Extreme Violence in an Aristotelian-Thomasian Framework

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to elaborate a definition of extreme violence in an Aristotelian-Thomasian framework. This consists in moving from a conception of violence to that of one that could be extreme. In both cases, we must consider three dimensions: the act, the agent, and the patient. Violence is conceived as what opposes a certain nature from the outside. Extreme violence, however, not only opposes a certain nature, but it eradicates it by subverting it. Man is, by essence, rational, social, and political. Extreme violence perverts the humanity of the one who inflicts it, and annihilates the one it is inflicted on. This perversion affects the reason of man and his relation to others.