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By: Leone Siedel
The Haber-Bosch process was the first chemical process that produced ammonia. It was used during World War I to make chemical weapons and explosives. At the time, the same process revolutionized fertilizer production and avoided a possible major European famine. Even though it stopped major starvation and aided farming, it also caused war-time destruction. For this reason, the chemists who intended for the Haber-Bosch process to cause damage should be held responsible for the harmful effects of their creations. In the case of the Haber process, Fritz Haber, the inventor, was somewhat responsible for the Haber process use in World War I, because he had good and bad intentions of the use of ammonia. Haber's intentions may have been bad but his discovery did help with avoiding a disastrous famine and was a better way to make ammonia. So in summary, chemists should be held responsible for the harmful effects of their creations if they had bad intentions. Haber had bad intentions mixed with good intentions, so he is somewhat responsible for the gases based on the Haber process use in World War I.
The Haber-Bosch process was used to make fertilizer that lessened starvation, but it was also used to produce Mustard Gas and Zyklon B. Mustard Gas which could kill many people, but the fertilizer made by the Haber-Bosch process did save numerous lives. These are opposing ideas. Therefore, Haber should have invented it after or during World War 1, so that there would be less use of explosives. Then and again, there is still World War 2… which used little chemical weapons. Therefore, starvation was lessened, but deaths during the war were increased because Fritz Haber invented the Haber process right before World War 1. Consequently, in this case, timing means a lot.
Generally speaking, scientists should probably be held responsible for the harmful effects of their creations if they intended for their invention to cause damage. For example, Wernher von Braun was a German rocket scientist. During World War II, he designed the V-2 rocket for Germany that killed many people in France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Belgium. In this example, Wernher was responsible for the V-2 rocket's destruction because he had one goal, to cause destruction. Another example is Albert Einstein, who came up with the equation E=mc2. The equation was used to develop the nuclear bomb. Einstein did not know that his equation could create an extremely powerful bomb, so he should not be held responsible for the bombs created due to his equation. Going back to the Haber-Bosch process, Haber was partially responsible for the harm caused by his process because he was waiting for war.
If Haber had bad intentions, even though one might still argue that Germany is responsible for the weapons used in World War I, Haber still chose to share his solution. He did not have to endanger a lot of innocent people that might be where mustard gas is unleashed so he should be held responsible because he chose to endanger thousands of lives. He intended to cause harm because Haber knew that his invention was dangerous and could help with the war. Additionally, he knew that using chemical weapons would earn him a bad reputation, so he intended to cause harm.