The Genocidal Killer in the Mirror” by Crispin Sartwell and Erich Fromm’s Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem

From prehistory to 21st century, violence and warfare permeate human existence. Tribes, cities, and nations have pitted their youth against one another in hopes improving their position. However, these Soldiers regularly fall short of maximizing their killing potential. In the book On Killing, Dave Grossman scrupulously examines war throughout recent history; specifically the human element in killing. His thorough assessment of the psychological factors associated with homicide is vitally important to individuals who wish to successfully lead their Soldiers during and after combat. Its ultimate value clearly visible in light of four major facets: the background of the writer, the general points of the book, analysis of essential concepts, and the insight provided.

Applebaum's second argument for eliminating the torture policy is that it constantly enables the enemy to build tolerance for the torture. Applebaum uses the example of “radical terrorists are nasty, so to defeat them we have to be nastier.” This example clearly illustrates the fault within the misconception that torture is ultimately effective. There can also be unnoticed and lasting consequences to torture, that in turn, affect more than the individual country. The global stigma that is labeled upon any country that participates in or allows the torture of wartime prisoners is remarkably important. The public and self image that the respective country acquires, affects

During the Iraq war that between 2003 and 2006, the united states army committed a series of human rights violations against prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Bagdad. The violations included murder, sexual and physical abuse, rape, torturer, sodomy, humiliating and dehumanizing prisoners. In 2004 the abuse that was carried out was exposed by the publication of images that were taken by the soldiers that carried out the violations. This paper will be looking at what social psychology can teach us about what happened at Abu Ghraib.

Simultaneously, Uving (1998) mentions “violent tendencies exist in all people, and they ‘break through’ when the social norms that keep group hostility in check break down… the problem with these explanations is that they are very general and do not explain why genocide occurs at a specific time” (p. 213). This section from Uvin’s writing explains that aggressive tendencies exist in everyone, often used by psychologist, is general and does not explain why genocides occured. Subsequently, Uving (1998) writes “ Another important physiological explanation of people’s participation in violence states that, with the right justification, nearly all people would be willing to obey orders to severely harm other people… it is said that monarchist, unquestioning, obedience, or conformist nature of the Rwandan traditional mentality made Rwandans inclined to follow orders” (p. 213,214). This illustrates how psychologist believe that people are obedient and will kill if there is justification, but Uvin argues that they are not obedient but instated they have a tradition of monarchy which influenced them to follow orders to kill.

In both “1984” and Red Army documentary there is a clear theme followed throughout. Abuse from a higher power can occur at anytime both mental and physical. Abuse can cause great deals of pain on a person persuading them to do opposite of the initial intentions.

While he should be utilitarian in regards to violence in most cases, there should be personal virtues that he will not compromise. The power and glory of being a politician make it easy for even the most moral man to become desensitized to violence. Ordering a military attack may cause great anguish for a moral politician at first, but less so with each additional act of violence. Due to this desensitization, it is essential that politicians can determine when an action cannot be morally justified. Shue explains how systematic political violence, however reprehensible, is more moral than torture; “It is in this respect of violating the prohibition against assault upon the defenseless, then, that the manner in which torture is conducted is morally more reprehensible than the manner in which killing would occur if the laws of war were honored. In this respect torture sinks below even the well-regulated mutual slaughter of a justly fought war”(Shue

In today’s society, it is unfortunate that we have become accustomed to hearing about terrorist attacks on a daily basis. Organizations like ISIS have been plaguing our televisions for years with their sadistic acts of violence. The group has produced numerous videos of mass executions by means of beheading, drowning, immolation, and many other atrocities. In addition to that, survivors have spoken up about the torture inflicted on themselves and their fellow prisoners by the terrorist. These methods incorporate both physical and psychological pain that include but are not limited to electrocution, lashing, and displaying deceased prisoners dismembered body parts. Similarly, the totalitarian regime in George Orwell’s novel 1984 also uses cruelty

The use of torture has become a prominent matter of dispute as we enter an age of the global war on terror. The debate on whether it has become morally permissible to torture terrorists is argued by many as the legitimacy of such actions are brought into question in a world where global terror is outstanding. With the use of the ticking time bomb scenario, some make a desirable case that in special circumstances, there is a right to torture individuals implicated is acts of mass violence. Yet many would still argue that there are an array of inconsistencies hidden within the ticking bomb scenario and there are no circumstances where torture can be morally permissible, no matter what the consequences may hold.

