This article investigates the philosophical, sociological, and cultural foundations of the concepts of war and peace as central categories of human thought and social organization. Drawing on interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives, the study examines how these concepts have evolved through ethical philosophy, social theory, and cultural memory. War is analyzed as a manifestation of moral rupture, institutional imbalance, and collective trauma, while peace is interpreted not merely as the absence of armed conflict but as an active ethical and social process grounded in justice, responsibility, and symbolic representation. The research demonstrates that modern societies tend to normalize violence through bureaucratic rationalization and cultural narratives, whereas peace remains ethically valued yet symbolically marginalized. By integrating philosophical reasoning, sociological analysis, and cultural interpretation, the article reveals that war and peace are not opposing historical states but interdependent processes reflecting the moral condition of humanity. The findings highlight the crucial role of responsibility, memory, and social justice in sustaining peace and contribute to contemporary debates on conflict, ethics, and human coexistence.

war and peace, philosophical foundations, sociological theory, cultural memory, ethics of violence, social justice, collective responsibility, interdisciplinary analysis

Arendt, H. The Human Condition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Assmann, J. Cultural Memory and Early Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Bauman, Z. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000.

Bauman, Z. Wasted Lives. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2004.

Galtung, J. Peace by Peaceful Means. London: Sage, 2002.

Giddens, A. Runaway World. London: Profile Books, 2003.

Kant, I. Perpetual Peace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Hobbes, T. Leviathan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.

Rousseau, J.-J. The Social Contract. London: Penguin Classics, 2004.

Weber, M. Economy and Society. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.

Camus, A. The Rebel. London: Penguin, 2000.

Sartre, J.-P. Existentialism Is a Humanism. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007.

Giddens, A. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2013.

Bauman, Z. Society Under Siege. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2002.

Assmann, J. Religion and Cultural Memory. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006.

Eagleton, T. After Theory. London: Penguin, 2003.

Said, E. Culture and Imperialism. New York: Vintage, 2003.