La guerra, i valori e la vita organica. Attorno allo scritto di Scheler Der Genius des Krieges und der deutsche Krieg (1915)

At a first sight, Max Scheler’s Der Genius des Krieges und der deutsche Krieg (1915) appears to be essentially an enthusiastic und nationalistic celebration of World War I; however, the book is intended as a philosophical work and reveals significant links with the author’s main lines of inquiry. On the one side, it aims to apply Scheler’s phenomenological and axiological approach to the problem of the European decadence; the crisis of the European values is due to the prevalence of the “English spirit” with its pragmatism, its lack of idealism and its functionality to capitalism. On the other side, Scheler’s analysis of the phenomenon of war is deeply rooted in his philosophy of life: far from being driven by a merely adaptive struggle for existence, the war exemplifies the tendency of the living to shape and express itself while actively transforming its environment (Umwelt). And this tendency, reminiscent of Nietzsche’s overflowing will to power, is evidence of a spiritual force in the organic life. In the conclusion of the paper, a synthetic review is given of the later development of Scheler’s thought on Europe, war and peace; what emerges here is the regulative ideal of the Ausgleich, the creative and harmonic mutual integration among all countries of Europe and, possibly, of the world.