Torture and Ethics

There are different laws over all countries that control by every government in the world. For those who is a criminal or a prisoner, their country’s government has different laws of punishment to punish them. Torture is one of them. The function of torture is to force someone to say something and as a punishment. Torture is unacceptable which I disagree on which it is an action of inhumanly.

The War on Terror has produced several different viewpoints on the utilization of torture and its effectiveness as a means to elicit information. A main argument has been supplied that torture is ineffective in its purpose to gather information from the victim. The usefulness of torture has been questioned because prisoners might use false information to elude their torturers, which has occurred in previous cases of torture. It has also been supposed that torture is necessary in order to use the information to save many lives. Torture has been compared to civil disobedience. In addition, the argument has been raised that torture is immoral and inhumane. Lastly, Some say that the acts are not even regarded as torture.

Torture is known as the intentional infliction of either physical or psychological harm for the purpose of gaining something – typically information – from the subject for the benefit of the inflictor. Normal human morality would typically argue that this is a wrongful and horrendous act. On the contrary, to deal with the “war on terrorism” torture has begun to work its way towards being an accepted plan of action against terrorism targeting the United States. Terroristic acts perpetrate anger in individuals throughout the United States, so torture has migrated to being considered as a viable form of action through a blind eye. Suspect terrorists arguably have basic human rights and should not be put through such psychologically and physically damaging circumstances.

Torture is something that is known as wrong internationally. Torture is “deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting on the orders of authority, to force a person to yield information, to confess, or any other reason” (World Medical Association, 1975, pg.1). There is a general consensus that there is a right to be free from any kind of torture as it can be found in many different human rights treaties around the world. The treaties show that all of the thoughts about torture are pointing away from the right to torture someone no matter what the case

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. (85)

According to Joycelyn M. Pollock, torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of violence and, through violence, severe mental and/or physical suffering upon individuals. Torture, according to Christopher Tindale as quoted in Torture and the Ticking bomb by Bob Brecher,

Every single person in America today grew up with the belief that torture is morally wrong. Popular culture, religious point of views, and every other form of culture for many decades has taught that it is a wrongdoing. But is torture really a wrong act to do? To examine the act of torture as either a means or an end we must inquire about whether torture is a means towards justice and therefore morally permissible to practice torture on certain occasions. “Three issues dominate the debates over the morality of torture: (1) Does torture work? (2) Is torture ever morally acceptable? And (3) What should be the state’s policy regarding the use of torture?” (Vaughn, 605). Torture “is the intentional inflicting of severe pain or suffering on people to punish or intimidate them or to extract information from them” (Vaughn, 604). The thought of torture can be a means of promoting justice by using both the Utilitarian view and the Aristotelian view. Using John Stuart Mills concept of utilitarianism, he focuses on the greatest happiness principle which helps us understand his perspective on torture and whether he believes it is acceptable to do so, and Aristotle uses the method of virtue of ethics to helps us better understand if he is for torture. The term torture shall be determined by exploring both philosophers’ definition of justice, what comprises a “just” act, what is considered “unjust”, and then determined if it would be accepted by, or condemned by either of these two

Is torture justified? Does it make us feel safer? Most Americans would say that it is immoral to torture any human being for any reason. There are a few people left who would disagree with that and say that some deserve to be tortured in order to obtain information that could potentially save the lives of hundreds or thousands.

David Figueroa Eng. 101A Professor Stern 4/20/15 Final draft In conclusion, in discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been on the use of it. On one hand, the people against torture argue that it is cruel and unusual punishment. On the other hand, those for torture argue that it should be used for the greater good. Others even maintain that under extreme circumstances, it may be admissible if it can save American lives. My own view is that no one should be subjected to cruel punishment because it is not only illegal, unreliable, ineffective, time consuming, it also has too many flaws that could potentially ruin innocent lives. The definition of torture is any act, whether physical or emotional, or maybe both, is intentionally subjected to a specific individual or a group for many reasons. Most of these reasons that torture is administered is for extracting information from an individual or just for punishing him/her for a crime that he/she has committed or is suspected of committing. The use of torture can be used to intimidate a person to give information that may be beneficial for a nation. The use of torture has been used for many centuries. The purposes of using torture have changed over the years as well as the methods in which a person is tortured. One crucial piece that has been established that separates us human beings from barbarians is the prohibition of using torture. There are many reasons why torture has been deemed a crime now in society. There are

Torture in its basic essence began long ago. Civilizations have tortured many who have wronged them for thousands of years. The definition of torture is a broad and diverse as it includes mental, emotional, and physical aspects. From ancient Egypt, to medieval times and even to present day, torture has been a prevalent theme across cultures, and has undoubtedly helped to mold the society around us. This hotly debated issue has been on the forefront of

You live in America a country of freedom and human rights but all within variation, so imagine this. Some foreigner coming into your country and torturing you just because you were american, how would you react. The tortue rate is higher than ever with all the terrorist groups going on around the world and with that comes innocent lives taken for personal gain. Some call it torture with a purpose trying to gain “national information” but all it really is cruel and inhumane . although torture has helped in a few cases it has done more damage than help.

The question, why do people become criminals raise a lot of views when it comes down to personal, social and environmental factors. While many think that people become criminals due to the environment and people they have grown up around, other’s think it is due to mental illness or just out of pure enjoyment. The following report will discuss how a person’s environment can impact them to become vicious killers, particularly discussing the Ivan Milat, a serial killer based in Australia, known for the case of the “Backpacker murders”.

In the short story, ¨The Fall of the House of the Usher¨ by Edgar Allan Poe, the unnamed narrator arrives at his childhood friends, Roderick Usher’s house. Immediately the house can be pictured as a modern haunted house with “inverted images of the grey sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems and the vacant and eye like windows.” Lately, Roderick has been sick, stricken with a mental illness and wrote to the narrator asking for help. After living with Roderick for some time, the narrator learns some details about Roderick’s life, including his battle with his fears and the close relationship he shares with his sister, Madeline. All through the story, fear and isolation are prevalent themes; from the appearance of the house to the death of Roderick.

139). However, in “Just Torture,” Majima does believe torture is morally permissible in some cases, which he calls “just torture” (Majima, 2012, p. 143). The circumstances under which torture is permissible include when an individual is completely certain another person committed a crime and when there is no other option to solve or prevent a problem (Majima, 2012).

Through the span of Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963), the creator, Martin Luther King Jr., makes stretched out references to different rationalists, among them Aquinas and Socrates. His examination would appear to show that he imparts a fondness to them. Notwithstanding, the clearness with which he makes his contentions and the devotion to a solitary start strikes most unequivocally of Kant. Similarly, as Kant's artful culmination, Investigate of Unadulterated Reason, endeavored to totally overturn a formerly acknowledged method of thought, so likewise was the best's work committed to a solitary target: the assurance of common rebellion as a type of dissent with the end goal that the Social Equality Development could proceed in uncompromised shape. Notwithstanding this peculiarity of reason, the unpredictability of the circumstance implied that a more nuanced reaction to the announcement A Call for Solidarity as distributed by eight Alabama Pastors was essential. Along these lines, Ruler's letter in certainty filled a fourfold need: to build up himself as a real specialist according to his group of onlookers, to demonstrate the trials of the dark in America, to legitimize his motivation, and to contend the need of prompt activity.