Torture is permissible?
Torture is an unorthodox method that has been used often during the war, and it is a controversial subject about whether torture is permissible or not since 911 (“Counterterrorism Since 9/11: Evaluating the Efficacy of Controversial Tactics”). The exercise of torture tends to begin with acquiring information to prevent opponents to start the attack, and there are many critics that believe that torture is permissible at least during extreme situations (“Torture and the Necessity Doctrine”). According to a BCC survey of views on torturing prisoners in October 2006, more than one out of three people in nine countries considered that torture is somewhat permissible if it can save lives (“Is torture ever justified?”). Moreover, two ethical theories have been used under the debate of whether torture is right or wrong: deontology and utilitarianism (“Torture and the Necessity Doctrine”). In this paper, I will prove that Kantian theory does offer a compelling argument to prove the use of torture, in that Bentham and Mill agree that torture is permissible during certain situations.
Utilitarianism is a theory based on utilizing moral rules to measure the amount of happiness and unhappiness in order to decide whether the action is considered good or bad (Birsch 77). According to Birsch, Jeremy Bentham is a philosopher that focuses his ethical theory on act utilitarianism, and he believes that good actions are when the amount of pleasure is more than the amount of pain that is affected by others (Birsch 77). In addition, Mill believes that it is ethical to have a bad intention of doing certain things with good consequences, but it is unethical to have good intentions with bad consequences (Ethics Lecture on Februar...
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...ounterterrorism since 9/11: Evaluating the Efficacy of Controversial Tactics.” TheBreakThrough.Org. March 14, 2011. Retrieved from March 25, 2014. Web.
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Cohan, John Alan. “Torture and the Necessity Doctrine.” Valparaiso University Law Review. Volume 41, Number 3 2007. Retrieved from March 25, 2014. PDF.
“Philosophy 302: Ethics the Hedonistic Calculus.” Philosophy.lander.eud. 2009. Retrieved from March 25, 2013. Web. < http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/calculus.html>
Cahn, Steven M. and Peter Markie, Ethics: History, Theory and Contemporary Issues. 4th Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Utilitarianism is a moral theory that seeks to define right and wrong actions based solely on the consequences they produce. By utilitarian standards, an act is determined to be right if and only if it produces the greatest total amount of happiness for everyone. Happiness (or utility) is defined as the amount of pleasure less the amount of pain (Mill, 172). In order to act in accordance with utilitarianism, the agent must not only impartially attend to the pleasure of everyone, but they must also do so universally, meaning that everyone in the world is factored into the morality of the action.
Nye, Howard. PHIL 250 B1, Winter Term 2014 Lecture Notes – Ethics. University of Alberta.
Pojman, L. (2002). 6: Utilitarianism. Ethics: discovering right and wrong (pp. 104-113). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Is the intentional pain that an individual experiences justified if there is the potential to save the lives of many? Torture is the most used weapon in the “war against terrorism” but does it work? The purpose of this essay is to identify what the motives for torturing are, the effectiveness of torture, and important issues with the whole process of torture.
Torture is the act of inflicting severe physical or psychological pain, and/or injury to a person (or animal) usually to one who is physically restrained and is unable to defend against what is being done to them. It has ancient origins and still continues today. The torture debate is a controversial subject to modern society. Because it is such a complex subject, many debatable issues come from it. For example, many have debated whether torture is effective in obtaining the truth, affects the torturers, threatens the international standing of the United States, or undermines justice. Others include what qualifies as torture, or whether or not the United States should set an example by not torturing. The two opposing claims to this topic would be: (a) that torture should always be illegal because it is immoral and cruel and goes against the international treaties signed by the U.S. and torture and inhuman treatment, and (b) yes, torture is acceptable when needed. Why not do to terrorists what they are so good at doing to so many others?
Nielsen, Kai. “Traditional Morality and Utilitarianism.” Ethics: The Big Questions. Ed. James Sterba. Blackwell Publishers, 1998. 142-151.
The ethical theory of utilitarianism is associated with the philosopher Jeremy Bentham. Utilitarianism essentially is the theory that good is what causes a person pleasure and evil is what causes a person pain. Bentham’s utilitarianism is sometimes titled Act Utilitarianism because it focuses on individual actions A “right” action, according to Betham, is one that produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. Where a “wrong” action is one that would cause more pain than pleasure. Before a person commits an action, they should look at the consequences that it can have on the individual and others. Hedonic Calculus is a method in determining how much pleasure or pain an action will elicit. Hedonic Calculus consists of seven criteria including intensity, duration, certainty, propinquity, fecundity, purity and extent. Each criteria can be given a score between -10 (worst pain) to +10 (highest pleasure). The action becomes ethical and moral if there is an overall net happiness for everyone that is affected. An acti...
Weston, Anthony. A Practical Companion to Ethics. 4th ed. New York: Oxford UP, 2011. Print.
Crisp, Roger: Routledge philosophy guidebook to Mill on utilitarianism / Roger Crisp. London : Routledge, 1997.
Utilitarianism is a theory aimed at defining one simple basis that can be applied when making any ethical decision. It is based on a human’s natural instinct to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
In his essay “The Case for Torture,” printed in The Norton Reader 13th Edition, Michael Levin argues that torture is justified and necessary under extreme circumstance. He believes that if a person accepts torture to be justified under extreme cases, then the person automatically accepts torture. Levin presents weak argument and he mostly relies on hypothetical scenarios. There is not concrete evidence that torture solves problems and stop crime but rather the contrary. Under international law, torture is illegal and all the United Nation members have to abide by those rules. The use of torture does not keep people safe, but rather the opposite. Torture has a profound effect on democracy. As the use of torture becomes normal in society, the right of the citizen will suffer greatly.
Fieser, J. (2009, 5 10). Ethics. Retrieved 3 26, 2011, from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/
In conclusion, the convention against torture, has brought many people together, and has informed many people of the horrible tortures which go on everywhere from the US to Syria. It has tried to set fine lines which prohibit torture under all circumstances. However, since there is no governing body over countries, it remains difficult to enforce the human right standards sought after by the Convention against torture. The convention has therefore done a good job at identifying the torturers. This has in turn lessened the amount of those persecuted. It will remain a gradual process to eliminate torture from all countries, but nevertheless a necessity, in the quest for universal human rights. Torture will continue until all countries decide for themselves, and not from a third party convention that freedom from torture is a human right everyone deserves.
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.