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Abu Ghraib Book Report

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The modern day world has seen and heard of so much evil that some of us have become numb to it, and begin instead to see evil as normal or ordinary in this lifetime. Almost everyday, we hear about mass shootings, bombings, murders, stabbings, and many more horrendous acts of violence. Numerous public figures, leaders, and passionate peace-makers have dedicated their lives trying to understand how a so-called “normal” human being can commit these crimes so ruthlessly. The answer lies in what we do with the evil that so evidently exists- do we ignore it and let it continue, or do we try and understand its complexity in detail in order to prevent these acts of evil from occurring so often? One fearless researcher who continuously succeeds in …show more content…

Abu Ghraib was used by military personnel from the United States (US) Army to house approximately 7,490 prisoners from the war in Iraq in March of 2004. Countless cases of physical, psychological and sexual abuse were committed by members of the US military. It was only until April of 2004 that extremely graphic photographs, depicting what was really going on in Abu Ghraib came to the media’s attention when a news report was released. Of course, the military officers were put to justice and stood in front of a jury, for their prison sentences to be determined based on the crimes they committed in the Prison. During this time, Zimbardo himself was an expert witness at the court, defending Sgt. Ivan Frederick (one of the guards at Abu Ghraib). Zimbardo argued that Sgt. Frederick’s sentence should be less harsh that what was originally suggested, since very few people would be able successfully resist the “situational pressures” of a prison of such an environment. However, Frederick’s plea was automatically denied, and he was sent off with the maximum sentence of 8 years. It was from his involvement and experience in this particular case (along with his Stanford Prison Experiment study) that Philip Zimbardo wrote his book “The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil”. The significance of the events that occurred at the Abu Ghraib Prison is evident as Zimbardo goes on to mention his realization that the happenings are directly parallel to the results found during the Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE). He points out that just like the unprepared US Military personnel in Abu Ghraib, the students chosen to play the roles of guards in the SPE were forced to operate the

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In contrast, “The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror” focuses on the history of mass death goes back as far as 500 years ago. Sartwell cited some historical events that happened, including the Cambodian Killing Field, Nazi Holocaust, Cultural Revolution, Belgians vs. Congolese and the African Slave Trade. In his article, Sartwell assumes that authority especially hierarchies is the most “evil” thing in our society. Sartwell also states that all humans are "evil” (Sartwell), but then ask if evil is something that is learned behavior through institutional means, for example through media and bureaucracy.

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Whether working with a co-worker, learning with a classmate or hanging out with a friend, the thought of any of them having the potential to be evil does not cross the mind. Everyday people are not typically evil beings, but if people are not evil beings then why do they commit actions like torture, killing and genocide? Could it be that the certain people committing the acts are just monsters deep inside, or could the actions be mere products of circumstance? In his article "The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror", Crispin Sartwell, a journalist and philosopher, advises his audience to take a look at the heinous acts people have committed throughout history as a way to show us how anyone could commit evil acts, including ourselves. Marianne Szegedy-Maszak,

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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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751 Words | 4 Pages

Neither one of the circumstances was ethical at any point and had been publicized by the media for its explicit type of interrogation methods as well as sadistic behavior. In particular, Phil Zimbardo has argued that the study shows that strong situational forces can override individual differences in personality and moral values. In Abu Ghraib, soldiers were inserted into the role of prison guards and began to sadistically torment prisoners there and at other detention sites in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many of the specific acts of humiliation were similar to those that transpired in the Stanford Prison Experiment, according to Zimbardo. This theory has been challenged by allegations by Seymour Hersh, in the New Yorker, that these soldiers were in fact acting under direct orders of their superiors as part of a top secret Pentagon intelligence gathering program authorized by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld.

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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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1050 Words | 5 Pages

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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EVIL AS AN INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY IN LORD OF THE FLIES BY WILLIAM GOLDING INTRODUCTION There is a constant tension or conflict between good and evil in the world. At times evil appears to be so dominant and powerful that we may even think evil to be supreme. But, sooner or later the momentary supremacy of the evil gives way to the ultimate triumph of good. We often blame the society or the political system for the evils that are being perpetrated in the world.

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This experiment was conducted in Stanford University by Dr. Zimbardo. During this two week long session, Dr. Zimbardo had several volunteers agree to act as prisoners and as prison guards. The prisoners were told to wait in their houses while the guards were to set up the mock prison, a tactic used by Dr. Zimbardo to make them fit into their roles more. The official police apprehended the students assigned to the role of prisoner from their homes, took mug shots, fingerprinted them, and gave them dirty prison uniforms. The guards were given clean guard uniforms, sunglasses, and billy clubs borrowed from the police.

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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).”

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Although everyone has the capacity to act good, there is also evil within everyone and it is only

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He continues with observations of the first day of testing by quoting certain guard’s conversations with each other and prisoners. Proceeding, Zimbardo points out a riot initiated by the prisoners that was quickly snuffed out by the guards. He also emphasizes the point, “We were forced to release prisoner 8612 because of extreme depression…” Following the quote Zimbardo describes diary entries by one guard which explain a dramatic shift in mood in the guards. Zimbardo finishes his article with reasoning behind early termination of the experiment and expressed his regret of running the experiment.

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599 Words | 3 Pages

They also concluded that the environment of the prison played a vital role in the way the guards treated the prisoners. It is believed that this experiment changed the way some U.S. prisons are

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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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Many people state that they would be resistant to the ideas expressed by Milgram and Zimbardo and that they would stay true to personal conviction, but yet situations like Abu Ghraib still arise. As Fromm would seem to agree with, people should take a step back and ask why they commit to the actions they are performing, and justify it to their own

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1231 Words | 5 Pages

The Stanford Prison Experiment conducted by psychologist Philip Zimbardo in 1971 illustrated the direct relationship between power of situations and circumstances to shape an individual’s behavior. During this study 24 undergraduates were grouped into roles of either a Prisoner or a Guard, the study was located in a mock correctional facility in the basement of Stanford University. Researchers then observed the prisoners and guards using hidden cameras. The study was meant to last two weeks. However, the brutality of the Guards and the suffering of the Prisoners was so intense that it had to be terminated after only six days.

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