The Case For Torture Case Study

Torturing is a Psychological Behavior “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin introduces the topic of torture as an acceptable measure for preventing future evil. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, torture is the act or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone as a punishment that forces them to do or say something, or for the pleasure of the person inflicting the pain. Victims may be tortured for various reasons, such as for the tormentor’s own pleasure, a motive for revenge, or the need to obtain answers. At some point in life, everyone has thoughts of torturing another individual, especially when experiencing traumatic events or simply seeking for revenge. Stanley Milgram’s Shock Experiment, the Iraqi Prisoner, and Philip

It was a group of average healthy, intelligent, middle class males who were then divided into two groups by a flip of the coin. They were randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners. The prisoners were to be living in an environment with no clocks, view of the outside world, and with minimal sensory stimulation. It was a natural instinct for a prisoner to feel humiliated when being stripped, delousing, and shaving the prisoner’s head (“Stanford Prison Experiment”). They were then issued a uniform in which the main part was a dress with no underclothing to put on, the chain on their ankle, and hair covered with stocking cap made from a woman 's nylon stocking which made these men felt more like a woman than a man. Whereas, the guards were given no specific training on how to be a guard so that they can make up their own set of rules. The first day of the experiment went normal since many weren’t used to their roles yet; however, on the second morning prisoners began to remove their stocking caps, ripped off their numbers, and barricaded themselves inside the cells. This action had angered

For further proof, Levin has claimed that torture is the right method to use in preventing future evil since he believed that “once you concede that torture is justified in extreme cases, you have admitted that the decision to use torture is a matter of balancing innocent lives against the means needed to save them” (Michael Levin: The Case for Torture). However, torturing another person can lead to self destruction since the situation will just change the individual into a cruel person who does inhumane acts without actually being aware of what he or she is doing. Yes, it is true that torturing a criminal can help seek answers in order to help save millions of lives; however, it is morally wrong to torture a person because there is a possibility that the criminal doesn 't actually know or have answers to questions. According to Sigmund Freud, all humans have hidden desires in their unconscious mind, meaning they have inappropriate thoughts and desires that are morally wrong to be done in action. The unconscious mind holds strong feelings of thoughts and urges that are outside of conscious awareness causing individuals to lose