Pacifism is the principled opposition to war and violence, a term coined by French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted in Glasgow in 1901. Its modern resurgence was significantly influenced by Leo Tolstoy, leading to Mahatma Gandhi's "satyagraha" movement for Indian independence, which later inspired Martin Luther King Jr. and others in the civil rights movement.
This philosophy encompasses a wide spectrum of views, from advocating peaceful dispute resolution to an absolute rejection of all forms of warfare, believing that war is always morally wrong. Rooted in either moral principles or pragmatic concerns about the costs of conflict, many pacifists embrace nonviolence as a superior and effective means of resistance. Absolute pacifism, for instance, holds that human life is so sacred that killing is never justified, even in self-defense, emphasizing that the ends do not justify violent means.