The University of Wollongong Philosophy Research Seminar Held in the CAPSTRANS Seminar Room 1003 (Building 19, Arts) on Wednesdays at 17.30, all are welcome.
17th October 2007 Dr. David Neil (Wollongong) Military research and asymmetric warfare Historically, deterrence theory has been concerned with nuclear weapons and other WMD. However post cold-war military research has increasingly focussed on technologies that radically amplify the lethality of 'conventional' forces. For example, the U.S. military is currently researching a range of potential drugs and biotechnologies aimed at enhancing the performance and resilience of soldiers in the field. Some of the goals of these research projects are: * to enable soldiers to go without sleep for several days without loss of performance * to enable high level, extended physical exertion by controlling energy metabolism on demand; * to create resistance to haemorrhage, shock and other effects of traumatic injury * to increase pain tolerance * to develop anaesthesia which does not impair cognition * to prevent post-traumatic stress disorders by inhibiting short term memory formation after experiencing extreme violence Asymmetric warfare, as in Iraq and Afghanistan today, is an effect of US technological dominance. Just War theory is concerned with the moral and legal rights of a people to resist unjust aggression. Asymmetric power presents an acute problem for just war theory. This paper attempts to characterise this dilemma and considers whether the rules of the Just War tradition can be extended to military research. With best wishes, Richard Dr. Richard Menary Lecturer in Philosophy and Research Seminar Convenor The University of Wollongong Personal <http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/selpl/philosophy/UOW025977.html> Webpage Forthcoming Book: Cognitive Integration Available from: Palgrave <http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=275285> Macmillan and Amazon <http://www.amazon.com/Cognitive-Integration-Mind-Cognition-Unbounded/dp/140 398977X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0660778-1972653?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1190152573&s r=8-1>
_______________________________________________ SydPhil mailing list [email protected] List Info: http://lists.arts.usyd.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/sydphil NEW LIST ARCHIVE: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
