In order to draw an effective conclusion on what the evolution of weapons says about humans, we will take a sequential look at the main weapons people have to used to fight one another.
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Hand-to-Hand Combat
- Involves using the hands, spears, knives, swords, or other sharp implements that remain in the hand when striking an enemy.
- As personal of fighting as it gets.
- Opponents are face-to-face and very close to each other.
- The hand is inflicting the damage.
Bows and Throwing Spears
- Also included are catapults.
- Allows for slightly longer-range fighting.
- The hand does not stay connected to the implement all the way until the point of contact.
- Still a personal connection to killing, but slightly removed from the pain inflicted on the enemy.
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Gunpowder Weapons
- Revolutionized siege warfare.
- Cannons, matchlock gun, flintlock gun.
- Disadvantage was the time it took to reload.
- Had expanded range but were very inaccurate at distance; still allowed people to take a step back from face-to-face war.
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/9/6/26965666/1394953207.jpg)
Rifling Weapons
- Muskets, muzzle-loaded guns, revolvers, shotguns.
- Main weapon of use during the American Civil War.
- Allowed people to shoot at distance with real power but not at a high level of accuracy, but they still knew who they were shooting at or hitting.
- Most warfare still took place on a battlefield with opposing fighters feet from one another.
- Still was inconvenient in that they had to be reloaded often, which took precious time on the battlefield.
- Bullet inflicts the damage, and the power and speed comes from the firing of the gun; in contrast, bows, spears, etc. required inputs of power from the user.
Automatic Weapons
- Gatling machine gun, automatic rifle, automatic pistol
- Could fire multiple rounds without having to stop to reload.
The Machine Gun Age
- Capable of firing hundreds of rounds per minute.
- Could inflict mass damage on opponent.
- Due to the ability to just fire large amounts of bullets, the personal attachment to firing a singular bullet and the impact it can have on another human began to fade.
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/9/6/26965666/1394954902.jpg)
Tanks
- Equipped with powerful assault guns and weapons capable of firing hundreds of rounds.
- Able to transport while firing at the same time.
- Provides a suit of armor from return fire.
- The enemy being shot at does not even know who is controlling the tank gun at that moment.
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/9/6/26965666/669071632.jpg?409)
Fighter-Bomber Planes
- No longer had to even be on the ground to fight the opponent.
- Could fire weapons from the confines of a jet detached from the actual battleground.
- Huge loss of the personal aspect of war; dropping a bomb from the air meant that the pilot had no way to see or look at the individuals the bomb was falling on.
Missiles
- Allow for mass destruction to be inflicted either by a remote-programmed missile or by a jet that is responsible for releasing the missile.
- Further detachment from actual personal combat.
- The pilot or programmer has no idea who the missile will come into contact with.
![Picture](/uploads/2/6/9/6/26965666/1394953726.jpg)
Drones
Image Source: Wikipedia.org
- Unmanned aerial vehicles controlled by an operator in a faraway location.
- Operator is thousands of miles away from the conflict zone.
- Virtually no personal attachment to the act of fighting.
Image Source: Wikipedia.org
Conclusion
So what big picture ideas can we draw from taking this cursory look at the way weaponry has changed in warfare? Well, the most obvious thing is that the development of advanced weapons have allowed fighters to remove themselves from the fight and allow machines to inflict the damage - letting the machines do the dirty work, if you will. No longer do people have to be even on the ground for a lot of these weapons to be used on an enemy. This shift away from the battlefield makes sense; the further you are removed from the area of violence and explosions, the less likely you will suffer casualties of your own.
However, another effect that this movement away from face-to-face conflict has created is a sense that warfare has moved to becoming unpersonalized. In many cases, fighters have no idea who they are inflicting the damage of their weapon on due to the distance at which they are firing it. This leads into the possibility that the enemy is no longer seen as a group of human beings that have feelings and fears but are on the wrong side of the fight. Instead, they are seen as a mass of evil, as a "thing" that needs to be eliminated for the good of the country. In turn, the fighters lose the feelings of remorse over inflicting harm on another human being. Firing a missile from thousands of miles away does not instill this sense that one has to ability to end another human's life. The feeling instead is that this is a necessary step to take to protect the interests of the American people.
So what big picture ideas can we draw from taking this cursory look at the way weaponry has changed in warfare? Well, the most obvious thing is that the development of advanced weapons have allowed fighters to remove themselves from the fight and allow machines to inflict the damage - letting the machines do the dirty work, if you will. No longer do people have to be even on the ground for a lot of these weapons to be used on an enemy. This shift away from the battlefield makes sense; the further you are removed from the area of violence and explosions, the less likely you will suffer casualties of your own.
However, another effect that this movement away from face-to-face conflict has created is a sense that warfare has moved to becoming unpersonalized. In many cases, fighters have no idea who they are inflicting the damage of their weapon on due to the distance at which they are firing it. This leads into the possibility that the enemy is no longer seen as a group of human beings that have feelings and fears but are on the wrong side of the fight. Instead, they are seen as a mass of evil, as a "thing" that needs to be eliminated for the good of the country. In turn, the fighters lose the feelings of remorse over inflicting harm on another human being. Firing a missile from thousands of miles away does not instill this sense that one has to ability to end another human's life. The feeling instead is that this is a necessary step to take to protect the interests of the American people.