THE ETHICS OF BIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR WARFARE- A STUDY

• THERE ARE THREE MAIN ETHICAL CONCERNS INVOLVING THIS ISSUE:

• 1) THE OBVIOUS SUFFERING AND DESTRUCTION CAUSED TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES, AS SEEN IN THE PAST IN WWI
DUE TO THE USAGE OF CHLORINE AND MUSTARD GAS.
• 2) THE RESPONSES INCITED FROM OTHER COUNTRIES, IN LIGHT OF THE UNSOLICITED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THESE
FIELDS, AS FOREIGN INVOLVEMENT IS OFTEN SEEN AS UNWELCOME.
• 3) THE CONFLICT THAT OCCURS BETWEEN PUTTING THIS RESEARCH TO GOOD OR DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES IS ALSO UNDENIABLE,
COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE “DUAL-USE DILEMMA”.
• ANOTHER CONCERN, IS THE UNWANTED CIVILIAN CASUALTIES AND LONG-TERM REPERCUSSIONS, AS THESE WEAPONS CAN TURN
FERTILE LAND BARREN AND CAUSE CONGENITAL DISORDERS.
• THERE ARE NUMEROUS REASONS TO TAKE THE THREAT OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS SERIOUSLY. IN COMPARISON WITH NUCLEAR
WEAPONS, THE PRODUCTION OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS IS RELATIVELY EASY AND INEXPENSIVE; AND INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO
PRODUCE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS IS READILY AVAILABLE IN PUBLISHED SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
• IN COMPARISON WITH NUCLEAR SCIENCE, WHERE DISCOVERIES WITH WEAPONS IMPLICATIONS ARE USUALLY CLASSIFIED,
INFORMATION SHARING IN THE LIFE SCIENCES HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN COMPLETELY OPEN. THE ANTHRAX ATTACKS IN THE USA
AND OTHER RECENT EPISODES, FINALLY, HAVE REVEALED THAT THE THREAT OF BIOTERRORISM IS REAL.
• IN LIGHT OF THIS:
• THE 3RD GENEVA CONVENTION (WWI) PROHIBITED USE OF POISON GASES.
• THE BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION OF 1975 PROHIBITS THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION AND STOCKPILING OF BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS.
• THE SAME APPLIES FOR CHEMICAL WEAPONS AS OF 1992, IN THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION.
 THE ISSUE W/ NUCLEAR PACIFICISM
• NUCLEAR PACIFISM SEES NUCLEAR DETONATION FOR MILITARY PURPOSES AS INHERENTLY WRONG, THERE’S NO
JUSTIFIABLE REASON, ON THIS VIEW, TO POSSESS NUCLEAR WEAPONS.
• HOWEVER, ONE MUST AGREE THAT NUCLEAR WEAPONRY IS SIMPLY DESTRUCTION ON A LARGER SCALE, WITH
MORE EXTENSIVE EFFECTS THAN CONVENTIONAL WEAPONRY. DECLARING IT AS INTRINSICALLY EVIL SIMPLY
RESULTS IN ITS SHUNNING RATHER THAN A SERIOUS CONTEMPLATION THAT WOULD GIVE RISE TO A RATIONAL
EXPEDIENT.
• AT THE END OF THE DAY, FUNDING INTO NUCLEAR WARFARE WILL NOT COME INTO MUCH USE THAN IN TERMS
OF SELF-DEFENSE, FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE COUNTRY DOING SO. BUT THAT ITSELF IS SO IMPORTANT, SO
THAT THEY DO NOT STAND UNARMED AGAINST THE MORE RUTHLESS, OR LESS CONSCIENTIOUS POLITIES.
• FROM AN INDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE, NUCLEAR WARFARE IS QUITE OBVIOUSLY SEEN AS EVIL, BUT THE ISSUE IS
THAT HUMANITY HAS ALREADY REACHED A POINT MUCH TOO FAR TO IGNORE THE FACT THAT A GLOBALLY
DEVASTATING POWER EXISTS AND THE THREAT IS NEVER TRULY ELIMINATED, ONLY SUBDUED AND MADE
DORMANT.