Affiliation:
1. University of Sydney, Australia
Abstract
If it were not for weapons research, there would be no predator drones or smart bombs or improvised explosive devices or assault rifles. The insurgents in the Middle East and elsewhere would have no means to fight, and there would be no wars, large or small. Even more importantly, there would be no vast arsenals of thermonuclear weapons capable of ending much of the sentient life on the planet. The world would then most certainly be a safer place. The main issue for ethics and weapons research centres on the ethical or moral evaluation of the activity: Is it ever morally justified to design the means to kill, harm and destroy, and if so, under precisely what circumstances?
Reference35 articles.
1. Arrigo, J. (2000). The Ethics of Weapons Research: A Framework for Discourse between Insiders and Outsiders. Journal of Power and Ethics, 1.
2. Scientists at War
3. Forge, J. (2007). No Consolation for Kalashnikov. Philosophy Now, 59.
4. The Responsible Scientist