An Ethical Study on Nuclear Warfare and the Possibility of Deterrence
An Ethical Study on Nuclear Warfare and the Possibility of Deterrence

Author: Silambarasan Sibiyon

Publisher: GRIN Verlag

Published: 2023-07-19

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 3346909417

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Seminar paper from the year 2022 in the subject Philosophy - Practical (Ethics, Aesthetics, Culture, Nature, Right, ...), , course: Diploma, language: English, abstract: This term paper aims to conduct an in-depth ethical analysis of nuclear warfare, exploring the moral dilemmas and consequences associated with the use of nuclear weapons. The paper begins by providing a comprehensive overview of the historical context and development of nuclear weapons, highlighting their immense destructive power and potential for catastrophic consequences. Drawing upon various ethical frameworks, including consequentialism, deontology, and just war theory, this study examines the ethical considerations surrounding nuclear warfare. It delves into the moral implications of targeting civilian populations, the principle of proportionality in armed conflict, and the concept of deterrence as a means to prevent war. Additionally, it explores the notion of responsibility in relation to nuclear weapons possession and disarmament efforts. Furthermore, this paper critically evaluates arguments both for and against nuclear deterrence as an ethically justifiable strategy. It analyzes the potential benefits of deterrence in preventing large-scale conflicts while also addressing concerns regarding its effectiveness, credibility, and potential for accidental or unauthorized use. Moreover, this research investigates alternative perspectives on nuclear disarmament efforts and explores ethical considerations associated with non-proliferation treaties. It examines the role of international organizations such as the United Nations in promoting disarmament initiatives and fostering global cooperation. Finally, this study assesses contemporary challenges posed by emerging technologies such as cyber warfare and autonomous weapons systems within the context of nuclear ethics. It highlights potential ethical dilemmas arising from these advancements and emphasizes the need for ongoing ethical analysis to address these evolving threats. By examining these complex ethical issues surrounding nuclear warfare through various lenses, this term paper aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the moral dimensions involved. Ultimately, it seeks to foster critical thinking about nuclear weapons policymaking while encouraging dialogue on global security challenges within an ethical framework.

Ethics and Nuclear Deterrence
Ethics and Nuclear Deterrence

Author: Geoffrey Goodwin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-19

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1000199320

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As nuclear weapons become ever more sophisticated, so the deterrence debate becomes increasingly complex. The ‘Ban the Bomb’ slogans of the 1950s had been replaced by cries for ‘nuclear-free zones’, and talk of ‘megatonnage’ and ‘fallout’ had given way to talk of ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons and ‘limited strike capability’. Originally published in 1982, this book considers the ethical issues raised by nuclear policies and by the debate between proponents of the multilateralist/unilateralist approaches to disarmament and arms control at the time. It is not, like so many books on the subject, an ideological statement: there are essays by defence strategists which put the case for deterrence and essays by academics and churchmen which strenuously oppose it. The book also includes an essay on attempts to mitigate the appalling brutality of the many ‘conventional’ wars since 1945. At a time when the rhetoric and misinformation produced on both sides of the debate continued to obscure many vital issues, this book was welcome, sensible and necessary.

Morality and the Bomb
Morality and the Bomb

Author: David Fisher

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-07-20

Total Pages: 186

ISBN-13: 1000047547

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Originally published in 1985, this book surveys how NATO policy sought to come to terms with the revolution in thinking about war which was brought about by the advent of nuclear weapons. It also examines the logic of deterrence. The book assesses the ethical issues involved, using as a framework the tradition of the idea of the Just War. A detailed modern version of the theory is elaborated and defended from an ethical viewpoint that gives due weight both to the mental states of the agent and to the consequences of his agency. The principle of non-combatant immunity is also examined for its clear relevance to the debate. Further considerations involve the effectiveness of deterrence and its morality, and the question whether deterrence can be effective even if its use is prohibited. The book also discusses the implications of various possible changes in NATO policy.

Morality, Prudence, and Nuclear Weapons
Morality, Prudence, and Nuclear Weapons

Author: Steven P. Lee

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-11-13

Total Pages: 438

ISBN-13: 9780521567725

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This 1993 book is the first post-Cold War assessment of nuclear deterrence, -providing a comprehensive normative understanding of nuclear deterrence policy.

Objections to Nuclear Defence
Objections to Nuclear Defence

Author: Nigel Blake

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-11-19

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 100019969X

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Moral and political questions are vitally relevant to the issue of survival in the nuclear age. Ethics has much to teach us about the meaning of national defence and civic responsibility in the nuclear state. For instance, those in NATO who argue for increased spending on such weapons do so with the intention of defending the values of the West. They must therefore be absolutely sure that they are not – as the contributors to this volume, originally published in 1984, powerfully suggest – undermining or destroying those values by the very means they adopt to preserve them. With the continued success of nuclear deterrence itself in question, responsible citizens feel an urgent need to assess the clash between personal doubts, cherished principles and their governments’ loudly voiced moral certainties. In Objections to Nuclear Defence, professional philosophers of widely varying persuasions provide new analyses of these problems. They spell out clearly and vividly the moral and political objections – objections to the concrete nuclear policies of the Western governments today. Often impassioned but always rational, the book will be of special interest to students of international affairs, peace studies and applied philosophy as well as to the general reader who is trying to choose between political parties in Europe or North America.

Nuclear Ethics in the Twenty-First Century
Nuclear Ethics in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Thomas E. Doyle, II

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2020-01-31

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 1442276614

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This book relates a complex ethical (re)assessment of the continued reliance by some states on nuclear weapons as instruments of state power. This (re)assessment is more urgent considering the relatively recent intensification of great power conflict dynamics and the nuclear-weapon states’ recommitments to modernizing, augmenting, or tailoring their nuclear forces to address vital state and alliance interests. And, especially since the beginning of the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, these recommitments have accelerated the degree to which the political and moral dilemmas of (the threat of) nuclear use define and intensify existential risks for specific states and the international community at large. To execute this (re)assessment, this book details how strategic, political, legal, and moral reasoning are deeply intertwined on the questions of vital state and global values. Its ontological assumptions are taken from a broadly construed IR Constructivist stance, and its epistemological approach applies non-ideal moral principles informed by Kantian thought to selected problems of nuclear-armed security competition as they evolved since President Barack Obama’s 2009 Prague Declaration. This non-ideal moral approach employed is committed to the view that the dual imperatives of humanity’s survival and the common security of states requires an international order which privileges considerations of justice over power-political considerations. This non-ideal moral approach is a necessary element of theorizing a set of practices to effectively address the challenges and dilemmas of reordering international politics in terms of justice.

Moral Paradoxes of Nuclear Deterrence
Moral Paradoxes of Nuclear Deterrence

Author: Gregory S. Kavka

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1987-10-30

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780521338967

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This volume examines the complex and vitally important ethical questions connected with the deployment of nuclear weapons and their use as a deterrent. A number of the essays contained here have already established themselves as penetrating and significant contributions to the debate on nuclear ethics. They have been revised to bring out their unity and coherence, and are integrated with new essays. The books exceptional rigor and clarity make it valuable whether the reader's concern with nuclear ethics is professional or personal. Part I explores the morality of nuclear deterrrence from each of the two dominant traditions in moral philosophy, deontology and consequentialism, and points out a number of interesting ethical dilemmas. Part II criticizes a variety of alternatives to deterrence - unilateral nuclear disarmament, world government, strategic defense against ballistic missiles, and nuclear coercion - and argues for mutual nuclear disarmament as a realistic and desirable long-run alternative.