Strength and Power Ideas of Moral Autonomy Within Australian Doctrine: An analysis informed by the Stoic philosophy of Epictetus Richard Adams Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts. University College, the University of New South Wales. 2012 ABSTRACT Investigating ideas of moral autonomy in Australian Defence Doctrine Publication 00.6: Leadership in the Australian Defence Force (“doctrine”), the present thesis finds expectations of moral strength subordinated beneath ideas of positional power. For this reason doctrine is not seen to provide a philosophy applicable to the profession of arms. Recalling the foundations of western military thinking in classical Greece, the thesis investigates the metaphor of the hoplite phalanx. The phalanx defined a physically brutal, philosophically uncompromising approach to conflict. In the phalanx, military service was saturated with moral expectation. Following collapse of the poleis and demise of the phalanx, critical ideas were recaptured by Stoicism, a philosophy resonant with western military ideals. Stoicism found compelling expression in the philosophy of self-mastery asserted by Epictetus. Harm, argues Epictetus, comes only from the surrender of moral autonomy. This uncompromising credo captured the Socratic conviction that good will alone is significant. Evoking Plato and Aristotle, this idea captures the bequest of classical thinking to modern ethics. Stoicism articulates a philosophy of morally autonomous and purposeful self-mastery. Resonant with the profession of arms, Stoicism belittles physical harm in relation to the agony of shame endured by those who fail in moral duties. Yet, despite the military timbre, Stoicism is seen in the present study to challenge the dominant ideas of Australian doctrine. Doctrine detaches ideas of personal integrity from the reality of war. Doing so, doctrine fails to recognise that war has a moral veracity determined by human judgement, and connected to inherited and persistent moral ideas. Moral ideas persist through the advancement and evolution of societies, illuminating philosophical constants and enabling war to be interpreted and understood as more than manoeuvre and strategy. Recalling the past, this study provokes consideration of a new doctrinal paradigm. The study connects Australian doctrine to ethical concepts which, since September 11th 2001, have reasserted themselves as decisive elements of international affairs and conflict. The study does not argue for the resurrection of classical criterion. Rather, the study tables Stoicism as a lens through which doctrinal principles may be reinterpreted and made relevant. i DEDICATION TO ALL WHO HAVE SERVED HONOURABLY IN THE CAUSE OF A BETTER PEACE, AND TO THOSE WHO HAVE LOVED AND LOST THEM. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I acknowledge a debt to my wife, who afforded unwavering support. I am grateful to Jack and Beth: inspirational examples and loving friends. I acknowledge the debt I owe Geoff and Mike: scholars, and gentlemen. I acknowledge the debt I owe Stephen for his supervision. I hope I shall be absolved for inevitable omission. Richard Adams ii ORIGINALITY STATEMENT ‘I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at UNSW or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at UNSW or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. I also declare that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project's design and conception or in style, presentation and linguistic expression is acknowledged.’ Signed ................................................................. Richard Adams Date ................................................................. iii COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ‘I hereby grant the University of New South Wales or its agents the right to archive and to make available my thesis or dissertation in whole or part in the University libraries in all forms of media, now or here after known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. I retain all proprietary rights, such as patent rights. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. 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Date.............................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract p. i Acknowledgements p. ii Originality Statement p. iii Copyright Statement p. iv Annotated Chronological Table p. vii Glossary of Terms and Concepts p. xxv Chapter One: Introduction p. 1 Western Military Thinking p. 6 Aim of the Research p. 9 Doctrine and Moral Thinking p. 10 Conscience and Just War p. 18 Importance of the Research p. 26 Significance of Stoicism p. 32 Structure of the Dissertation p. 35 Future Research p. 45 Chapter Two: Ever to be the Best p. 59 Homer: Ruler of the Greek Imagination p. 60 The Beginning of Freedom for Greece p. 64 Honour: A Common Rivalry to be the Best p. 65 Honour and Hubris p. 71 Honour and Aretê p. 74 Honour and the Polis p. 78 In the Afterglow of Greatness p. 91 Chapter Three: Standing Firm in the Ranks p. 102 Classical Hoplites p. 102 Honour and Duty in the Phalanx p. 107 United in a Just Cause p. 114 Free Citizens: Better Warriors p. 124 v Chapter Four: Seek not Outside Yourself – The Stoic Ideal p. 144 Eclipse of the polis and the Rise of Stoicism p. 144 Stoicism p. 148 Stoic Ethics p. 150 Epictetus p. 151 Epictetus and Moral Autonomy p. 157 Epictetus: His Concept of Prohairesis p. 162 Epictetus and Moral Obligation in Society p. 170 Chapter Five: Australian Doctrine p. 190 Doctrine’s Prevailing Theme p. 191 The Significance of Doctrine p. 192 The Cultural Paradigm p. 193 Positional Power and Moral Strength p. 196 The Bureaucratic Elite p. 197 Beyond “the Ethical Pursuit of Missions” p. 207 The Limit of Force p. 219 The Limit of Blame p. 224 The Limit of Westphalia p. 225 The Limit of Victory p. 230 Chapter Six: Conclusion p. 243 Foundational Concepts p. 244 Importance of the Present research p. 245 The Significance of Doctrine p. 248 Service Among Equals p. 249 Stoic Autonomy p. 254 A Doctrine of Command p. 257 Democratic Ideals p. 262 New Truth p. 263 List of References p. 274 vi Annotated Chronological Table This table provides historical context for the dissertation. B.C. c. 1200: End of Mycenaean civilization. Mycenaean civilization was the pre-Hellenic monarchic Palace civilization, with a well-established government bureaucracy. The collapse of Mycenaean civilization brought about the Greek Dark Age, which persisted until about the eighth century B.C. When the Greek world re-appeared in history, it was the society of the military aristocracy depicted in Homer, in which the idea of aretê (individual excellence) emerged as central to Greek life. c. 776: Olympic Games. The competitive festival (reflecting the deep roots of competition in Greek society) conducted at Elis in the western Peloponnese, uninterrupted until 393 A.D when the Emperor Theodosius abolished them. A list of Olympic victors, drawn up by Julius Africanus, has been preserved by Eusebius. c. 800 – 700: Lycurgus, traditionally the founder of the Spartan constitution and most of the institutions of ancient Sparta. Xenophon, writing in the first half of the fourth century, believed Lycurgus founded Sparta’s institutions shortly after the Dorian invasion of Laconia circa 1000, when the native Achaeans were enslaved, to becoming state-owned serfs, and known thereafter as helots. Lycurgus is more likely to have existed in the second half of the seventh century, devising the drastic and militaristic reforms which followed the helot revolt, and which established Sparta as the most militarised and most militarily capable city in Greece. At this time, Lycurgus probably instituted the Gerousia (senate or council of elders) and appella (assembly). c. 753: Legendary date of the foundation of Rome by Romulus. c. 750 – 650: Probable date of the written composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. Homer’s composition would have relied on oral traditions; the influence of which is evident in the repetitions and inconsistencies of a text, which was originally intended to be heard, rather than read. vii The Iliad, set around the Trojan