Problems and Contradictions of Military Engineers Ethics Shaping

by:
Bruce G. Kittleson (USA) President of Olive Branch International (USA)
Karlov Anton G, (Ukraine), Chair Head, Sevastopol State Technical University

Professor Fr. Paulson in 1904 wrote in the introduction to the russian translation of his book "Foundations of Ethics": "...When I wrote my Ethics, I thought only to state in a new way to my nation old teaching of things, which add true value to life. But now my book comes to offer this teaching to other nations: before this Russian translation appeared translation of Ethics into English but then into Japanese. This is a comforting acknowledgement of faith to me of the fact, that in spite of all that separates people, there is still a certain general heritage of spiritual and moral nature, which are not involved in discord. And on the grounds of that fact that - at that time, as nations of the Far East lead a bloody war, there appears nearly simultaneously in their languages this pacific book, isn't it possible for this reason to have at least a weak hope that this people uniting spiritual heritage may in time make the war impossible ?!... Eternal peace, as far as it may seem to be, still remains, if to speak with the words of E. Kant, the necessary idea of mind." Nearly a hundred years passed from the moment of publishing of this known book and we are on the threshold of third millennium, however the realization of that beautiful idea on the eternal peace looks still far off. All reasonable people of high morality on our planet are trying to contribute their possible input into the realization of such an idea.

History pecularities of development of Ukraine, Russia for last one hundred years have influenced essentially the developments of ethical and moral norms of the militaries. Sevastopol has its own traditions and particularities, as a city-hero, as a city, where the heroes of the first defence 1854-55 years in the war against Turkey, England, France and of the second defence in the period of the Second World War with the fascism are remembered and honored. In Sevastopol, which 2000 years ago was named Khersones, were already developing historical events, connected with the development of democracy in this Greek town. Later, nearly 1000 years ago, Kiev Prince Vladimir baptized here for the first time ever the Slavs of Kievan Russia. Thence forward began the epoch of Christianity on the territory of Ukraine and Russia. Notions of soldierly obligations and conscience, morals of officer and soldier formed on the basis of deep spirituality, true Christian values, glorious and unique traditions of the city. In Sevastopol for the last 200 years many heroes and ordinary warriors ended their military service and successfully transferred their experience and their glorious traditions . Such a combination of historical conditions of city development with the high concentration of military men in the city, retired officers and sailors and their families allows to come to a conclusion about the unique conditions, in which the inhabitants of our city live, serve, bring up their children.

In the period between 1917 and 1991 conditions of shaping of soldierly ethics and ethical norms of the whole population drastically changed. This is distinctive not only for Sevastopol. There came a totally different period of the history development of our country. Communists destroyed foundations of Christian ethics, but new principles of moral were based on violence and suppression of all differently-minded. Not stopping on this complex period of the country development in detail, I would only like to note that events of those years could not help leaving their imprint on the people, on their moral, to the ethics in general and soldierly ethics in particular. All these history events in our country and the city have brought about the appearance of significant problems, essential contradictions in process of formation and unbringing a young people, shaping the ethical norms of military and civil specialists. Our observations and reasonnings deal with analysis of these problems, attempts to find ways to unravel the emerged contradictions.

This analysis and methods of solving of contradictions are based on methods, worded as General Theory of Strong Thinking (GTST-OTSM). Principles of dialectics lie in basis of this theory. Theory appeared on the basis of created in Russia Theory of Deciding the Invention Problems (TDIP-TRIZ). The Author of this theory - Altshuller Genrih Saulowich, engineer and inventor, began to create this theory in 1946, when he was 20. Today OTSM-TRIZ has obtained recognition and is successfully used in Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, USA, Japan, Germany, Holland, France, Great Britain and other countries. Many complex problems in the technology and business, education and advertisment, science and arts, other human activities were solved and are being solved now. In the given report we have made an attempt to use methods OTSM-TRIZ in the analysis and searching of rational decisions in the process of shaping the ethics of military engineers, specialists, who have got military and civil training in the civil University of Ukraine.

Difficulties of training of a military specialist with high morals in such conditions are obvious. Additional problems appear here also because our country - Ukraine, is still a young independent state and is building its economy, army and fleet in conditions of evident deficit of finances and other resources. Decision of problems in terms of lack of incoming information and is an evident situation for inventions.

Let me bring us in the beginning of the initial reasoning some rules, notions and terms from TRIZ-OTSM, for few of those being present at this Symposium on military ethics is familiar with the mentioned theory. Three principles lie in the basis of TRIZ-OTSM, they allow to come to strong decisions (solutions of the problems) immediately, without sorting out of all variants:

  1. The principle of objectivity of law systems development is construction, operation and changing of system generations work under objective laws.
  2. Principle of contradiction works under the influence of external and internal factors when contradictions appear, grow intense and get solved. The problem is difficult because there are hidden or evident contradictions. Systems evolve overcoming contradictions on the basis of objective laws, phenomenas and effects. Thence: strong decisions (solutions) are those that overcome contradictions.
  3. The principle of concreteness is that each system class, and its separate representatives within this class have concrete particularities, facilitating or obstructing the changes of a concrete system. These particularities are defined by resources: internal - by those of which the system is built and external - by the environment and situation in which a system is located. Thence: strong decisions (solutions) are those taking into consideration concrete pecularities of concrete systems (resources are external and internal), as well as individual particularities connected with the personality of concrete person, solving a problem.
Methodology of problem solutions is built on the basis of the studied by TRIZ-OTSM general laws of system evolutions, general principles of contradiction solutions and mechanisms of application of these general ideas to a solution of a concrete problem. TRIZ-OTSM includes: TRIZ-TECHNOLOGIES allow to unite efforts of specialists of different profile while developing large programs, to avoid high-priced errors and contradictions. One of the basic notions of TRIZ-OTSM is an Ideal End Result (IER), an ideal element, an ideal system.

