عنوان

Scientists at war :

(Number (ISBN

0674736826

(Number (ISBN

9780674736825

Number

dltt

Title Proper

Scientists at war :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

the ethics of Cold War weapons research /

First Statement of Responsibility

Sarah Bridger

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

x, 350 pages ;

Dimensions

25 cm

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Text of Note

Prologue: the conscience of a physicist -- The Sputnik opportunity -- The moral case for a test ban -- The science of non-nuclear war -- Into the ethical hot pot -- Disaster and disillusionment in Vietnam -- Institutional reckonings at MIT -- The New Left assault on neutrality -- Collapse of the Sputnik order -- A united front against Star Wars -- Epilogue: science and ethics after the Cold War

0

Text of Note

Scientists at War examines the ethical debates that severely tested the American scientific community during the Cold War. Sarah Bridger highlights the contributions of scientists to military technologies and strategic policymaking, from the dawning atomic age in the 1940s through the Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") in the 1980s, which sparked a cross-generational opposition among scientists. The Manhattan Project in the early 1940s and the crisis provoked by the launch of Sputnik in 1957 greatly enhanced the political clout of American scientists. Yet many who took up government roles felt a duty to advocate arms control. Bridger investigates the internal debate over nuclear weapons policy during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations, when scientific advisors did not restrict themselves to technical assessments but made an impassioned moral case for a nuclear test ban. The relationship between government and science began to fray further during the Vietnam War, as younger scientists inside and outside of government questioned the morality of using chemical defoliants, napalm, and other non-nuclear weapons. With campuses erupting in protest over classified weapons research conducted in university labs, many elder statesmen of science, who once believed they could wield influence from within, became alienated. The result was a coalition that opposed "Star Wars" during the 1980s--and a diminished role for scientists as counselors to future presidents.--From publisher description

Cold War

Military research-- Moral and ethical aspects-- United States

Military research-- United States-- History-- 20th century

Military weapons-- Technological innovations-- Moral and ethical aspects

Nuclear weapons-- Moral and ethical aspects-- United States

Science-- Moral and ethical aspects

Science-- Social aspects

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

Bridger, Sarah

Date of Transaction

20160226053713.9

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

rda

Electronic name

[Book]

Y