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This show draws attention to ideas and personalities - the virtues and moral energies - of the Peace Through Law movement that, unfortunately, remain largely unknown to the public. Our show was launched on the historic day of May 18, 2020. Prior to the U.S. entry into World War I (April 6, 1917), May 18 was widely celebrated in the U.S. as "Peace Day" as it marked the opening day of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference — a watershed moment of the Peace through Law Movement. It was at the 1899 Hague Peace Conference when the process of building international institutions aimed at the non-violent resolution of conflicts began. This accomplishment was a direct outgrowth of the Peace through Law Movement and the advocacy of individuals, many of them women such as Cora di Brazzà and Bertha von Suttner, who did not have a formal political voice, but were footsoldiers of the movement. Cora di Brazzà (1860-1944) believed that the cornerstone of Peace was not an international institution such as an international Court of Law (though that was indeed necessary). Rather, like Plato, Cora di Brazzà believed that a certain kind of "harmony of the soul" was primary. For her, "Peace through Law" begins with promulgating and obeying an "inner law." As she put it, "one begins with the germ," i.e., with the individual conscience and developing a habit for respecting the Golden Rule and other "Rules of Harmony." Accordingly, Cora di Brazzà developed a sophisticated system of Peace Education in line with this understanding of peace. You can learn about that system and other ideas/personalities involved in the "Peace Through Law" movement in this podcast.

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Check latest episodes from The Virtues of Peace podcast

Encountering Nurse Catherine Pine and the Militant Suffragette Movement - a Conversation with Hedvig Kovács (June 16, 2026)

2026/06/16

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Kevin McArevey and the Healing Power of Philosophical Inquiry (February 5, 2026)

2026/02/05

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Spiritual Needs and Philosophical Caregiving: An Introduction to the Engaged Philosophy of Dame Cicely Saunders

2025/12/18

This show is devoted to the engaged philosophy of Dame Cicely Saunders (1918-2005), the pioneer of the modern hospice movement, a movement which includes a distinct philosophy of life which does not ignore, but fully incorporates the inevitability of death, suffering, and the need for meaning. As she writes in her essay The Philosophy of Terminal Care, “we are concerned with the nature of man, with living and dying, and with the whole man body, mind, and spirit…” Joining us today is Hannah Amos, the Perseverance Curator at the Florence Nightingale Museum (FNM) in London who conducted research for the special “In Focus” exhibit on Dame Saunders at the FNM, which opened on July 14, 2005, the 20th anniversary of her death, is currently on display at the FNM until March 1, 2026. ]]>

Spiritual Needs and Philosophical Caregiving: An Introduction to the Engaged Philosophy of Dame Cicely Saunders

2025/12/17

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The Will to Memory: The Enduring Legacy of the Suffragette Spirit (May 18, 2024)

2024/05/19

This show continues the discussion of the “legacy of learning” bequeathed by Nurse Catherine Pine in her Last Will & Testament (discussion of 4/21/24). In that show, we were joined by British historian Elizabeth Crawford, who discussed her research on the Last Will and Testament of Nurse Catherine Pine (1864-1941), and in particular, on the gift of the “suffragette medal” which Pine bequeathed to the British College of Nurses. In this show, we focus on the other "suffrage memorabilia provision" of Nurse Pine’s Will which bequeathed “books and photographs” to the “Women’s Social and Political Club”. As we discuss, the “Women’s Social and Political Club” was the “Suffragette Fellowship Club," and it is the early history of the Suffragette Fellowship Club on which we focus. ]]>

A Legacy of Learning: Nurse Catherine Pine's Bequest of Her Suffragette Treasures (April 21, 2024)

2024/04/21

This show is part interview/part philosophical discussion that focuses on the work and legacy of Nurse Catherine Pine (1864-1941). Joining us is Elizabeth Crawford, an authority on the British Suffrage Movement, who has written on Pine as well as earlier suffragists such as Milicent Fawcett (1847-1929) both in books and in Crawford’s blog “Woman and Her Sphere.” Crawford explains the research process by which she discovered that Pine’s Last Will and Testament contained a bequest of several suffragette treasures: books, photographs and a “suffragette medal””. We discuss the suffragette movement of which Nurse Pine was a part; and how Elizabeth Crawford’s research uncovered a mystery that has both philosophical and legal dimensions. ]]>

