Some clarifications on the concept of peace

Philosophical-practical considerations

Abstract

This essay aims to examine and discuss the concept of peace from a dialogue with its cultural roots and the approach of “peace studies” developed by sociologist Johan Galtung. The author describes the notion of “negative peace” as the absence of war —exemplified by the Greek eirēnē and the Roman pax— and then deals with the Hebrew idea of shalom, which incorporates peace as a social manifestation of justice and community well-being. This “positive” conception of peace converges with the “medical analogy” formulated by Galtung, which associates peace with the health of society and violence with damage to the lives of people and institutions. Galtung proposes the exercise of power as a factor in containing violence, but offers a controversial concept of power, identified only with the “capacity to do.” The essay defends a broader and more solid concept of power, one that evokes the practice of concerted action (Hannah Arendt). The cultivation of civic power and the public recovery of memory are manifested as ways of combating and preventing the emergence of violence.