Stoic Warrior

Inside the military mind.

by Nancy Sherman, Ph.D.

Revenge Impulses Go Unchecked

The video of four U.S. Marines urinating on three dead Taliban fighters has ricocheted around the world with viral speed, rightly provoking moral outrage abroad and shame at home. The act is a violation of professional military conduct, and the fundamental moral requirement in war of showing dignity and respect to the dead. Read More

Shame and Responsibility

Writing about guilt feelings can open the floodgates to readers' own painful and unresolved guilt, but also to outrage at those who should feel guilt, but don't. The probing and rich comments I received on line and in email about my essay, "The Moral Logic of Guilt," touched on both responses and set me thinking more about the appropriateness of various guilt feelings. Read More

The Moral Logic of Survivor Guilt

If there is one thing we have learned from returning war veterans - especially those of the last decade - it's that the emotional reality of the soldier at home is often at odds with that of the civilian public they left behind. Read More

The Combat Element Part 2

In the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, soldiers survive their wounds in a way that was simply impossible in previous wars. Read More

The Combat Element, Part 1

On a sticky Sunday, June morning in the Washington DC area, I drove my daughter to a triathlon at a Navy base some 2 hours south of our home. The event (3/4 mile swim, 6 mile bike ride, and 3 mile run) drew a lot of military athletes, but also civilians interested in the same exhilaration of hard, physical activity. Read More

Nancy Sherman, Ph.D., is a professor of philosophy and a fellow of the Kennedy Institute at Georgetown University.

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About Stoic Warrior

The public knows a lot about the current battles in Iraq and Afghanistan, but not the inner battle soldiers wage. This blog takes the reader through the moral and psychological roller coaster of war.