ipl-logo

Pros And Cons Of Torture

902 Words4 Pages

Morgan Poston
Professor Wilson
PHI 220 01 DT Ethics
20 November, 2015
We Tortured Some Folks…. Is it morally right to torture people? In a recent poll taken in over a half dozen countries it was found that there was a large amount of support for “justified torture” (Petersen). What this means is that a large portion of the worlds countries believe torture is acceptable in extreme situations. The ticking time bomb scenario is one of the most used arguments for torture (McCoy). Torture one person to save the lives of thousands? Or don’t torture the person, and thousands die. I would argue against the torture, but for now let’s look at what famous philosopher Jeremy Bentham might do. To begin with Bentham was an act-utilitarian (Russ, “Fundamentals of Ethics”). Which means he believes in bringing about the maximum amount of pleasure to everyone as whole. The idea is to find out how much pain or pleasure a situation causes and the extent at which it reaches, this is done with something called Hedonic calculus (Russ, “Ethical Life”). This is …show more content…

The only known instance that this happened and supposedly was averted due to torture was in Manila in 1995 when Abdul Hakim Murad was apprehended and then tortured (McCoy). This turned out to be totally fabricated, and it was later revealed that they learned all the information necessary within minutes of seizing him and his laptop, which coincidently had the entire plot for the bombing on it (McCoy). This man was held for 67 days, beaten repeatedly, and it’s reported that they put cigarettes out on his genitals (McCoy). For me this points out the obvious issue for abusing the power given to someone who is allowed to torture people. If you allow someone to commit harm to someone else or even worse, pay them to do it, they will likely become good at it. This could ruin their sense of morality. Then how can you trust them to the exact thing you wanted them to

Show More
Related

Summary Of Should The Ticking Bomb Prisoner By Alan Dershowitz

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.

Read More

Rhetorical Analysis: The Case For Torture By Michael Levin

313 Words | 2 Pages

Many people might think that torture is cruel, unacceptable and it does not show humanity. In contrast, Michael Levin says that implementing torture is needed to prevent future evil acts. In “The Case for Torture”, Michael Levin also makes it clear that there are situations in which torture is not merely acceptable but morally necessary. Levin argues that implementing torture to save people lives is morally right and reasonable. Levin’s purpose of his text is to let people know that there are times when torture becomes an option to save and protect innocent lives.

Read More

Michael Levin The Case For Torture Summary

581 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More

Ethical Arguments Against Torture

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

Michael Levin Torture Summary

925 Words | 4 Pages

Will torture ever be acceptable? If there is a critical risk of loss of innocent lives, should torture be a way of saving them? Michael Levin conveys this question to our consideration in a pursuit to sway our viewpoint in his field of view. In this thoroughly written essay, Levin uses various illustrations to show how torture should be considered and would benefit us in the future.

Read More

Summary: The Effectiveness Of Torture

1854 Words | 8 Pages

In discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been whether torture is an effective mean to gain information from terrorists. On the one hand, many people would argue that torture is a very effective mean to gain information. On the other hand, there is a large amount of people who contends that torture is not the only means to gain the same information. My own view is that there are better ways to gain information from terrorists other than torturing them. I disagree with torture being an effective mean to gain information because; as recent research has shown it can be ineffective.

Read More

Ethical Issues In The Detainee Camp

1205 Words | 5 Pages

Torture isn't just wrong morally but legally according to the Geneva Convention and needs to end. There is no guarantee that torture actually

Read More

Annotated Bibliography On Torture

962 Words | 4 Pages

"Erroneous Assumptions: Popular Belief in the Effectiveness of Torture Interrogation." Peace & Conflict 13.4 (2007): 429-435. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

Read More

Vietnam War Torture Essay

795 Words | 4 Pages

Torture is a grim and controversial aspect of humanity that has, unfortunately, found a place in the history of the United States. Despite the nation's foundation on principles of liberty, justice, and the rule of law, there have been numerous instances where these ideals were compromised through the use of torture. The paradox of a country that puts human rights on such a high pedestal while simultaneously engaging in practices that violate these very rights presents a significant moral and ethical dilemma. From the early colonial period, through the disastrous times of war, to the modern era of complex society, the history of torture in the United States is both a reflection of the United State’s darkest moments and a test of its resolve

Read More

Kantian Duty-Based Ethics Of Torture

586 Words | 3 Pages

Torture is when an individual or group of individuals cause harm, severe pain on someone while they force the person to speak or do something unwillingly. However, in America, individuals are protected by torture, because of the Bill of Rights. According to Luban, (2007) “Our Bill of Rights forbids cruel and unusual punishment, and that has come to include all forms of corporal punishment except prison and death by methods purr-ported to be painless” (p. 249). Unfortunately, there are many horror stories throughout history that has barbaric and terrible act upon people, because there were people at times who justified torture during certain situations. In such situation as a terrorist attack, an individual may feel that the torture would be justified in order to stop the attack in order to save millions or thousands of lives, may be a justified torture.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Torture

1164 Words | 5 Pages

Torture is an inhumane act that shouldn’t be tolerated and should be banned from any occasion not only because it’s bad, but also because it is immoral. The article, In Defense of the Absolute Prohibition of Torture, explains the flaws of the “ticking bomb” scenario. Jamie Mayerfeld states “People tend to over look the realness and exaggerate on the effectiveness of torture.” When people come to think of a scenario like the ticking bomb, they see thousands of lives being lost and believe that sacrificing one for thousands would be acceptable.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Torture

774 Words | 4 Pages

Torture is frequently seen as ethically wrong, irrespective of the circumstances or possible results, from a deontological perspective. Deontologists contend that torture goes against these core values since all people possess inherent rights and dignity that must be protected. Despite of what possible advantages it could have, torture

Read More

Pros And Cons Of Torture

753 Words | 4 Pages

Torture and its small chance of success 1. Torture is justifiable but only in the most extreme cases. Michael Levin has strong argument supporting this. He sees the need to use torture as a balance between saving innocent lives and what you have to do to be able to save them. It’s a way to prevent disasters and saving valuable lives even if it means hurting the ones who endangered others.

Read More

Torture Is Unethical

2079 Words | 9 Pages

Torture is the action of willingly hurting a person psychologically or physically. The use of torture by individuals, groups, and authorities has been going on from ancient times until today. In the 4th Century, voices started being raised against the use of torture. In fact, well-known philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, revealed the downfalls of torture, “those under compulsion are as likely to give false evidence as true, some being ready to endure everything rather than tell the truth, while others are really ready to make false charges against others, in the hope of being sooner released from torture”. In order to prevent further terrorist attacks, the CIA had to practice unethical questioning methods such as psychological techniques, sensory bombardment consisting of subjecting the tortured to continuous extremely

Read More

Persuasive Essay On Torture

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 Pros And Cons Of Torture

Related Topics

Open Document