warriors as it is men (sometimes more so – as much as this may annoy my brothers…grin)
I see a true warrior as someone who strives to be the best they can be at all things (living life to its fullest) and not necessarily as someone who has prowess in the physical/martial arts of battle, but also in the arts of the psychological, mental and spiritual so that one may have the discipline to change our own behaviour to that of living honourable and in a sacred manner.
A person who lives with honour is noble
A warrior is someone who lives to a strict code of honour AND lives life to the fullest in full awareness and without fear of the unpredictable nature of life and of the constant presence of death
Death is not to be seen as something to be feared but only another part of the journey and therefore as with all things it is to be faced with honour
Can honour be regained once lost?
The code of conduct for honour is that of following the way of nature
The way of honour is not limited to warriors
There needs to be a word for someone who lives with this outlook and level of honour but who is not so eager for battle…or can does the word warrior now serve to also describe those who strive to excel in other arts such as healing, music, dance, spirit
I think for the moment that warrior shall be a word I use to describe any person who lives with honour who also strives for excellence in their chosen area
A true warrior strives to do all things in a sacred manner
Never afraid of the possibility of death yet never actively seeking death
So even when one has been dishonoured, is it dishonourable to seek death rather than seeking to make amends?
When shamed/dishonoured is it better to commit suicide (seppuku/seek death) or spend the rest of ones life trying to mend wrongs and continue to live in an honourable manner?
What should one do when the law/code that one follows is not good for the community / family that ones is honour bound to protect?
To live with honour and die with honour
Have to remember that there are those in the world who do not live in an honourable way…it is foolish to expect them to act honourably…one must remember this when defending family/community…one needs to fight with all the skills that one has
Eg do not be afraid to attack from behind or with stealth, as others will not hesitate to do this
One can afford honour among the honourable but not all are honourable…or is this the sacrifice one makes for honour…to act honourably at all times and still strive to succeed in a world without honour?
When does honour become pointless?…does it become just a matter of pride and ego?
Honour/loyalty/respect/etiquette/courage/wisdom/mercy/truth/justice/skill/strength/gentleness/hospitality/comradeship
The way of honour is not easy
The way of the warrior is based upon an individual's foundation values/ethics
Thus honour is a highly personalised thing
One can have totally opposed code to you but if they follow that do they still live with honour?
A warrior may be honourable whilst still being opposed to another warrior
Warriors may have differing ideals yet still both live with honour by strictly following their own personal code/ideal
What then of the concept of "honour among thieves"?
Being a warrior is not about bravado or machismo…in fact these are dishonourable
It is not honourable to waste ones resources…this includes ones own life and the lives of those around
Should one honour a promise to one who is dishonourable?
How should an honourable person act towards someone who has purposely acted without honour?
An order/group of honourable people does not need ranks or hierarchy as honour and respect should overshadow the need to fulfil ego and pride
Each person should have enough of both honour and respect for himself and for others to know his place wether it be high or low and to accept the words of all who choose to share
This also is relevant to those who need to learn and those who are able to teach Men and women sworn to develop a warrior spirituality in themselves, and to defend others.
A warrior, a definition, (1) Cultivates strength, agility, courage, and especially other honourable qualities and willingness to fight (but only when necessary and when there is not alternative) (2) Uses these virtues not for personal aggrandizement, but in service to the larger group or society of which he or she is a part...(3) Is initiated, by ordeal and by ritual, into the warrior status (is this necessary?)
A warrior is not a strutting bully. Neither is he a "peaceful warrior of the spirit." True, warriors can be peaceful, and they can certainly be spiritual, but they are also capable of inflicting injury and death on a real enemy in the physical and spiritual worlds. It is a warrior's honour and code which tempers his actions.
In ancient Indo-European society, to be a man was to be a warrior; the two were identical. Occasionally, there were women who fought alongside the men, and sometimes these were organized into special, all-woman units.
However now this is not so many, men especially, are trying to find a place in this world. It seems that the old definition of warrior has changed from what it once was. There now also exist laws and legislation of state which govern our actions as well as our own personal codes of honour.
Many modern warrior groups are dedicated to the protection and security of the Pagan community with members who are trained in spiritual, mental and physical defence, designing & performing liturgy for Warrior spirituality, and emergency response. All this is done through the study of warrior magic, history, strategy, and physical training. I feel that this is just a part of being a warrior. There is more to this, what about when the community is at peace? A warrior needs to be able to heal as well as injure. To be able to teach the ways of honour. Warriors also have another place in the community… this is one place I get confused since being an honourable man and warrior are only parts of being a proper member of a community.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The actions of a warrior
If thou art honourable and just, it is good that thou be known so. If it be necessary to sacrifice thy reputation to maintain virtue, do not hesitate to do it.
