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>During WW1, Wittgenstein immediately volunteered for the Austro-Hungarian Army, despite being eligible for a medical exemption
>Wittgenstein directed the fire of his own artillery from an observation post in no-man's land against Allied troops - one of the most dangerous jobs there was, since he was targeted by enemy snipers
>In action against British troops, he was decorated with the Military Merit with Swords on the Ribbon, and was commended by the army for "His exceptionally courageous behaviour, calmness, sang-froid, and heroism"
Are there any other philosophers who weren't cowards and fought for their country?
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Benni 16
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Remember that time Wittgenstein and his boyfriend wanted to emigrate to the Soviet Union and work in a factory together, but were told they wouldn't be allowed in unless they became professors at a state university?
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>>2492511
Socrates, believe it or not.
"Socrates’ first proper engagement was at Potidaea in 432 BC – a city-state threatening to break away from Athens. Already aged 37, Socrates played a role in the initial battle, and also in the subsequent siege of the city. The campaign kept him away from Athens for almost three years, and it was on the way home, as part of a victorious army, that Socrates distinguished himself.
The Athenian army was ambushed near Spartolos and suffered serious losses. Socrates, though, saved the life and armour of Alcibiades, a man who went on to become one of Athens’ leading strategists and politicians.
Five years after his return from Potidaea, with the first phase of the Peloponnesian Wars at its height, Socrates fought at the Battle of Delium. The battle, in 424 BC, provides the first recorded incident of fratricide – or what might now be called ‘friendly fire’ casualties – when confused hoplites began fighting each other, unable to distinguish fellow Athenians from their enemies, the Boeotians.
After some early successes, the Athenians were routed. Socrates, though, seems to have maintained some order in his retreat. Plato wrote ‘when you behave in war as he did, then (the enemy) do not even touch you; instead they pursue those who turn in headlong flight’.
The Athenian general Laches was even more generous: ‘If all the Athenians had fought as bravely as Socrates, the Boeotians would have erected no (victory) statues.’
Socrates’ last military service was at Amphipolis. Approaching 48 by then, his role in the battle is unclear. Spartan victory at Amphipolis soon led to an armistice with Athens, and the first phase of the war was over." (https://www.military-history.org/articles/thinkers-at-war-socrates.htm)
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>>2492511
Julius Evola was an artillery officer in WW1.
Benito Mussolini, who could be considered a philosopher as he was at least partially the creator of Fascism, fought in WW1.
Ernst Junger could also count as a philosopher who fought in a war.
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