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Because Torture Is Wrong Analysis

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In “Because It Is Wrong”: A Meditation on Torture the argument that is being made is torture is illegal because is wrong. The moral that this article presents is that there is no such thing as reasonable torture.
In “Rules Should Govern Torture, Dershowitz Says” the argument the author thinks that torture is ever acceptable but in fact it has been used. The moral that this article presents is that we need to acknowledge what is being done and create rules, and have visibility and accountability.
All three articles present similarities in all three articles they talk about the abuses to Abu Ghraib. “Because It Is Wrong”: A Meditation on Torture and “Rules Should Govern Torture, Dershowitz Says” talks about how the president has the authority …show more content…

The two authors consider of morality as the search for the highest good. They disagree about the definition of the highest good. For Kant a good will defined by duty, for Mill it is happiness understood as pleasure and absence of pain. According to Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy Immanuel Kant: Metaphysics. (n.d.) “Kant's criticisms of utilitarianism have become famous enough to warrant some separate discussion. Utilitarian moral theories evaluate the moral worth of action on the basis of happiness that is produced by an action.” “The utilitarian theories are driven by the merely contingent inclination in humans for pleasure and happiness, not by the universal moral law dictated by reason.” “His ethical theory has been as influential as, if not more influential than, his work in epistemology and metaphysics. Most of Kant's work on ethics is presented in two works. The Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785) is Kant's "search for and establishment of the supreme principle of morality." In The Critique of Practical Reason (1787) Kant attempts to unify his account of practical reason with his work in the Critique of Pure Reason. According to An Introduction to Utilitarianism. (n.d) “Mill criticizes categorical imperative; stating that it is essentially the same as utilitarianism, since it involves calculating the good or bad

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Dershowitz, he is the author of the essay "The Case for Torture Warrants". Dershowitz is more in favor of torture than Young and McCain. He believes that an authority figure should make the decision to torture and only torture if a warrant is issued. He also believes in non-lethal torture that makes people uncomfortable but does not harm the individual. In his essay, he gives the example of the Israeli security service torturing a suspected terrorist by placing a "smelly sack over his head and shake him violently" (Dershowitz 687).

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699 Words | 3 Pages

Mahatma Gandhi, the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement states “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” This is important because torture is brutal on the body and mind. The article “Torture’s Terrible Toll” by John McCain is more convincing then the article “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin because McCain provides more logical reasoning, he adds his own personal experience of being a captured prisoner during the Vietnam War, and he creates an emotional bond with people around the world. Through more logical reasoning McCain Argument is more valid than Levin.

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146 Words | 1 Pages

Bob Brecher’s argument is centered around being a counter-claim to Dershowitz’ Ticking Bomb scenario. The counter-claim argues that a ticking bomb scenario, as described by Dershowtiz, is unlikely to occur in the real world, due to the difficulty in apprehending a terrorist after the terrorist plot has been set in motion, but has not yet been fully executed. Even if the authorities are lucky enough to apprehend the suspect before the ticking bomb has been set to detonate, it is improbable that torture would result in the suspect revealing the plot before the bomb goes off. Brecher additionally argues that Dershowitz’ idea of using legalized torture warrants to limit torture would, on the contrary, lead to the abuse of the torture warrant system.

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701 Words | 3 Pages

“Authorizing torture is a bad and dangerous idea that can easily be made to sound plausible.” This is a shockingly true statement. Heymann’s purpose in writing this article is to persuade readers to agree with him that torture should not be authorized. Heymann uses the persuasive appeal of pathos primarily in this article to convince his readers to agree with him. Although that is not to say he did not use other forms of persuasive appeal, heymann also used Logos and Ethos, just not as strongly as Pathos.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

In Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”, he uses many cases of emotional appeal to persuade the reader that torture is necessary in extreme cases. There are many terms/statements that stick with the reader throughout the essay so that they will have more attachment to what is being said. Levin is particularly leaning to an audience based in the United States because he uses an allusion to reference an event that happened within the states and will better relate to the people that were impacted by it. The emotional appeals used in this essay are used for the purpose of persuading the reader to agree that in extreme instances torture is necessary and the United States should begin considering it as a tactic for future cases of extremity. One major eye catching factor of this essay is the repetitive use of words that imply certain stigmas.

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971 Words | 4 Pages

In Michael Levin's The Case for Torture, Levin provides an argument in which he discusses the significance of inflicting torture to perpetrators as a way of punishment. In his argument, he dispenses a critical approach into what he believes justifies torture in certain situations. Torture is assumed to be banned in our culture and the thought of it takes society back to the brutal ages. He argues that societies that are enlightened reject torture and the authoritative figure that engage in its application risk the displeasure of the United States. In his perspective, he provides instances in which wrongdoers put the lives of innocent people at risk and discusses the aspect of death and idealism.

