Is It Ethical To Torture Terrorists

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There are thousands of pressing issues in today’s society through changes in leadership and evolving ideals around the globe. One of the most prominent issues in the United States today is terrorism, and how to handle the threats of danger to the infrastructure and citizens of America. With previous scares concerning Al Qaeda and now the imposing dangers of ISIS, many United States citizens live in fear of terrorists attacks. One question that seems to puzzle many is: Is it ethical to torture terrorists in order to extract information? In order to promote the well-being of many, I believe it is acceptable to torture terrorists to gain life-saving information. Mill’s Utilitarianism concepts and way of thinking would acknowledge that in the case of extracting crucial information concerning national safety, torture would be an acceptable choice concerning terrorists. Utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism that focuses on the outcomes of decisions in order to determine if they are ethical or not. This theory comes to the conclusion that …show more content…

By uncovering a plan for a terrorist attack they will be able to prevent that attack from happening. If they were able to shut down the terrorist organization altogether it could prevent countless more terrorist attacks in the future. This could save the lives of millions of people. The lives of the people who were saved would create a considerable amount of happiness. This would extend even farther into the lives of their families and loved ones who would be distraught if they were killed. By continuing to have their family members there would be even more happiness. By torturing the terrorists, or even if it took torturing a hundred terrorists, the happiness of the millions of lives saved would greatly outweigh the misfortune of the

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