Teleological Ethics
Near the end of World War II, the Americans readied a weapon of horrific proportions, the atomic bomb. The urgent development of the bomb had occurred in deep secrecy because of fear that an Axis member would succeed in delivering the weapon first.
A land invasion of Japan seemed inevitable and its cost was estimated at 1,000,000 American casualties, plus countless military and civilian Japanese. The recent invasions of Okinawa and Iwo Jima had proven that the Japanese would fight to the last man, even using kamikazee attacks. Despite their inevitable defeat, they seemed ready to ferociously defend their homeland.
President Harry Truman was notified that the atomic bomb was tested and ready. He alone faced the decision of whether to drop the bomb, with high casualties, or launch a land invasion of Japan, with even higher casualties. We know that he made the choice to bomb Hiroshima and then Nagasaki.
Truman's strategy worked and the war was over.......
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Approximate Word Count: 1589
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |