This essay reproduces the author’s introduction to the Spanish edition of Albert Einstein’s and Sigmund Freud’s Why War?. This book was the result of a vivid discussion between Einstein and Freud on the "tragic necessity" of the war. Their debate tackles the most crucial anthropological problems connected with war and highlights all the scientific aspects of modern war. Its primary result is an enthusiastic proposal about how to keep peace in the presence of violent attitudes, as well as about the rôle of law and of the international institutions and the key concept of "friend of mankind".

Eligio Resta, in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL DIRITTO " 1/2001, pp. , DOI: