The major portion of the essay explores the psychological aspects of war within man and is followed by six different commentaries on Dr. Fromm's work. Divided into three parts, the essay first examines the nature of man to determine the goodness vs. evilness of man. Two basic personality types are identified: The necrophile, a destruction, perverted personality attraced to death: and the biophile, an optimistic personality attracted to life. It is hypothesized that the necrophile is a secondary potentiality -- a perversion occurring when the primary, life-favoring potentialities are thwarted or fail to develop. The essay examines and compares in detail characteristics of necrophilous and biophilous persons. In addition, a comparison is made between the two orientations and Freud's concept of the life instinct (Eros) and the death instinct. Society fosters the biophilic personality type when the individual is surrounded by people who love life and when security, justice, and freedom exist. The last part of the essay deals with implications of these personality theories in regard to the nuclear age where the emphasis in life in all modern industrial society is upon mechanical means, tending to promote the necrophilous attraction to death, war, and destruction. Commentaries on the essay are made by Jerome Frank, Paul Tillich, Hans Morgenthau, Roy Menninger, Pitirim Sorokin, and Thomas Merton. (SJM)