War is a clash for survival between two opposing forces, and as tragic as it is, it has contributed to human progress. War has led to technological advancements, and humanity has grown mentally by reflecting on its devastating consequences. The dark side of war and the lessons learned from it have played an important role in human progress.
What is war? Although the meaning of war has changed a lot in modern times, most people still think of a “fight” when they hear the word “war,” but a fight between friends or a fight between siblings is not called a war. In my opinion, two important keywords are needed to define the word war. In other words, we can define war as two or more forces fighting with everything they have for survival.
So, can we say that war has had a positive impact on humanity, especially human progress? I think so, and there are two main reasons why. The first is technological advancement. The powers involved in the war had to mobilize all possible means to ‘survive’. This desperate endeavor naturally led to technological advancements, many of which have had a powerful impact on humanity. The second is the progress of humanity through mental development. The devastating consequences of war have frustrated mankind, but the efforts and reflection to restore damaged values have taught us great lessons. Let’s take a look at a concrete example.
During World War II, German submarines, or U-boats, inflicted enormous damage on the Allies. The German submarines kept their presence on the seabed well hidden, and when an Allied ship appeared, they attacked and sank it. The Allies were caught off guard. The main reason German submarine attacks were so difficult to defend against was that they used one of the most sophisticated and esoteric radio cipher systems in the world. It was called Enigma. Enigma was a cipher machine used like a typewriter, and the name also refers to the cipher itself. The Allies were desperate to get their hands on Enigma and assembled a team of Enigma breakers to figure out what the Axis was up to. One of them was Alan Turing, who is now considered the father of computer science. Turing had been working on the first virtual computing machine, the Turing machine, just before he was recruited to the codebreaking team. He developed his Turing machine and made a significant contribution to cracking Enigma, which had a huge number of cases. This led to the rapid development of the field of machine computation, and with it, computer science. Considering the contributions that computer science has made to communications and other fields, it’s a major contribution to human progress.
The atomic bomb, which played a crucial role in helping the Allies win World War II, is another example of technological advancement. At the time, the Axis powers, led by Germany, and the Allied powers, led by the United States, worked hard to develop the bomb faster than their opponents. There were two steps required to create an atomic bomb. The first was to extract or create fissile material, the main ingredient in an atomic bomb, and the second was to use the fissile material to make a bomb. The second step was much more difficult than the first and required a high level of technology. Exploring the process by which fissile materials interact under certain conditions to create a powerful chain reaction could result in an explosion or radioactive release. The reason for this risk was simple. It was to win the war. Without the urgency of war, the Allies would not have undertaken such risky research. These attempts spurred the development of nuclear technology, which is now a prominent alternative energy source.
In addition to the examples of computer science and nuclear energy technology, World War I and World War II coincided with a period of rapid advances in science and technology. The importance of identifying enemies and allies in warfare led to the development of radar technology, which in turn led to the development of electromagnetic wave technology to send and receive signals. Food processing and transportation technologies were also developed to solve the problem of food supply, which had a major impact on soldier morale. More fighters and warships were needed to attack the enemy and move quickly, which led to significant advances in aviation and shipbuilding. This made it possible to reach any part of the world in a day or two. These technologies are essential in the modern world, and warfare acts as a “competition” between different powers, leading to technological advancements.
So far, we’ve seen examples of human progress through technological advancement, but we can also find examples of how war has helped us grow mentally. The easiest example to think of is the mental progress that came from Nazism in Germany. The massacres and atrocities committed by the Nazi regime against the Jews of the time are well known. No matter what Germany does in modern times, the horrific crimes they committed are unforgivable. However, they have acknowledged their mistakes, are continually remorseful, and are ashamed of what their ancestors did. This is an example for other countries. What the Nazi atrocities have awakened in the public is an awareness of how devastating war can be to human beings. This realization made the public think hard about war, and today there is a stronger public opinion that war should be avoided. Ironically, it is the wars of the past that have prevented modern wars.
The famous sculpture The Burghers of Calais is another example of a contribution to humanity’s mental development. During the Hundred Years’ War, the port city of Calais in northern France was a key military location. The British laid siege to the city, but it took them about a year to capture it due to the desperate resistance of its citizens. After taking over, the British attempted to massacre the citizens of Calais, but six citizens decided to sacrifice their lives to save the rest of the city. They presented themselves before the King of England, but were fortunately spared by the Queen’s pleas. The sacrificial spirit shown by these six representatives of the citizenry is an important lesson in the responsibility of social leadership. This clear demonstration of the noblesse oblige is one of the lessons that humanity has learned from war.
These are just a few of the lessons learned from war. This is not to say that war has had a positive impact on human progress. It’s also somewhat naïve to think that mere technological and mental advancements have contributed to human progress. There are many new types of crimes today that would not have been possible without computer science, and many people are aware of the environmental problems of nuclear power plants. Nevertheless, the reason why I argue that war has advanced humanity is because it has provided us with an example. Having an example gives us a direction to go in, which is like having a state-of-the-art car navigation system. Thanks to navigation, no one gets lost, and sometimes there are shortcuts. The course of the war was horrific and devastating, but the outcome was a great lesson for mankind, leading to human progress.
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