All Joseph Rotblat Quotes
This is the reality of nuclear weapons: they may trigger a world war; a war which, unlike previous ones, destroys all of civilization.
Joseph Rotblat
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Long before the terrifying potential of the arms race was recognized, there was a widespread instinctive abhorrence of nuclear weapons, and a strong desire to get rid of them.
Joseph Rotblat
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Indeed, the very first resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations - adopted unanimously - called for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Joseph Rotblat
57% of people like this quote
We are told that the possession of nuclear weapons - in some cases even the testing of these weapons - is essential for national security. But this argument can be made by other countries as well.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
There is no direct evidence that nuclear weapons prevented a world war. Conversely, it is known that they nearly caused one.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
But the first the general public learned about the discovery was the news of the destruction of Hiroshima by the atom bomb. A splendid achievement of science and technology had turned malign. Science became identified with death and destruction.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
The most terrifying moment in my life was October 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. I did not know all the facts - we have learned only recently how close we were to war - but I knew enough to make me tremble.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
The chief task was to stop the arms race before it brought utter disaster. However, after the collapse of communism and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, any rationale for having nuclear weapons disappeared.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
At a time when science plays such a powerful role in the life of society, when the destiny of the whole of mankind may hinge on the results of scientific research, it is incumbent on all scientists to be fully conscious of that role, and conduct themselves accordingly.
Joseph Rotblat
56% of people like this quote
But scientists on both sides of the iron curtain played a very significant role in maintaining the momentum of the nuclear arms race throughout the four decades of the Cold War.
Joseph Rotblat
55% of people like this quote
This means that the only function of nuclear weapons, while they exist, is to deter a nuclear attack.
Joseph Rotblat
54% of people like this quote
My third appeal is to my fellow citizens in all countries: Help us to establish lasting peace in the world.
Joseph Rotblat
54% of people like this quote
The time has come to formulate guidelines for the ethical conduct of scientist, perhaps in the form of a voluntary Hippocratic Oath.
Joseph Rotblat
53% of people like this quote
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