Volume 19, No. 1, Spring 2024

FORTHCOMING

The Atomic Bomb

Bertrand Russell and Karl Jaspers on Nuclear Weapons
Stephen D. Leach | Keele University, United Kingdom

In Common Sense and Philosophy (1959) Bertrand Russell argues against nuclear weapons on the basis of common sense. One year earlier in 1958, Karl Jaspers had argued in his The Atom Bomb and the Future of Mankind against nuclear weapons explicitly not on the basis of common sense but of philosophy. They both arrive at the same conclusion, the encouragement of a popular demand for disarmament but, apparently, by entirely different means. In this essay, I argue that, despite appearances to the contrary, aside from their shared conclusion, it is possible to find common ground between these two philosophers.

Keywords: Nuclear disarmament; common sense; applied philosophy; practical reasoning; Ockham’s razor; reason; metaphilosophy; Cold War.

Nuclear Weapons and Supranational Authority
Francis Cheneval | University of Zurich, Switzerland

In this contribution, I discuss the thesis that the storage, research, and testing of nuclear weapons ought to fall under the exclusive competence of a supranational authority. As difficult, unrealistic, and potentially dangerous as this proposal might seem to some, others will find it to be too modest and demand total elimination and abolition instead. Therefore, the argument in favor of supranationalization must therefore also consist of an argument against the total elimination of nuclear weapons and their further development. Supranationalization also brings new risks with it. I evaluate these risks and argue that it is nevertheless the best long-term solution compared to its alternatives. I show that the net risk is reduced under supranationalization and that the risks created by it or are persisting are arguably smaller than in the case of an enduring status quo, at least when considered long-term. My proposal consists of managing the risk of nuclear war more responsibly over time.

Keywords: tba.

Giorgio Agamben on Kairos and Nuclear War
Jessica Ludescher Imanaka | Seattle University

TBA.

Keywords: tba.

Nuclear Echoes: The Issue of the Atomic Bomb in Jaspers and Heidegger
Frank Seeburger | University of Denver

This essay consists of juxtapositions of lines from Karl Jaspers with lines from Martin Heidegger, sets of lines that establish, at least as I hear them, the underlying harmony between what the two distinctly different philosophers had to say on the issue raised by the atom bomb. Between each pairing of what I hear as such resoundingly echoing lines from the two thinkers, I will intersperse some comments of my own, to help guide our ears as we listen to each in turn.

Keywords: Jaspers, Karl; Heidegger, Martin; uncanny change; calculation vs. meditation; understanding vs. reasoning; dangers of technology; conflict and genuine politics; the irrelevance of power.

The Cloud of Technique: From Existenz to the Denial of Existence
Sarah Louise MacMillen | Duquesne University

TBA.

Keywords: tba.

Models of Nuclear Disarmament; Case-Study: US Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Europe
Tom Sauer | University of Antwerpen, Netherlands

TBA.

Keywords: tba.

TBA
tba | tba

TBA.

Keywords: tba.

TBA
tba | tba

TBA.

Keywords: tba.