Part 4: An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!")(Part 4/Chapters 7-8)

2022/06/02

Bertha von Suttner's Lay Down Your Arms (Part 4). In our last show of 5/18/22, we began and ended with the final sentence of Chapter 6, pg. 140: "What a foolish world -- still in leading strings -- cruel, unthinking! This was the result of my historical studies." In this show, we focus on Chapters 7 & 8 (pages 141-186). In these chapters, Martha endures the departure of Frederick for war with Denmark. This is the second time she has suffered the departure of husband for war and it takes its toll. The couple is reunited after much grief. We discuss some of the philosophical and political aspects of various passages. This English translation of LDYA has 19 chapters and is 410 pages long. We are about 1/2 into the text. Follow along with the text which you can download at http://www.berthavonsuttner.com/ldya.pdf. ]]>

Part 3: An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!")(Part 3/Chapter 6)

2022/05/19

This show continues our discussion from 10/7/21 of Bertha von Suttner's most famous and well-known work, Lay Down your Arms! (LDYA). Since our last installment, 7 months ago, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and this conflict has endured for almost 3 months. On this Peace Day, and the 2 year anniversary of this show, Bertha's book is all the more relevant. Today we focus on chapter 6 (116-140), which we interpret as an account that foreshadows Hannah Arendt's philosophy on the relationship between thoughtlessness and evil ("the banality of evil"). In Chapter 6, Bertha stresses the link between armed conflict and thoughtlessness, both of the individual and the masses, as we discuss. This English translation of LDYA has 19 chapters and is 410 pages long. We are about 1/3 into the text. ]]>

Part 2: An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!"): (Part 2/Chapters 4-5)

2021/10/07

This show continues our discussion from 9/16/21 of Bertha von Suttner's most famous and well-known work, Lay Down your Arms!. In this episode, we focus on Chapters 4-5 (about 60 pages) Martha Dotzky’s (nèe Althaus) and Baron Friedrich von Tilling's relationship intensifies and we witness the beginning of heightening and developing of both consciences through their encounter. Through intellectual discussion and a shared "humane viewpoint" Martha, who originally swore off Freidrich von Tilling as a suitor because he is a soldier, begins to realize that he is different. A conversation about Darwin's The Origin of Species is identified as the moment in which Martha begins to fall in love with Friedrich. In this show, we discuss the philosophical implications of the encounter between Martha Dotzky and Friedrich von Tilling and other interesting episodes in Chapters 4-5. ]]>

An Introduction to Bertha von Suttner's "Lay Down Your Arms !" (Die Waffen Nieder!"): Part 1 (Chapters 1-3)

2021/09/16

This show focuses Bertha von Suttner's (1843-1914) most famous and well known work, "Lay Down your Arms !". Originally published in the German language in 1889 with the title Die Waffen Nieder!, the first English translation appeared in 1892. Suttner would become the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize (in 1905). This show introduces Suttner's book, a fictional autobiography, of 19 chapters. In this show, with Dr. Hope Elizabeth May who founded The Bertha von Suttner Project in 2013 (berthavonsuttner.com), we discuss some of the features of the book, with a focus on the contents of the first 3 chapters. ]]>

From Breaking the Silence to Being Heard: Military Sexual Slavery and Peace Through Law

