Science, Ethics, and Weapons Research

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. The main issue for ethics and weapons research centers on the moral evaluation of this kind of activity: Is it ever morally justified to design the means to kill, harm, and destroy, and if so, under precisely what circumstances? Turning to science and its relation to weapons research, the question here, leaving aside ethics for the moment, is the role that science plays in weapons research. Perhaps weapons research is a wholly (applied) scientific endeavor or perhaps science is a part of weapons research.