There are always those things which can be done, those things which should be done, and those things which must be done.
Honour is the courage to stand for truth, against any odds
Respect of talents and skills of people/creatures or effects of weapons regardless of their honour
Pragmatism…acting in a manner of awareness of death yet not actively seeking it while still not afraid of it…living life to the fullest, without waste or foolish action…if it is worth doing then it is worth doing well
By acting in a an honourable way one may lead others to live in a similar manner. To lead by example…given good leadership - sufficient noble inspiration by honourable individuals - the majority of people can change themselves for the better and come to know and value honour, loyalty and duty.
Those who now do not understand or value these noble things can do so given good leadership and guidance. A warrior is known for unwavering commitment to the people and ideals by which he lives.
There are many places where compromise is expected; loyalty is not amongst them. A warrior realizes that though the ideals cannot be reached, the quality of striving towards them ennobles the spirit. Nobility also has the tendency to influence others, offering a compelling example of what can be done in the service of rightness. Better individuals can only be created through the pursuit of noble values - by individuals changing themselves for the better through a personal act of will. This requires individuals, and society itself, to champion and uphold those values which create personal excellence, which aid the individual change necessary. These values are honour, loyalty and duty.
He has faith in his beliefs, for faith roots him and gives hope against the despair that human failings create. By living to a certain code of honour / ethics we can find for ourselves a path which will not crumble from beneath us.
To engage in the arts of song, poetry, and artistry is perfectly acceptable for the warrior. One does not hold to the false bravado and machismo that the above avenues of action will corrupt a person. Rather, they enlarge one's horizons. This does not mean that all warriors must pursue such activities, but that it is fine if they do so. A warrior may also seek to better their trade, so long as it be an honourable one (and conducted in a n honourable manner). He or she does not do this to gain wealth or fame, but rather, that they may better serve the community.
http://www.angelfire.com/extreme2/pagan/warrior.html
By Jake George
I am often asked “What is a Warrior,” and over the years I have pondered the question. Thinking back to talks with my Pop and other Elders. There is a misconception that a Warrior is a great fighter, brave in battle. A Warrior is that to be sure. But so are those who sit and wait, those who have overcome physical afflictions.
A Warrior is a state of mind, a state of spirit, not just a word written or spoken about. It is action, compassion, acceptance of what the Great Spirit has given us. It is how we look at life and react to what happens to us. A few years back I wrote the below poem when I thought about what a Warrior is. I am a Warrior. You see, we have free will. The Creator decides what to put in out path that is our life. It is what we choose to do with it that determines the outcome. Do we go left, right or straight. The path we choose has the trials and tribulations already laid upon its path. It has the hopes, pleasures, futures there for our choosing. Being a Warrior is living with the choice we have made and acceptance of it.
The Gift
The Great Spirit said, “I am going to give you a tremendous gift.”
“I hope I am worthy of this gift,” I replied.
The Great Spirit said he would inflict me with a disease.
“Disease as a gift?” I asked. I could not fathom illness as a gift.
“What you do with this gift depends on you,” he said.
“You can treat it as a curse, or accept it for what it is.
You can lament or make the best of it. It is up to you.
What you do and how you act will prove if you are a Warrior.”
He struck me with Polio and paralyzed my legs.
Doctor’s said I will never walk again.
But I did. I learned to walk and run.
I thank the Great Spirit every day.
He taught me that those without legs are worthy.
He struck me with Graves’ disease.
Life was pure hell for a few years.
Loss of memory, pain, and tremors,
But I got better.
I learned that by helping others with Graves’
I could help to heal myself.
I learned that helping others is a worthy cause.
I learned I had the strength to keep going
Even when I had no strength left.
I learned that as bad off as I felt there was another
Who was worse off than I who I could help.
I learned that instead of reaching for a helping hand
I had become the hand that was reached for.
Instead of being in the abyss I was on the edge
Helping others out of the void.
The Great Spirit said, “I will take your vision.”
My eyes bulged and pained.
Vision started to dim and colors were lost.
My eyes went askew and looked in different directions,
But I got better
Sixteen eye surgeries,
Much pain and discomfort,
Orbital Radiation on my eyes left me with cataracts,
But I got better.
I learned that even with no sight I was worthy.
I saw with my mind what my eyes could no longer.
I learned that by helping other’s with eye problems.
I helped myself.
I am a Warrior. I no longer look at a person the same.
I see what is inside them not the shell of the body.
Instead of seeing a person in a wheelchair
I see a person who was given a gift.
I see the Great Spirit gave them a gift too.
I admire their strength.
I admire their courage.
I admire their will.
I pay homage to a fellow Warrior as we pass by.
I thank the Great Spirit for these gifts.
Fore they made me the man I have become.