Morality of Weapons Research

John Forge attended the universities of Oxford, Cornell and University College London and obtained degrees in science and philosophy. His academic career has been spent in Departments of History and Philosophy of Science and Science and Technology Studies in Australia, although Forge has had fellowships at a number of (overseas) universities, including the Center for Philosophy of Science in Pittsburgh. For the last twenty years Forge’s research has focussed on issues of science and responsibility, and especially the morality of weapons research. His The Responsible Scientist (Pittsburgh 2008) received a number of awards, including the Eureka Prize for Research Ethics. Designed to Kill: The Case Against Weapons Research (Springer 2013) is a comprehensive account of the morality of weapons research.

• Introduction.- Chapter 1: The Nature of Weapons Research.- Chapter 2: Weapons as the Means to Harm.- Chapter 3: Defence as Justification for Weapons Research.- Chapter 4. The Outcomes of Weapons Research.- Chapter 5: Just War Theory and Weapons Research.- Conclusion.

“Forge succeeds in showing that weapons research presents a formidable challenge for practical ethics. How to deal with it remains to be seen. In this sense, The Morality of Weapons Research is a useful starting point for further debate among philosophers interested in the study of armed conflict.” (Alex Leveringhaus, Metascience, Vol. 30, August 6, 2021)