SCIENCE AND WAR by Bertrand Russell

 

SCIENCE AND WAR – by Betrand Russell.

Betrand Russell was a British philosopher and mathematician. He was a great social critic. He was a also a noble Laureate. He wrote a book called “The Impact of Science on Society”. This essay “Science and War” is taken from that book. Russell deals with the relationship between science and war in a detailed way in this essay.

The connection between science and war started even from the earlier period. Archimedes was a scientist. He lived during the period of 21 BC. His cousin was the tyrant of Syracuse. He asked Archimedes to produce machines to defend and to assault. Archimedes also produced many machines and  Plutarch in his “Life of Marcelleus” gives a detailed description of those machines. They could throw stones and wood on the enemies on land and in the sea. They could destroy as many people as possible. However history gives a different picture. The Roman got victory and Archimedes was killed by a “plain infantry soldier”

Science played a decisive part in matter of war even from the ancient days. Greek fire preserved the Byzantine Empire for a long period. Artillery destroyed the feudal system. The English Archery was defeated and this lead to the creation of the myth of Joan of Arc.

Scientific warfare was predominant during the period of Renaissance. Leonardo got a job from the Duke of Milan, not because he was a good painter but because he could improve ‘the art of fortification’. Galileo was employed under the Duke of Tuscany only because he could calculate the path of the Cannon balls. Scientists were not guillotined in the French Revolution only because they could contribute to the war effort. The only exception was Faraday. He objected to the use of poisonous gas in the Crimean war.

Modern was is really more dangerous than the ancient wars. Weapons were used in the wars of the past by the infantry. But modern war depends on nuclear physicist. Nuclear weapons are used in the war of the present period. After Pearl Harbour incident the United Stated defeated the heroic Japanese by means of atom bombs thrown on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Russell points out that disease killed more number of people than the war. When Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem His 1,85,000 soldiers died of disease in one night. The plague in Athens decided the Peloponnesian war. Only pestilence stopped the war between Syracuse and Carthage. The Lombard league lost all his soldiers by disease and so he secretly ran to the Alps. Russell points out that more number of people died of disease than because of the first and the second world war. At the same time he does not give any guarantee about the future wars. He only says that science has not made war more destructive.

Russell is of the opinion that the evils of war have increased. A modern war is organized and it aims at the victory. So defeat in the present period is more serious, more disorganizing and more demoralizing to the people. Some of the wars of the past were disorganizing and destructive, such as the war that took place in North Africa and Persia.

The atom bombs and the hydrogen bomb, the modern weapons, created fear in the minds of the people. Even great scientist like Einstein says that those bombs will destroy all life on the Earth. Russell feels that we are living in the last age of man. Man will go for war and kill all in the world.

Nations which are persuaded that they are only demanding the barest justice will have to accept when this demand is denied them by the neutral authority. Russell says that a clear choice must be made within fifty years between Reason and death, and he hopes Human will chose Reason.

-----HAPPY LEARNING-----