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Michael Levin The Case For Torture Summary

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Torture Explanation The Case for Torture is an article written by Michael Levin in which he discusses why torture should be used by the American government. He makes his case by stating highly unlikely hypothetical situations in which torture would be useful. I agree with the majority of the actual reasonable points that Levin uses in the article. Although torturing is considered wrong by many people today, I agree with Michael Levin that torture should be an option in certain situations because it could save the lives of American people. Levin says in his article “Torturing a terrorist unconstitutional? Probably. But millions of lives surely outweigh constitutionality (Levin 605).” I disagree with this statement that he made. A terrorist of the united states that is willing to harm or even kill innocent people does not deserve the rights of an American citizen. He doesn’t not have constitutional rights therefore it is not unconstitutional to …show more content…

I agree with the point he made but his example sounds just like the movie nonstop and that is extremely unlikely to happen. A situation that happened in real life a few years ago supports this point. A couple years ago after the Boston Marathon bombing, the government was searching for the bombers. There was a man hunt underway and the wife of one of the bombers was being questioned. The bombers were heading to New York City with more bombs and a plan to blow up more innocent people. The wife knew more information than she was giving, we could have chosen to torture her for more information. This situation supports Levin’s idea of torturing in order to keep innocent American citizens safe from

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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

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1694 Words | 7 Pages

Alan Dershowitz begins his article “ Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist Be Tortured” by questioning whether one person can be tortured to save the lives of many others. Dershowitz displays both sides of the argument before shifting the question. Dershowitz asserts that the question is not if torture should be used on a ticking bomb terrorist, rather the question is whether the torture is done openly under a legal framework or secretly and illegally. He then simplifies the conflict to the prioritization of values. While the argument that Dershowitz constructs seems to leave very little room for disagreement, there are ways in which to collapse his entire premise.

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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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686 Words | 3 Pages

Marzieh Ghiasi is a female Muslim college student who wrote a rebuttal to Levin 's Case for Torture where she uses logic to deconstruct his argument and prove that torture is not an acceptable practice. Both of their papers are good arguments and have great points to support them, but ultimately, I would say that Levin’s argument on torture being morally acceptable is the better argument. Levin uses many examples and devices to fill his article with Pathos as Ghiasi has a Logos approach but doesn’t have very many devices throughout her article to support her argument. Levin uses many hyperbolic situations that he uses to explain when and why torture would be acceptable.

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1897 Words | 8 Pages

Do you own yourself?” with ____. Finally Mike Lyoko earns ___, for “A Noble Sacrifice for the right to bear AK-47s.” Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture” is the first article up for discussion. Overall Levin outclasses his peers in terms of writing, argumentation, and rhetoric.

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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

Levin provides life threatening situations to speak out to those who are more strongly opinionated. In this instance Levin states that a terrorist has placed a bomb on an Island and is about to detonate it. The only way to prevent the detonation of the device is adherence to the demands that the terrorist provides (Levin 359). While analyzing the viewpoint and the tone of the writer, it is clear that he is afraid failure to follow the demands of the criminal would lead to the loss of many lives. He affirms that in his personal beliefs this case falls under the jurisdiction to torture such criminals, since it seems to be the only way to save the lives of the innocent.

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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

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673 Words | 3 Pages

Levin believes it is efficient way to get information from terrorists. In his example of the atomic bomb in Manhattan, Levin makes the point that millions of lives are worth more than the life of the person who is causing the threat. He believes that torture should only be used to require information, not as a punishment for the already guilty. He also believes that the prisoner should be obviously guilty. When Levin asked the mothers if torture would be okay in the instance that they took their baby, would it be okay?

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1032 Words | 5 Pages

Krauthammer’s main arguments to justify torture centers on the ticking-bomb scenario, which occurs when the interrogator only has a few minutes to find out the location of an attack or the place of the bomb (Moser et al. 2016). Krauthammer argues that there is no

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777 Words | 4 Pages

The readers can tell that in the book The Case Torture the author is for one side of the story and the arguments he makes through the whole story makes the readers think about the side that he chose. Just like in the first paragraph when the author said “suppose a terrorist has hidden an atomic bomb on Manhattan island which will detonate at noon on July 4 unless… (Here follow the usual demands for money and release of his friends from jail). Suppose, further, that he is caught at 10 A.M. of the fateful day, but- preferring death to failure- won’t disclose where the bomb is. ”(Lavin 605) The author give an example of when he feels like it would be right to use torture as a of getting the truth out, and in this example he is trying to persuade

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962 Words | 4 Pages

Annotated Bibliography-“How effective is torture in obtaining information?” “Brown Note” Myth Busters. Discovery channel. Artarmon 16 Feb. 2005. Television.

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1148 Words | 5 Pages

Research Paper Introduction and aim This research paper aims to analyze the book "Perks of Being a Wallflower" and the film "Moonlight", which both depict the lives and vulnerability of queer characters. My study will investigate how the queer characters in the different stories are negatively impacted by the norms of a heteronormative society as a result of their non-conformity. Furthermore, queer theory will be used to analyze the result, which criticizes society's gender and sexuality norms. As such, the meaning of this paper is to provide a deeper understanding of the impact of societal norms on queer individuals' lives and how it relates to theory.

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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.

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1005 Words | 5 Pages

In Defense of Torture “Because It Is Wrong:” A Meditation on Torture Rules Should Govern Torture, Dershowitz Says What ethical arguments are being made? Torture is okay to use. Torture is wrong. Torture should be okay in some circumstances

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