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While analyzing “The Torture Myth” and “The Case for Torture”, it is very clear to see the type of rhetorical appeals used to persuade the audience. Anne Applebaum, the writer of “The Torture Myth” --in context of the decision of electing a new Attorney General--would argue that torture is very seldomly effective, violates a person’s rights, and should be outlawed due to the irrational need upon which physical torture is used. On the other hand, Michael Levin strongly argues that physical torture is crucial to solving every imminent danger to civilians. Levin claims that if you don’t physically torture someone, you are being weak and want to allow innocent people to die over something that could have been simply done.

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In medieval times, torture was used to punish criminals, deter crime, and gather information. There were many different types of tortures, most of which were brutal and painful. At the time, torture was deemed necessary to maintain order. Laws were harsh and torture was severe, but effective form of punishment. Despite its effectiveness, torture was often an unfair and extremely cruel punishment, and should have been eliminated in all forms.

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Percy Jackson has had ADHD and dyslexia all his life and been kicked out of countless schools-accept this time it’s not his fault. An evil math teach transform into a furry and attacks him, he kills it with a pen( that transform into a sword) that his teacher gives to him. He goes home to his mom and abusive stepdad, he goes on vacation and his car is attack and his mom tells him he not normal-he’s a demigod half mortal half god and there is a safe haven called camp half-blood and monsters can smell him because his god side. The monster kidnaps his mom and in revenge he kills the monster right by the camp.

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Over one-fourth of the cases overturned each year are due to a forced confession (Innocence Project). Yet, forced confessions due to intense interrogation are prevalent throughout the investigative community. Interrogation is not only used in investigations today but was also used during The Salem Witch Trials which can be seen in Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. Due to the use of interrogation and the presence of false confessions in investigations, it is necessary to examine the following research question: To what degree are the Salem Witch Trials affected by forced confessions?

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My opposition to torture fall under the beliefs of the absolutist Kant, who states that no matter what the circumstance is, something that is wrong will always be wrong (Boothe 2006, 12). Therefore, concerning the issue of torture, in this world or any other world, torture is immoral. In this paper, I will employ the ethical frameworks of virtue, rights, and fairness to argue against torture when viewed from the perspective of the victim, the torturer, and any outside source. Furthermore, I will dismantle the ticking-bomb scenario by deducing the incapability to achieve full certainty deeming these scenarios unrealistic.

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1055 Words | 5 Pages

Dershowitz argues that there are two ways to deal with a ticking bomb terrorist, besides doing nothing and letting innocent people die. These options include continuing to torture behind closed door or to utilize torture and make this information open to the

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1429 Words | 6 Pages

Regarding tortures conducted by American military in Iraq, Ignatieff (Ibid, p.24) indicates the U.S.’s self-contradiction by stating “a country that thinks it is too virtuous, too exceptional, to pay respect to the Geneva Conventions and begins to write its own rules about detention, interrogation, and special status can end up violating every value it holds dear”. Hancock (2007, p.53) also wrote that, while human rights violations in friendly countries are overlooked “as counter terrorism, cultural diversity, necessary acts of self-defense, unproved allegations, tragic mistakes or as regrettable exceptions to an otherwise improving trend” and those acts in “states of peripheral concern to Washington policymakers” are simply ignored even if those are severe, those in enemy counties are “selectively highlighted…as proof of evil and repressive regimes”. Thus, the U.S. has created its own standards distinctively applied to itself and its allies, and its enemies (Hoffmann, 2005; Ignatieff, 2005; Hancock, 2007), and the language of human rights has utilized as technique to legitimize the standards and foreign policies based on those standards (Hancock,

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930 Words | 4 Pages

As geology strongly proclaims that each piece of land has undergone and will continue to undergo great physical changes, we may expect to see changes amongst organisms that would be varied under the influence of nature, in the same manner as they generally would have under the changed conditions of domestication. Second to that if there were to be any variability in nature it would be a product of the unaccountable fact of natural selection or survival of the fittest. It has often been stated that the amount of change within nature is strictly, meaning that organisms and plants can only undergo a certain amount of change at any one time. Modern day man is able to act on external characters and can produce a great result within a short period

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Ethics and the search for a good moral foundation first drew me into the world of philosophy. It is agreed that the two most important Ethical views are from the world’s two most renowned ethical philosophers Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. In this paper, I will explore be analyzing Mill’s Greatest Happiness Principle and Kant’s Categorical Imperative. In particular, I want to discuss which principle provides a better guideline for making moral decisions. And which for practical purposes ought to be taught to individuals.

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