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The case for torture
“the case for torture” summary
“the case for torture” summary
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Torture: the action or practice of inflicting severe pain for punishment or to force them to say or do something (Oxford Dictionary). Torture can be mental or physical , but is it alright to use torture at all or is it inhumane? If a terrorist knew where the bombs placed throughout America were located. This man is refusing to give any information to any of the interrogation techniques. Just hours away there will be an explosion killing millions of people throughout America alone. Every detective working (secretly) on this case has tried every interrogation technique they were ever taught, even some they made up their self. Although there is one that they have not done. Would torture save the lives of millions of innocent men, women and children? This essay is going to state the reasons why torture should be acceptable in certain situations.
First, torture can be used to quickly gather reliable information.Most criminals all have a wide mind set of information. A fugitive under pressure may give officers more information than they even knew to ask (Messerli 4). The correct information is important in generally everything. The reliability of information can make or break a sports injury, or it could save or kill many lives. Torture gives the tortured many reasons to tell the right information. If the criminal gives the correct data it can guarantee many lives (Messerli 1). A common question when dealing with the topic torture is, “Why would criminals give in to torture?” Well, Criminals, fugitives, terrorists, whatever you decide to call them are also people. All people no matter what your feelings are can although feel, therefore no matter who the person, torture would be painful. Human’s natural instinct is to stop the pain, men...
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...t has come to our attention that there are bombs set all over the country ready to explode. One man knows who these Muslim terrorist is And decides to tell the officials (McCoy 1). Finally officers capture the terrorists and is put in custody. With anything the detectives try to do the terrorist will not give any information whatsoever. For many hours of trying to interrogate the terrorist getting nowhere. Finally the officers get a call that half the country is in pieces. Would the use of torture save millions of lives?
In conclusion, torture can be very useful in gathering information and using as punishment for those who commit heinous crimes. Even though, there are no set rules for torturing and shows a bad reputation. One of the most popular ideas is the ticking time bomb method. Therefore, torture is acceptable in certain cases. Torture Helps our live succeed.
If one is willing to harm thousands of people without the thought of repercussions of his or her actions, they have extraordinarily little care for their own lives and in turn would die before retracting their beliefs. So yes, the threat of someone harming thousands of people will always remain, but torture may not be the answer to that predicament. Works Cited Levin, Michael. A. “The Case for Torture.” Newsweek 7 June, 1982: n.pag.
Torture is the intentional infliction of extreme physical suffering on some non-consenting, defenseless person. Torture in any form is used to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure.
Until there is a credible way to determine whether or not torture is in fact effective, I pass judgment that the practice should be discontinued. The question as to if the torture policy is a human rights violation or if it holds crucial necessity, is not answered in the essay. Applebaum explores the reality that torture possesses negative implications on the inflictor. After presented with the compelling stance and evidence, Applebaum raises the interesting question as to why so much of society believes that torture is successful. I agree that the torture policy is wrong, a point emphasized by Applebaum, contrary to the popular attitude surrounding the topic.
...less outside of intimidation. Currently we are debating whether torture would be a useful tool in society, but some have solved the answer for us many years ago. Those who commit crimes are often willing to sacrifice their life to keep the secret. Torture simply lowers us to their standards and facilitates increased terrorist activity in the long run. Why put salt on the wound when you have a Band-aid? Torturing cannot be morally justified.
Consider the following situation: You are an army officer who has just captured an enemy soldier who knows where a secret time bomb has been planted. Unless defused, the bomb will explode, killing thousands of people. Would it be morally permissible to torture them to get him to reveal the bomb’s location? Discuss this problem in light of both Utilitarian and Kantian moral theories and present arguments from both moral perspectives for why torture is morally wrong.
To begin on, Torture could have saved many lives in past scenarios. Many terrible terrorist attacks could have been prevented with torture. According to former Vice President Dick Cheney "the enhanced interrogation program" stopped "a great many" 9/11-like attacks. He also stated the rest of the documents were classified. Some people also debate that further interrogation could have stopped the 9/11 attacks. Furthermore, many think that the Paris bombings could have been prevented if advanced interrogation methods were used. According to the Boston Globe, “a scenario happened where a young girl was kidnapped and her kidnapper was apprehended. He had buried her with only a couple hours of air and she was saved by advanced interrogation methods. This shows that multiple past terror or kidnapping incidents could have been prevented with the use of advanced interrogation methods which can save lives and prevent unnecessary terror. On the other hand, Many future attacks could be prevented also with the use of advanced interrogation methods. A study from Hopkins University shows that “every time a person is waterboarded 3 lives are saved. Also, when the word gets out to terrorists it scares them to face that fate. Another study from the Pentagon also stated: “our methods deter terrorists”. This also leads to the stopping of attacks and the ending of organizations. This information hints at advanced interrogation methods stopping future terrorist attacks and stopping people from becoming terrorists. Lastly, Terrorists have been quitting because of the United State’s use of advanced interrogation on terrorists. Statistics have shown that most terrorists in the middle east join because they need money for their families. Studies have shown that many men in terrorist organizations will quit once one of their friends is subject to the advanced interrogation methods.
