Wars of Cognition
How Clausewitz and Neuroscience Influence Future
War-Fighter Readiness
Maj Michael J. Cheatham, USAF
It is immensely important that no soldier, whatever his rank, should wait for
war to expose him to those aspects of active service that amaze and confuse
him when he first comes across them. If he has met them even once before,
they will begin to be familiar to him.
—Carl von Clausewitz
On War
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and should not be construed as carrying the official sanction of the Department of Defense, Air Force, Air Education and
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W
hat was once thought old has become new again. After almost 200 years
since the publishing of Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz’s
treatise On War, emerging neuroscience research brings a fresh perspec-
tive to his enduring work. This article proposes a modern analysis of three funda-
mental Clausewitzian theories: fog, fear, and friction. Viewed through a neurosci-
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