2021/08/12

This show marks the 30th anniversary of Korean Kim Hak Sun's (김학순) (1924-1997) decision to break the silence about Japan's military sexual slavery during World War II. On August 14, 1991, Ms. Kim, a Korean, decided to make public her horrifying ordeal that began when she was 17 years old. This decision began a process of testimony, education and reconciliation that continues to this day. In this show, we focus on the issue of sexual slavery as it has affected Korea. We begin by discussing some passages from the historical novel One Left by Kim Soom (translated into English by Bruce and Ju-Chan Fulton). The novel's fictitious protagonist, P'unggil, is impacted by Hak Sun's testimony, and the novel incorporates the experiences of numerous other actual victims in its narrative, such as Kim Bok Dong (김복동) and Gil Won Ok (길원옥). Kim Hak Sun's testimony not only empowered other women to come forward, it launched a wave of court cases, beginning with her own in 1991 against Japan. These cases raise important legal and ethical questions, among them: the tension between sovereign immunity proper redress for human rights violations, and the scope of a state's duty regarding its citizens. Our hope is that the listener becomes more conscious of this under-told story of tragedy and the role of law in establishing peace and justice for victims of state sanctioned violence. ]]>

The Duty to Remember: (Part 2) Evelyn Grubb's Appeal the United Nations on behalf of the Families of POW/MIA

2021/06/15

This show is the second installment of a discussion of Evelyn Grubb's petition to the United Nations. Last week, on June 7, 2021, we commemorated the 50th anniversary of Evelyn Grubb's petition to the United Nations on behalf of all the families of POW/MIA. A groundbreaking and prescient argument rooted in principles of humanitarian and human rights law, the "class action" petition appeals to two different instruments of public international law: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 3rd Geneva Convention. In Part One of this discussion (recorded on June 8, 2021), we focused on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this show, we continue this discussion on the systemic gender discrimination faced by the wives of POW/MIA. We also discuss how the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions are relevant to the argument in the petition. ]]>

The Duty to Remember: Evelyn Grubb's Appeal the United Nations on behalf of the Families of POW/MIA (Part 1)

2021/06/08

50 years ago, on June 7, 1971, in her capacity as the National Coordinator for the National League of POW/MIA Families, Evelyn Grubb (1931-2005) petitioned the United Nations to pressure North Vietnam to disclose information truthful information about the status of all POW/MIA. Evelyn's historic petition made reference to two instruments of international law: The 3d Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this show, we provide a introductory background of these instruments and discuss how Evelyn Grubb used them in her petition. ]]>

The Responsibility for our Responses: Olive Schreiner and Howard Thurman on The Moral Psychology of the Non-Violent Way of Life

2021/05/25

This show is second in a series in which we discuss the encounter between theologian and philosopher Howard Thurman (1899-1981) and pacifist-feminist author Olive Schreiner (1855-1920). Thurman first encountered Schreiner five years after Schreiner's death when Schreiner's allegory of "The Hunter" was read aloud at a conference which Thurman was attending as a 25 year old divinity student at Rochester Theological Seminary. After that encounter, Thurman read everything of Schreiner's that he could find. In the early 1940s, Thurman worked hard to publish an anthology of Schreiner's writings, a dream that would finally be realized in 1973 when he published "A Track to the Water's Edge". We discuss more of this encounter as well as their views on the moral psychology - the specific beliefs, desires and cultivated habits - that undergird the "non-violent way of life" endorsed by both Schreiner and Thurman. ]]>

Olive Schreiner and Howard Thurman: A Genuine Encounter

2021/05/18

On this one year anniversary of the Virtues of Peace podcast, and the 120th anniversary of the observation of Peace Day (also known as "Hague Day") in the United States, we discuss a powerful trans-generational, trans-racial, trans-national and trans-gender encounter between feminist pacifist writer Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) and philosopher and theologian Howard Thurman (1899-1981). Thurman, who provided the philosophical framework for the non-violent wing of the Civil Rights Movement, first encountered Schreiner's ideas in 1925. He thereafter devoured everything he could by Schreiner, even naming his first daughter "Olive" (who later became Olive Wong). In 1973, Thurman published "A Track to the Water's Edge: An Olive Schreiner Reader". In this show, we discuss the encounter between Thurman and Schreiner, an important point of contact that highlights the intersection between the Peace through Law Movement, the Women's Movement and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. ]]>