As we analyze this scenario through the eyes of Kantian Deontology, it is imperative that we recognize that, for our purposes, the lives of the civilians in question are irrelevant. This is because, as stated earlier, the consequences of one’s actions are meaningless; it is only the intent and will that truly matter in deciding an actions morality. We are only concerned with discerning the moral nature of torture itself. By removing the possibility of a terrible outcome, Kant leads us to a clear verdict on torture. In response to the first question that Kantian’s must ask themselves, it appears that torture fails. Torture is certainly not a maxim that many would want to will into the natural law. The second formulation of the categorical imperative, the basis of the second question that Kantian’s need to consider, is where torturing for information is declared absolutely impermissible. By torturing someone for information, specifically the location of several bombs, we are disregarding their rational autonomy by using them merely as a means only (Reitan). There is one scenario where the torture of the criminal could be considered morally acceptable. This is supported by Kant’s stance on capital punishment. Some may find this surprising, but Immanuel Kant was a
Now whether we should still use torture despite knowing it is morally wrong is another debate, but torture being wrong is irrefutable. It’s like how the professor of moral philosophy at Union university David P Gushee put it “Torture Violates the dignity of human being, Torture mistreats the vulnerable and violates the demands of justice, Torture dehumanizes the torturer, and torture erodes the character of the nation it tortures.” The professor makes excellent points because when you torture someone you’re violating their dignity, and you’re treating them like an object and not a person. Torturing also changes the torturer imagine how it feels to inflict pain on another human being until you can get him to crack.
...ms of the existence of the bomb, the information held by the suspect, the ineffectiveness of other methods compared with the effectiveness of torture to extract information, and the ability to prevent mass destruction. Additionally, there are many implications of legitimizing torture in the wider context that must be considered, as these implications of permitting torture can have a larger negative effect than not saving the innocent. The long-term results of torture heavily outweigh the immediate results. However, I understand the intentions of torture if the five conditions previously stated are present. Torture is unjustifiable, however it is important to recognize the justifiable circumstances when it appears. Therefore, after having analyzed the situation, any suspect involved in an act of mass violence has a right and therefore deserves not to be tortured.
Some people argue that the goal of saving innocent lives must overrule a person's right not to be tortured. This argument is presented in its simplest form in the "ticking bomb" situation: an explosive has been set to detonate that will kill thousands of people and a detained person is known to have information on where the bomb is and how to defuse it. Is torture acceptable in such a case to force the convict to talk? Those who say that it is, reason that governments should be permitted to choose torture as the lesser of two evils in such a situation. The global community, however, has forbidden the use of torture even in the "ticking bomb" case. Universal human rights laws, as well as U.S. law, do not have any exceptions to the barring against torture.
What is torture? Torture, as defined by Article 1 of the 1984 Convention Against Torture, is the “cruel, inhumane, or degrading” infliction of severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, on a prisoner to obtain information or a confession, or to mete out a punishment for a suspected crime. Torture is an advanced physical interrogation technique that is more effective than other interrogation methods. Physical torture is the definitive violation of another human beings basic human rights; nothing and nobody has the right to violate them. Nobody has the right to deliberately harm another human being with the objective of causing them physical and emotional pain in hopes of obtaining information that is uncertain. However, some believe that
Torture is a very controversial topic around the world, with perhaps just as much for it as against it. However, the idea of torture in limited circumstances is one that needs to be talked about in order to save thousands of innocent lives. In “A Case for Torture”, written by Mirko Bagaric, the author comes to the conclusion that maybe torture will never be the right option, but it is an option to seriously consider when the lives of innocent people are at stake. Throughout his article, Bagaric makes several persuasive key points on why torture can, in some circumstances, be the right thing to do. Through this article we learn that although torture will never truly be the right thing to do when dealing with crime and war, sometimes it’s a necessary act that we need to accept.
Around the world and around the clock, human rights violations seem to never cease. In particular, torture violations are still rampant all over the world. One regime, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, establishes a strong elaboration of norms against torture. Despite its efforts, many countries still outright reject its policies against torture while other countries openly accept them, but surreptitiously still violate them. The US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia all have failed to end torture despite accepting the provisions of the Convention.
In my opinion, I do not agree to torture suspects and I do not think this way could work well for the terrors. I think this way is inhuman, abusive and cruel and government need to prohibit torture. Some expects address the fact that torture does not help them get the real information. They point out when the prisoners torture, they might tell something wrong because they do not want to suffer anymore even though they do not break the law. In China, in the past, the government also have the torture in order to get the true from the prisoners; however, it turn bad sometimes because it really hurt the prisoners physically and mentally. A lot of innocent people do not want to suffer and admit that it is their mistake. When people suffer the painful,
Torture is the process of inflicting pain upon other people in order to force them to say something against their own will. The word “torture” comes from the Latin word “torquere,” which means to twist. Torture can not only be psychologically but mentally painful. Before the Enlightenment, it was perfectly legal to torture individuals but nowadays, it is illegal to torture anyone under any circumstances. In this essay, I will demonstrate why torture should never acceptable, not matter the condition.