by Atomic bombs significantly intertwined with World War II, one of the cruelest warfare in history. The giant mushroom clouds formed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were still scars in many people’s hearts until today. Given the profound effect of the atomic bomb’s utilization in World War II on society, the war’s atomic bomb usage is still hotly debated nowadays. Specifically, the physicists’ decision to allow the application of atomic bombs in Japan before the end of World War II was argued to be either right or wrong by the public.
From my perspective, physicists’ choices in World War II regarding the research and the usage of atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were overall justified because of their profound desire to end the war, the protection of the humanity for the majority population in the world, and prioritization of scientific research’s result relatively ignorantly as scientists trained in such a scheme.
First, physicists’ decision to apply the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are justified to some extent based on their avid desire to end the war as victims of the war and the evil Axis powers.
For instance, according to Gino Segre, the nephew of Manhattan Project scientist Emilio Segre, “[Emilio Segre] was pretty clear about [the power of atomic bombs], that he felt it was the thing to do,” Segre says. The senior Segre and many of his fellow Manhattan Project scientists “were refugees from Europe, and very eager to participate in the war effort (Palmer).” Similarly, many other physicists were forced to flee from their motherlands due to the prosecution. During the flee, many of them endured the pain of separation of families and the loss of jobs, which all created devastating effects on those scientists, particularly physicists’ perception regarding the war: they were eager to put the period to the horrendous war, which generated too much pain and despair in their lives.
Besides, physicists “faced an existential threat with an uncertain outcome (Palmer)” due to the nature of destructive world war. Thus, these two factors regarding the strong desire to end the war and the anxiety about uncertain future during the World War II elicited and promoted the emergence of profound and collective pursuit among physicists to find a powerful method to end the war using their knowledge and capability. With such a profound wish in minds, when the atomic bombs were considered to be applied in the war to force Japan to surrender, physicists tended to support the application of the weapon. Thus, based on their sincere wish to end the world war and restore peace as soon as possible, it is to some extent that physicists’ choice to apply atomic bombs was justified.
Another reason that physicists’ choice to use the atomic bombs is justified is that this choice potentially is following humanity standards for many places in the world.
In nature, one “cannot be simultaneously a citizen of the world and a particular country, at least in the sense that we must often choose between giving pride of place to humanity as a whole as opposed to some subset of humanity (Galston).” Thus, it is almost impossible to make one decision to meet the goal of every set of humanity in the world. Similarly, the physicists’ decision about using the atomic bombs could not be deemed as justified from every angle. However, their decisions could be regarded as humanitarian from the perspective of the majority of nations globally. During the final stage of World War II, most countries suffered severe damages and civilian and military casualties, and most people desperately wanted peace. In contrast, “Japanese were offering stiff resistance and publicly vowed to fight to the death (Ede and Cormack, 311).” Simultaneously, military officers suggested that “as many as 1 million casualties might be expected from an invasion of mainland Japan, whereas many fewer would die from the bomb attacks (Ede and Cormack, 311).”
Given that the Japanese refused to surrender unconditionally, and they were still holding the ambition to expand their national influence in East Asia and even the world, Japan induced considerable danger for the continuous war, which was not desirable for anyone, mostly the civilians in East Asian countries as well as the US. Thus, even though humanity regarding the Japanese’s lives was ignored, the physicists’ choices were right in WWII as they preserved the right of life and other natural rights of many other people in many other countries. In this case, the physicists’ decision avoided more potential casualties, although the atomic bombs killed many civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so their choice could be regarded as justified.
Last but never the least, the physicists’ trained concentration and prioritization of scientific fruits is one reason to justify the usage of atomic bombs in Japan.
During that period, the emphasis on scientific outcome and contribution to society were highly appraised and pursued due to the existing scientific scheme in the scientific society. Specifically, the priority of scientists’ work was given for scientific research and promotion, as emphasized during professional education and trainings, which eventually led to some extent of ignorance of the humanitarian and environmental side and related issues about the utilization of a particular scientific product in environment and society. Same thing happened in the field of physics: although physicists knew the immense potential of the atomic bomb as the weapon, but they did not go further to consider its devastating influence for people’s health, environment, and politics compared with the feasibility of their research and the power and application of atomic bombs. Due to the taught and emphasized focus and prioritization of scientific outcome during their extended professional trainings, in this case the atomic bombs, and its application, the physicists would tend to agree to use atomic bombs, as such a choice is following the “principle” of scientific research. From this perspective, scientists’ choices regarding the atomic bomb were understandable and, to some degree, justified in World War II.
World War II caused various complicated questions for every action people did, so it is hard to merely state that the physicists’ decision was right or wrong. However, with the justified desire to end the war, the protection of humanity for the majority of nations globally, and the taught and trained emphasis on promoting research results and applications, physicists’ choice for the usage of atomic bombs is generally justified under the unique context.
Literature Cited
Grant, Andrew. “The Scientific Exodus from Nazi Germany.” Physics Today, American Institute of Physics, 26 Sept. 2018, physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.4.20180926a/full/.
Galston, William A. “In Defense of a Reasonable Patriotism.” Brookings, Brookings, 23 July 2018, www.brookings.edu/research/in-defense-of-a-reasonable-patriotism/.
Palmer, Roxanne. “The Long Shadow Of The Manhattan Project Part II: Ethics In The Atomic Age.” World Science Festival, 26 June 2017, www.worldsciencefestival.com/2014/07/long-shadow-manhattan-project-part-ii-ethics-atomic-age/.
“The Death of Certainty” and “1957: The Year the World Became a Planet,” in Andrew Ede and Lesley B. Cormack, A History of Science in Society: From Philosophy to Utility, Second Edition (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012), pp. 295–348.