A Journey of Necessity: Moral Injury in Light of the Divine Comedy

This article presents a parallel analysis of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and contemporary literature on moral injury to explore how Dante's journey towards enlightenment can inform the path to healing from moral injury. Described as a soul wound by those affected, moral injury is a severe psychological and spiritual trauma resulting from ethical transgressions such as abuse, betrayal, war and tyranny. Although moral injury is arguably as old as human conflict itself, its scientific study is comparatively new. The Divine Comedy is widely regarded as one of the greatest works in world literature. In this poem, moral suffering appears as a disordering of the soul: the will estranged from responsibility, love misdirected towards evil rather than good and the intellect dimmed of its light, unable to perceive truth. By comparing Dante's allegorical journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise with contemporary moral injury discussions and the broader literature, and by tracing connections from individual suffering to wider social and political contexts, this comprehensive narrative review uncovers underexplored dimensions of this multifaceted condition. The analysis addresses key moral injury themes, highlights routes and barriers to healing, identifies gaps in current scholarship and offers practical recommendations relevant in both peacetime and war. Dante's insights provide a symbolic framework for recognising and healing moral injury, potentially offering consolation for the affected and those who care for them, while showing how enduring cycles of violence can be interrupted through an ethic of just peace.