I came to view my work with Hiroshima survivors in 1962 as not only a scientificstudy but a form of bearing witness to what the bomb did to human beings in thatcity. I tried to bring professional knowledge and experience to that effort, to becomewhat I later called a witnessing professional. Nuclear and climate issues interacted in that early study, and have continued to be inseparable for all of us. I drawupon examples of witnessing professionals over the course of our struggles with thesetwo planetary threats. In each case, they had to expose and combat the malignantnormality, the dangerous prevailing assumptions and narratives, of their time. Inthat way, these professionals have contributed to important social movements. Theyhave also deepened–as we too can–the ethical dimensions of professional work.
On Becoming Witnessing Professionals
I came to view my work with Hiroshima survivors in 1962 as not only a scientificstudy but a form of bearing witness to what the bomb did to human beings in thatcity. I tried to bring professional knowledge and experience to that effort, to becomewhat I later called a witnessing professional. Nuclear and climate issues interacted in that early study, and have continued to be inseparable for all of us. I drawupon examples of witnessing professionals over the course of our struggles with thesetwo planetary threats. In each case, they had to expose and combat the malignantnormality, the dangerous prevailing assumptions and narratives, of their time. Inthat way, these professionals have contributed to important social movements. Theyhave also deepened–as we too can–the ethical dimensions of professional work.
Robert Jay Lifton
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