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NUCLEAR DOCTRINE, RATIONALITY
and the MORAL POINT OF VIEW
Ernest Partridge
Of the papers in this
section, "Notes from the Brink," this is the longest, the most thoroughly
researched and carefully argued, and therefore, I trust, the most important.
Due to its length, I have divided it into two
sections, the links to which follow the abstract, below. (EP)
Abstract
Strategic nuclear policy-making displays a failure of rationality and moral
perspective. Accordingly, the philosopher's professional skills may prove to be
of considerable help in the effort to draw mankind back from the brink of
universal devastation. While nuclear irrationality takes many forms, four
primary errors of judgment in current strategic thinking are closely examined
here. They are: (a) the cult of precision, (b) fixated thinking, (c) a failure
to adopt a moral point of view, and (c) self-righteousness and moral dogmatism.
In the light of this analysis, some positive steps away from the brink of mutual
annihilation are suggested: (a) deliberate avoidance of an appearance of
aggressiveness, (b) persistent attempts to promote communication between the
Great Powers, and thus to foster correct mutual perceptions, (c) development of
a "habit of trust," through a mutual acknowledgment of the value
thereof, (d) adoption of a "tit-for-tat" strategy of small,
reciprocating, unilateral acts of disarmament and tension-reduction, and above
all (e) adoption of a "global moral perspective," whereby policies are
formulated and adopted, not for purposes of unilateral ("zero-sum")
advantage against "the enemy," but for the sake of ("plus-sum")
mutual security.
NOTES FROM THE BRINK
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