ipl-logo

Ethical Use Of Torture Essay

583 Words3 Pages

Introduction The number of mass causality attacks, both those committed by terrorists and mentally ill people, have been on the rise since the 1990s. The international community has waged war against the states which sponsor terrorism; this has left many families without their sons and daughters who enlisted with the armies of their respective countries to defend their homeland. As seen by the Iraq and Afghanistan war, they have not been a successful mean of stoping terrorism. Utilitarian philosophers have argued that waging wars may not be the best way of responding to these threats. Supported by Jeramy Bentham, Charles Stuart Mill, and David Hume torture can be an ethical way in which a state could extract the necessary information, to stop the next terror, or mass causality, attacks. Bentham did so by introducing the world to what he calls the Hedonic calculus, which is other wise known as the utilitarian calculus. Mill by arguing that happiness, a notion introduced by Bentham which the calculus is based on, was to wide of a concept. And Hume by introducing the concept …show more content…

The Bush Administration managed to argue that water boarding was not torturing, since it was not causing any lasting physiological pains. However, in order to defend the use of torture, I shall define torture as any voluntary act that causes physiological or psychological harm to another person, without the said person being able to defend him or herself, in order to extract information which could possibly lead to saving lives. In other words, the person who is being tortured has to be a detainee. With this definition, then what the Bush Administration was doing would have been torture, and by using Hedonic Calculus, one can justify the ethicality of using torture as a mean of information extraction that could possibly save

Show More
Related
185 Words | 1 Pages

In the article “The Case for Torture”, Michael Levin argues that the use of torture as a way to save lives is justifiable and necessary. Levin draws a series of cases where torture might be acceptable so as to set certain precedent for the justification of torture in more realistic cases. HoweverLevin illustrates three cases where torture might be justifiable.he describes a terrorist keeping city of millions hostage to an atomic bomb, the second, a terrorist who has implanted remote bombs on a plane and the third, a terrorist who has kidnapped a baby. torture and its consequences have been recorded in countries around of world over a vast span of time, and for a variety of reasons. Levin makes no such attempt to expand his article beyond

Read More
1694 Words | 7 Pages

Many have said that they would want nonlethal torture to be used in such cases but “did not want torture to be officially recognized by our legal system.” Similar statements have posited that while “torture might be necessary in a given situation it could never be right.” This approach, that of keeping torture off-the-books, is in direct conflict with the necessity for accountability and transparency in a democracy. A democracy cannot work if the public is kept in the dark. The public must know what is going on in order to approve or disapprove.

Read More
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.

Read More
1163 Words | 5 Pages

In the case that there is sufficient evidence of guilt as well as coconspirators, torture may be allowed but none that is inhumane. Document B: The Massachusetts Body of Liberties allows torture in the case that somebody is deemed guilty by clear evidence. In the Laws of Connecticut Colony, no torture is allowed whatsoever. Document C: Mather advises judges to continue the regular American method of obtaining confessions and to abstain from torture, for confusion is more likely to get a confession than torture. Document D: Henry warns that Congress will attempt to extort confession by practicing torture.

Read More
1134 Words | 5 Pages

Memos circulating the Bush Administration, aptly titled “torture memos” describe a series of internal memos passed around White House officials discussing the legality of torture. The earliest memorandums, occurring in January 2002, discussed the intricacies mentioned above in the Geneva Conventions and argued for the legality of interrogation of “illegal combatants.” In March 2003, a memorandum by the Defense Department legal task force declared the president was not bound by international or federal anti-torture laws. A month later, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld sent a memorandum to General James Hill of the US Southern Command outlining permitted interrogation techniques. This memo appears to take great care to ensure these techniques aren’t technically torture and to point out certain techniques which are commonly seen as

Read More
2035 Words | 9 Pages

“So, what is the score for this wine?” asked by one of my customer after I extensively explained to him about the particular wine that he had in his hand. It didn't really matter to him who made the wine, what was the story behind it, or even how it would paired up with the dinner that he had planned tonight. None of that mattered to him other than the score that had been given to this wine by one of the leading wine critics. If that's the case, why should I bothered to learned about wine day and night? I could just stick one of the shelf talker and be done with it.

