Ebook: Designed to Kill: The Case Against Weapons Research

The pilot-less drones, smart bombs and other high-tech weapons on display in recent conflicts are all the outcome of weapons research. However, the kind of scientific and technological endeavour has been around for a long time, producing not only the armaments of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, but the catapults used in ancient Greece and Rome and the assault rifles used by child soldiers in Africa. In this book John Forge examines such weapons research and asks whether it is morally acceptable to undertake such an activity. He argues that it is in fact morally wrong to take part in weapons research as its primary purpose is to produce the means to harm others, and moreover he argues that all attempts to then justify participation in weapons research do not stand up to scrutiny.

This book has wide appeal in fields of philosophy and related areas, as well to a more general audience who are puzzled about the rate at which new weapons are accumulated.

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The pilot-less drones, smart bombs and other high-tech weapons on display in recent conflicts are all the outcome of weapons research. However, the kind of scientific and technological endeavour has been around for a long time, producing not only the armaments of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, but the catapults used in ancient Greece and Rome and the assault rifles used by child soldiers in Africa. In this book John Forge examines such weapons research and asks whether it is morally acceptable to undertake such an activity. He argues that it is in fact morally wrong to take part in weapons research as its primary purpose is to produce the means to harm others, and moreover he argues that all attempts to then justify participation in weapons research do not stand up to scrutiny.

This book has wide appeal in fields of philosophy and related areas, as well to a more general audience who are puzzled about the rate at which new weapons are accumulated.

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The pilot-less drones, smart bombs and other high-tech weapons on display in recent conflicts are all the outcome of weapons research. However, the kind of scientific and technological endeavour has been around for a long time, producing not only the armaments of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, but the catapults used in ancient Greece and Rome and the assault rifles used by child soldiers in Africa. In this book John Forge examines such weapons research and asks whether it is morally acceptable to undertake such an activity. He argues that it is in fact morally wrong to take part in weapons research as its primary purpose is to produce the means to harm others, and moreover he argues that all attempts to then justify participation in weapons research do not stand up to scrutiny.

This book has wide appeal in fields of philosophy and related areas, as well to a more general audience who are puzzled about the rate at which new weapons are accumulated.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-7
Weapons, Weapons Research and the Case Against Weapons Research....Pages 9-37
The Development of Projectile Weapons: Ancient Catapults....Pages 39-57
The Development of Projectile Weapons 2: Firearms....Pages 59-79
The Development of Nuclear Weapons....Pages 81-104
The Moral Dimension of Weapons Research....Pages 105-133
How to Make the Case Against Weapons Research....Pages 135-153
Defensive, Deterrent and ‘Humane’ Weapons....Pages 155-176
Weapons Research, Contexts and Justifications, and the Analogy with Explanation....Pages 177-197
Just War Theory and Wartime Weapons Research....Pages 199-219
War and Realism....Pages 221-246
Commercial Weapons Research and Peacetime Weapons Research....Pages 247-270
Weapons Research and Supreme Emergency....Pages 271-300
Back Matter....Pages 301-314

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The pilot-less drones, smart bombs and other high-tech weapons on display in recent conflicts are all the outcome of weapons research. However, the kind of scientific and technological endeavour has been around for a long time, producing not only the armaments of Nazi Germany and the atomic bombs dropped on Japan, but the catapults used in ancient Greece and Rome and the assault rifles used by child soldiers in Africa. In this book John Forge examines such weapons research and asks whether it is morally acceptable to undertake such an activity. He argues that it is in fact morally wrong to take part in weapons research as its primary purpose is to produce the means to harm others, and moreover he argues that all attempts to then justify participation in weapons research do not stand up to scrutiny.

This book has wide appeal in fields of philosophy and related areas, as well to a more general audience who are puzzled about the rate at which new weapons are accumulated.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiv
Introduction....Pages 1-7
Weapons, Weapons Research and the Case Against Weapons Research....Pages 9-37
The Development of Projectile Weapons: Ancient Catapults....Pages 39-57
The Development of Projectile Weapons 2: Firearms....Pages 59-79
The Development of Nuclear Weapons....Pages 81-104
The Moral Dimension of Weapons Research....Pages 105-133
How to Make the Case Against Weapons Research....Pages 135-153
Defensive, Deterrent and ‘Humane’ Weapons....Pages 155-176
Weapons Research, Contexts and Justifications, and the Analogy with Explanation....Pages 177-197
Just War Theory and Wartime Weapons Research....Pages 199-219
War and Realism....Pages 221-246
Commercial Weapons Research and Peacetime Weapons Research....Pages 247-270
Weapons Research and Supreme Emergency....Pages 271-300
Back Matter....Pages 301-314
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