
On Killing Remotely
The Psychology of Killing with Drones
Little, Brown & Company (Publisher)
Published on 15. July 2021
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-316-62829-7 (ISBN)
Description
Throughout history society has determined specific rules of engagement between adversaries in armed conflict. With advances in technology, from armor to in the Middle Ages to nerve gas in World War I to weapons of mass destruction in our own time, the rules have constantly evolved. Today, when killing the enemy can seem palpably risk-free and tantamount to playing a violent video game, what constitutes warfare? What is the effect of remote combat on individual soldiers? And what are the unforeseen repercussions that could affect us all?
Lt Col Wayne Phelps, former commander of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft unit, and Lt Col Dave Grossman, author of the landmark work On Killing and a leading scholar of the effects of killing on the human psyche, address these questions and many others as they tell the story of the men and women of today's "chair force." Exploring the ethics of remote military engagement, the misconceptions about PTSD among RPA operators, and the specter of military weaponry controlled by robots, their book is an urgent and compelling reminder that it should always be difficult to kill another human being lest we risk losing what makes us human.
Lt Col Wayne Phelps, former commander of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft unit, and Lt Col Dave Grossman, author of the landmark work On Killing and a leading scholar of the effects of killing on the human psyche, address these questions and many others as they tell the story of the men and women of today's "chair force." Exploring the ethics of remote military engagement, the misconceptions about PTSD among RPA operators, and the specter of military weaponry controlled by robots, their book is an urgent and compelling reminder that it should always be difficult to kill another human being lest we risk losing what makes us human.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 244 mm
Width: 165 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
606 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-316-62829-7 (9780316628297)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
06/2021
Little, Brown and Company
€11.99
Available for download
Persons
Lt Col Kenneth Wayne Phelps III (USMC, Retired) served five deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan between 2003 and 2012. His military career coincided with the escalating use of drones as weapons, and in the two years prior to his retirement in 2018 he served as commanding officer of four Unmanned Aircraft System teams active abroad in fighting violent extremist organizations.
Lt Col Dave Grossman (US Army, Retired) is an internationally recognized scholar, writer, soldier, and speaker. He is one of the world's foremost experts in the field of human aggression, the roots of violence, and violent crime. He is a former West Point psychology professor and is currently the director of the Warrior Science Group.
Lt Col Dave Grossman (US Army, Retired) is an internationally recognized scholar, writer, soldier, and speaker. He is one of the world's foremost experts in the field of human aggression, the roots of violence, and violent crime. He is a former West Point psychology professor and is currently the director of the Warrior Science Group.