I AM SITTING IN A ROOM: DRONES, PART 2
Summary
Host Gregory Foley explores the ethical implications of drone warfare, arguing that removing the risk of death undermines traditional warrior virtue. He contrasts the "once and for all" sacrifice of classical combat with the "once is nothing" repeatability of remote strikes, noting how this shift redefines bravery as the psychological burden of killing rather than physical risk. The episode examines how Western militaries frame drones as humanitarian tools to justify near-total invulnerability, while critics like Gregoire Chamayou argue this creates a new necro-ethics that devalues enemy li…
Topics discussed
Introduction: The Ring of Gyges and Invisibility
Episode Overview: Drone Ethics and Necroethics
Metaphor: Resonant Frequencies of the Room
Benjamin: Cult Value vs. Exhibition Value in Art
Technique 1 vs 2: Ritual Sacrifice vs. Repetition
The Paradox of War: Expenditure to Preserve Life
Classical Military Morality: Readiness to Die
Kamikaze vs. Drone Operator: Certainty vs. Impossibility
Historical Origins: From Electric Eye to Drone
The Invincible Warrior: Achilles and the Hazard of Virtue
Moral Horror: Suicide Attackers vs. Riskless Killers
Asymmetry of Power and the Demand for Zero Casualties
NATO Doctrine: High Altitude and the Drone as Humanitarian
Necroethics: Vitalism and the Moral Necessity of Drones
The Myth of Surgical Precision and Category Errors
Defining Precision: Projectile Accuracy vs. Target Selection
Pattern of Life Heuristics and Collateral Damage Statistics
Inversion of Values: Killing Without Risk as Virtue
New Warrior Ethos: Baseness as Greatness
Psychic Toll: The Burden of the Riskless Executioner
Ocular Proximity: Grossman's Psychology of Killing
The Screen as Mediator: Milgram and Disaggregated Acts
Telekinesis of Violence: Enacting Distance
Necroethics: Killing Well and Dislocating Moral Responsibility
Revisiting Gyges: The Invisibility of the Ring
Conclusion: Bond Technologies and Setting Aside the Self
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