Read More
1050 Words | 5 Pages

Applebaum has plenty of evidence to back up her claim that physical torture is not effective, and there are many other ways to obtain information. While the fear-encouraging and questioning elements are potent to many who are afraid of terror committed against them, but when the overwhelming sentiment of Levin’s argument is being compared to the logic and ethical points of Applebaum it is clear to see the superiority of her argument. Although Levin would advocate for physical torture in extreme situations, one must expect extreme consequences. Physical torture is rarely effective, violates rights, and damages a whole nation’s credibility. This is why physical torture should not be

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

After a terrorist attack of any kind there are always consequences that must be faced. Sometimes the point of the terrorist attacks is because the organization wished to send a message or to influence policy in their favor. However, after the 9/11 attacks administrators realized that the United States was not prepared for a tragedy of this kind and had little to no measures to prevent one, this lead them to create new programs and policies. Terrorist organization’s goal often comes down to one of the following: regime change, territorial change, policy change, social control and status quo maintenance. The main purpose of a terror attack may well be to influence public policy.

Read More
1032 Words | 5 Pages

2016). Using this ethical framework to argue against torture, one needs to consider the violation of the terrorist’s rights. Utilitarians argue that under a scenario where thousands of people are in danger, the well-being of the larger community is more important than neglecting the rights of a single individual (Krauthammer 2005). The simple idea of taking away a person’s autonomy for the sake of others violates rights ethics. To comprehend the violation upon the victim’s rights, it is important to understand how torture feels, “Brian describes his body as having become an object… pain is the central reality; it dominates experience and expression (Wisnewski 2010, 81).”

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

In this article the author asks the question as to whether torture is a viable source in getting information. Since there is other moral ways of getting information. Some of these methods have shown to be more efficient. They also leave the victim’s mind intact. Janoff-Bulman, Ronnie.

Read More
1082 Words | 5 Pages

There are many interpretations of what torture is and how something can be classified as torture. In “Believe Me It’s Torture” Christopher Hitchens talks about the United States and its various uses of interrogation tactics to get Important information from suspected terrorists. In the article the author often brings up the waterboarding tactic that is often used and how there is a large controversy over whether it is in fact torture or if it is just simply harmless. The article states, “waterboarding was something that Americans did to other Americans, it was inflicted upon and endured by the Special Forces in a form of training called S.E.R.E (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape) so that they could build up a resistance to it so that they

Read More
1181 Words | 5 Pages

The top four most brutal torture tactics would probably be “the tub”, “The Guillotine”, and “impalement”, and the rat torture. These four torture tactics, well two of the three are extremely

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

officials had assured others that their interrogation tactics would not cause any psychological harm. However, reports from the Senate proved this to be incorrect. In 2014, the Senate Committee released a Torture Report which enlisted details about the CIA’s torturing methods, which had confirmed speculations of the bay’s cruel and inhuman treatment of prisoners. In page four of the report, the Senate claims that the interrogation methods must always reflect the U.S. as a nation, and adhere to their standards and laws.

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

In 2003 the US military relied on the confession taken from Sheikh al-Libi in which it was claimed that Iraq supplied both chemical and biological weapons to Al Qaeda. This testimony was used in the month leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Later al-Libi retracted his statement saying that he did so in order to make the torture stop. This is a clear example of the ineffectiveness of torture and the bad consequences it can often produce. The CIA had forgotten its own conclusion, sent to congress in 1989, that ‘inhumane physical or psychological techniques are counterproductive because they do not produce intelligence and will probably result in false answers.’

Read More
955 Words | 4 Pages

Torture is universally prohibited in both national and International law worldwide. It is a fundamental violation of human rights that cannot be derogated from. Essentially, torture is said to constitute any physical and mental act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted upon a person ( UNCAT).Torture is mainly used for purposes that are set out to degraded, embarrass, and induce destruction in the person being subjected to torture and those in close relation to the person being tortured .Torture is a mechanism used by those in authoritative positions to preserve themselves in power (Power, 2006:2). Despite the universal prohibition on torture, its use has been widespread throughout history, and especially of late in the wake of September 11 2001 and other recent terrorist atrocities to combat the aforementioned heinous terrorist attacks.

Read More

More about Ethical Use Of Torture Essay

Related Topics

Open Document