Some matters do not exist by its own but there are always some factors which give them existence. Human beings are born with rights, passions, interests, feelings, incredible characters and the most intelligent creature on the earth. But, unfortunately, these human beings have become diffident and victims of their own huge development and inventions. The new discoveries are happening constantly somewhere around the globe but the history never forget the past histories. One such example is Ghosts of Abu Ghraib. This thesis reveals that United States military police serving as protectors at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq abused, tortured, raped, and murdered prisoners. This behavior can be understood sociologically as a consequence of the socially constructed reality manufactured by U.S. government officials. This experiment was supposed to schedule for two weeks but was stopped after only six days due to unnecessary and extreme mental and physical exploitation and the effects on the prisoners by the protectors.

I am writing to inform you of the cruelty going on in the country of Iraq. I have been traveling the country as a photographer and I have managed to earn the trust of Iraqi soldiers who are performing acts of torture on prisoners. According to the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq, Iraq has one of the world’s oldest cultural histories, boasts a rich heritage and has a long reflected cultural diversity. Although Iraqis generally are a religious and conservative people, there are strong secular tendencies in the country. (See Fig. 1)

For this week’s discussion I was given, Genocide to Abu Ghraib: How good people turn evil. Abu Ghraib prison was a US Army detention center for captured Iraqis from 2003 to 2006. An investigation into the treatment of detainees at the prison was started by the unearthing of graphic photos showing guards abusing detainees in 2003. According to Fiske et al., (2010), aggression is generally defined as any behavior that is intended to harm another person who does not want to be harmed; it is an external behavior that can’t be seen, that isn’t thought in someone’s mind and is a social behavior (p.833).

Prisoners of Guantanamo Bay wake up, are tortured, then go back to sleep and repeat. Nationalism is an infection that affects people’s state mind to make rational decisions. It can cause anyone to invade the human rights that every individual is entitled to because they are standing up for their country. Human’s rights seem to disappear once nationalism is involved, as long as someone agrees with what is being defended, it is approved to do, this leads to torture of people regarded as terrorist. Even though, the world’s opinion should not only depend on the circumstance but, rather logic, reasoning and analyzing the situation, it seems to happen frequently. This can only be controlled if the ignorance stops and the tolerance

State-sponsored violence has led to some of the most horrendous human right crimes such as genocide and torture. These crimes are often under the constant fire of debate as scholars try to reason as to why they occur. However, the debates of genocide and torture are not exclusively attributed to the fact that they occur, but also, as to why people participate in these acts to begin with. Contrary to popular belief the majority of participants in state-sponsored violence are often not radical extremists, but rather, ordinary people. In instances, such as the genocide in Rwanda, participants were average everyday people, often neighbors of the victims, who carried out many of the killings. Also, in

Due to this, anyone can be taken and transformed into a soldier, unlike in the previous century when a soldier had to be found. This idea can be portrayed through a poster by the marines who promoted the idea of ‘one good man, six weeks better.’ This shows disciplinary power working in a tiny, intimate, controlled manner to create predictable results. It operates on human beings as if they are clay, changing their hearts and minds in order to make them into a particular individual. This was a new formula that worked – ‘discipline produces subjected and practised bodies, ‘docile’ bodies. Discipline increases forces of the body (in economical terms of utility) and diminishes these same forces (in political terms of obedience).’ (Foucault,

The psychological oppression from terrorism is an issue which nations have been consistently looking to end. Terrorists, having fierce conduct, always keep in mind an end goal to make the general public feel threatened and vulnerable. Numerous times, terrorists use different methods to promote fear, rebellion and war signals. In spite of the fact forms of terrorism vary in kind and importance, one thing is essential to all; brutality. For example, unforgettable professionals of dread and savagery like Hitler, Mussolini and Mao are the perfect examples of one of the most violent acts of terrorism, but are not the kind of terror used today. How terrorism has evolved to the objective gathering for death and demolition of property through demonstrations of viciousness and a debased political