NLM Lederberg, Joshua
Notes from ACD Lecture on March 1, 1977

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This document is lecture notes by Joshua Lederberg and may be found on Joshua Lederberg's NLM web site, identified as with the ID: bbglxx.
     http://profiles.NLM.NIH.gov/BB/

Being a famous, and even a very capable geneticist, does not necessarily confer an intelligent and knowledgeable view of different branches of science. Being a famous, and even a very capable geneticist, may even less so confer any intelligent or educated view of the humanities. ¹ A case in point is the "Notes from ACD lecture on March 1, 1977", entitled by Joshua Lederberg: "The Theoretical Framework of Discussion: An Unsentimental View". (It is important to note that the subject matter had not been identified in these notes, and it is quite possible that it had not been clarified in Joshua Lederberg's own mind.) This is not an uncharitable view, as the primary discussion is about the insecurities of nuclear attack and nuclear disarmament, followed by biological warfare and chemical warfare. At the outset, what Joshua Lederberg has written seems well intentioned, but appears to be basically a collection of stereotypes. Thus, was his intended lecture well informed?

He starts off the discussion dealing with surprise nuclear attacks and nuclear warfare, and the attendant insecurities this produces among the general public. In fact, these insecurities are the result of a policy of propaganda. Thus, it is fair to ask whether or not Joshua Lederberg's discussion will go beyond the stereotypes. Some relevant information concerning the use of nuclear weapons:

1. Military leaders considered the use of nuclear weapons in Korea; MacArthur considered destroying the border between North and South Korea using nuclear radiation to create a "cordon sanitaire" that would endure for 120 years. MacArthur forgot not only the political effects this would have throughout Asia, but also that destroying a country can hardly be considered a successful military policy. The United States government viewed MacArthur as mentally unstable and dangerous, and permanently removed him from the Asian theatre and all other military theatres.¹
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   Similarly, during the Vietnamese War the United States government considered the use of five nuclear weapons in Vietnam, and polled U.S. Ambassadors throughout the world for their opinion. Edwin Reichauer, then U.S. Ambassador to Japan, is supposed to have responded (paraphrase) "I don't know if you'll win in Vietnam, but you'll lose in Japan."
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2. "Nuclear weapons threaten global security, Robert McNamara argues at CISAC event" October 25, 2004, Stanford Daily, Stanford CA
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   "The current weapons policy of the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is folly, the 88-year-old McNamara said. In 45 years of working on nuclear weapons issues, 'I've never seen a document outlining a plan that shows how we would benefit by using nuclear weapons,' he said. To use such weapons against a nuclear state is suicide, to use them against a non-nuclear state would be politically unwise and morally repugnant, he added."
   (Note that Vietnam is not a superpower, yet Joshua Lederberg focuses upon superpowers in these notes.)
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3. Wars serve a political purpose. An idealistic view that excludes the views of policymakers concerning Macarthur and McNamara, is in fact exactly what Joshua Lederberg said he wanted to avoid: this is not an unsentimental viewpoint.

Joshua Lederberg's notes go on to discuss nuclear disarmament. He wishes to treat nuclear arms control under the purview of law. It would be fair to assume that Joshua Lederberg means "international law". Given that historically international law was primarily focused on the nations of the Mediterranean basin, such a view of law would exclude the views of jurisprudence held in most of Asia and Africa. Advocating a biased use of law (a position already explicitly enunciated by Asian states), and colonialism in Asia and Africa, is not likely to lead to an intelligent viewpoint on the use of nuclear weapons nor disarmament. Ignoring these facts is very suasive to an uneducated audience, but is exceedingly idealistic and condescending.

Joshua Lederberg's discussion then drifts off into the area of biological and chemical warfare. Though Joshua Lederberg's research in biological warfare continues to be censored, it is a wonder that he would "let the cat out of the bag" and claim to have expertise in this area. Nevertheless, biological and chemical warfare, even though they may produce insecurity and fall under the purview of treaties, are not related to the topics of nuclear warfare and nuclear disarmament.

Is there a reason why a respected geneticist such as Joshua Lederberg would hold to so ignorant a position publicly? We are fortunate in that Joshua Lederberg has also supplied us with the reason why. ²

¹ In a University of Wisconsin Oral History interview given in 1998, Joshua Lederberg is paraphrased (page 52, paragraph 330) as follows:

"In terms of the effect the Nobel prize had on his career [...] [Joshua Lederberg] notes it probably gave him a standing outside of the immediate scientific area he would have not have had otherwise. [...] When a Nobel winner talks about scientific topics in public — sometimes quite inappropriately — [his words are] credited with likely being true."

In the same interview (page 3, paragraph 218), Joshua Lederberg was also paraphrased as saying the following:

"Upon entering Columbia, [Joshua Lederberg] had determined that his majors were going to be biology and chemistry. He enrolled in a number of graduate courses as a freshman which, he said, was for the best, since he was not mature enough to appreciate the humanities -- which he put off taking until later in his undergraduate career. [Joshua Lederberg] notes he did exceptionally well in the sciences, but the rest of his cultural experiences were not far ahead of his chronological age."

This document may be found on Joshua Lederberg's NLM web site, identified as with the ID: bbbdhf.
     http://profiles.NLM.NIH.gov/BB/

In "A Viewpoint of Aspects of a History of Genetics" by William Hayes, Dr. Hayes recalls the following:

"I met Joshua on two subsequent occasions, after he had been awarded the Nobel Prize with George Beadle and E. L. Tatum in 1958 and had moved to Stanford University. During an evening at his Stanford home he told me that the Prize had confronted him with a choice, either to continue in active research or to use his prestige to influence the progress of science in broader and more administrative ways, and he thought he would take the latter step but without losing touch with genetical research. At that time he had become involved in exobiology and was, if I remember, on a NASA committee concerned with the detection of life on Mars."

This document may be found on Joshua Lederberg's NLM web site, identified as with the ID: bbgbow.
     http://profiles.NLM.NIH.gov/BB/

Special note should be taken of the fact that "without losing touch with genetical research" means keeping up with the research being done in genetics after 1958, but does not imply actually doing any research in genetics. Thus, we may safely conclude that the kind of papers published after 1958 were not the products of Joshua Lederberg's own research (at best he was merely a signatory to papers after 1958), and that lectures such as "Notes from ACD lecture on March 1, 1977", and his work in exobiology, were not the product of his research.

² "North Korea: Another Country" by Bruce Cummings, New Press, 2003, pp. 22, 23

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