We will try to describe a problem how to make an ideal system of shaping of that young specialist ethical norms, who wants to realize himself in the military service. Considering the principle of concreteness we should immediately put into the model the specifics of mentality of person in Ukraine, considering all that particularities of history development, which were described above. It is necessary to analyse all concrete circumstances of development of militery training system with consideration for changing of the religious traditions, particularities of history of state authority development for the recent years: dictatorships and last years of liberty and independence in Ukraine. The principle of contradiction prompts us to take into account, to oppose to to each other all phenomenas, connected with the development and change of morals and ethics in the country as a minimum for last twenty years. The principle of objectivity of law system development proves the rightness of eternal truths of the Bible, which, in given problem may be considered as an ideal end result of the endless process of improvement of spirit and morals of person. History of mankind development is also history of all wars and conflicts. Ethics of military person in different countries always had their own national and history features.

Let us consider as traditions and norms of military ethics changed in Ukraine in recent years. Are there contradictions in the fact that young people want to get an education in the civil university, but herewith to take a special course to be trained as a reserve officer? What does that young person need for getting the knowledges in the field of military ethics? How can he make a good career of a military engineer in Army, Navy, Air Forces, police, inteligence services on the completion of civil university studies? Here we have many problems. Notions of soldierly obligations, honour, conscience, moral responsiblity of warrior, heroism at different history stages of development of soldierly ethics were always important. These notions in Russia are possible to track already in the first military charters of tsar Peter 1. There it is possible to see such notions as national interest, national profit, general benefit. A known Russian commander Suvorov A.V. two hundred years ago wrote in his book "Science to win" that "discipline is the mother of victory", "perish, but rescue a comrade". In the Army and in the Navy of Ukraine and Russia commanders presently broadly use the experience and ethical principles, which were the basis of mentality of such commanders as Kutuzov and Suvorov, and admirals Ushakov and Nahimov.

In 1857 magazine "War collection" published "Articles on general military principles". In the "Articles" it was emphasized that "officer must abstain from all actions and attrations, which can throw a slightest shade on his personal honour. The word of an officer must be a guarantee of truth, and therefore any lie, boasting, nonperformance of obligation are vices, undermining faith in truthfulness of an officer, disgrace his rank".

In spite of changing a system of authorities in Russia and Ukraine in 1917 and in 1991, changes of the official ideological courses from Christianity to atheism and back we should note that in modern conditions after drastic intensifications of the said contradictions and following solutions of number of problems in the field of shaping war-ethical norms and traditions, we could stop at the following short feature of war-ethical thoughts conditions in this area. The main ideas of this condition, in our view, are put in frame of ideas of philosopher Solovyov V.S. (1853-1900). They are reflected in his book "About the role of a military environment in the preservation of the main moral idea of good and soldier's duties". Christian ethical norms, institute of chaplains, new outlooks on processes of such quality upbringing as patriotism, faithfulness to the soldierly obligation come presently in Ukraine as change to those contradictory principles of soldiers and officers education, that lay in system basis of shaping of soldierly ethics at the period of dominating communist class ideology in USSR.

On one hand the whole world knows feats of warriors of the Soviet Union in the Second World War against the fascism. But it is well known that in USSR Army and Navy in Stalin's years it was considered the duty of any soldier and officer to report any case of dissidence or attempts to motivate good actions by christian truths, commandments from the Bible. One could get into prison or lose his life because of that. It was a norm of military ethics bring up hate towards inhabitants of other countries, which do not approve communist principles. It was a norm to send a soldier on on a mission and order the commanders to finish this operation by some state holiday regardless of amount soldier deaths. Life of soldier and officer in these conditions of country development did not cost anything!

Considering above enumerated contradictions and concrete history conditions of development and norms and traditions of military ethics' transformations it is possible to make a conclusion that in Ukraine at present and other countries of the former USSR great efforts are necessary to make a new system of shaping the norms of military ethics on the basis of objective evaluation of all that happened with us for the last decennials, considering all the world experience of more successful development of this system in other countries. With that in mind we can not ignore that fact that our Christian millennial traditions were not destroyed for years of communist ideology.

Wisdom of biblical truths is necessary to explain slowly, and persuasively, but emphatically to future young soldiers and officers, and future civil specialists. That is obvious for many leaders of the country, however it is not quite clear how to do it in conditions, when traditions of atheism are still strong in peopl of senior generations. It is even more difficult to teach truths of christian ethics of to the future officers of Ukrainian army and fleet, which have selected a civil university for getting an education, but who want afterwords to become military men. In military and civil universities there are no institutions of chaplains or mentors familiar with problems of modern military ethics, but their functions must already be executed. Later it will be late again.

In conclusion we came to conditions of typical invention situations: it is advisable that the functions of teacher of military ethics worked, but the carrier of such functions is not present yet. Thereby we want an ideal system to work where there is no system functions carrier (for instance chaplain or mentors), but functions of such source information were executed. Apart from that significant efforts are required to prepare special literature, which would objectively reflect all that contradictions and problems, historic experience and successful solutions in other countries in the harmonious system that will build the shaping of ethical norms and traditions as of militaries, so of civils.

For the achievement of the permanent peace, of which dreamed and dream all normal people on our planet today we need to join significant efforts of not only politicians, diplomats, economists, scientists, inventors, military, as well as ordinary normal people, who are a majority on the planet. Experience of developped countries says that this is possible. So let each one do his part with conscience and understanding that we are doing that with God! For with GOD, nothing shall be impossible. (LUKE 1:37)


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