Ethics Of Torture

Mahatma Gandhi, the preeminent leader of the Indian independence movement states “You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind.” This is important because torture is brutal on the body and mind. The article “Torture’s Terrible Toll” by John McCain is more convincing then the article “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin because McCain provides more logical reasoning, he adds his own personal experience of being a captured prisoner during the Vietnam War, and he creates an emotional bond with people around the world.

“Authorizing torture is a bad and dangerous idea that can easily be made to sound plausible.” This is a shockingly true statement. Heymann’s purpose in writing this article is to persuade readers to agree with him that torture should not be authorized. Heymann uses the persuasive appeal of pathos primarily in this article to convince his readers to agree with him. Although that is not to say he did not use other forms of persuasive appeal, heymann also used Logos and Ethos, just not as strongly as Pathos. After examining the article, heymann’s use of Pathos should be seen as effective at persuading his audience because of how he uses positive and negative emotions, writes clearly and applies vivid details.

2016). Using this ethical framework to argue against torture, one needs to consider the violation of the terrorist’s rights. Utilitarians argue that under a scenario where thousands of people are in danger, the well-being of the larger community is more important than neglecting the rights of a single individual (Krauthammer 2005). The simple idea of taking away a person’s autonomy for the sake of others violates rights ethics. To comprehend the violation upon the victim’s rights, it is important to understand how torture feels, “Brian describes his body as having become an object… pain is the central reality; it dominates experience and expression (Wisnewski 2010, 81).” Some may argue the terrorist is responsible for putting himself in a situation where torture would be the only answer (Mayerfeld 2008). This argument undermines the terrorist’s perspective. Ultimately, the terrorists believe what they are doing is right and have concrete reasoning for their actions (Mayerfeld

While analyzing “The Torture Myth” and “The Case for Torture”, it is very clear to see the type of rhetorical appeals used to persuade the audience. Anne Applebaum, the writer of “The Torture Myth” --in context of the decision of electing a new Attorney General--would argue that torture is very seldomly effective, violates a person’s rights, and should be outlawed due to the irrational need upon which physical torture is used. On the other hand, Michael Levin strongly argues that physical torture is crucial to solving every imminent danger to civilians. Levin claims that if you don’t physically torture someone, you are being weak and want to allow innocent people to die over something that could have been simply done.

Torture is it morally acceptable? Many have debated this argument but I would like to bring up two main conflicting view points from Michael Levin, and Marzieh Ghisai. Michael Levin is a Jewish law professor who wrote The Case for Torture where he advocates where torture is acceptable in some circumstances. Marzieh Ghiasi is a female Muslim college student who wrote a rebuttal to Levin 's Case for Torture where she uses logic to deconstruct his argument and prove that torture is not an acceptable practice. Both of their papers are good arguments and have great points to support them, but ultimately, I would say that Levin’s argument on torture being morally acceptable is the better argument. Levin uses many examples and devices to fill his article with Pathos as Ghiasi has a Logos approach but doesn’t have very many devices throughout her article to support her argument.

In this essay, the author suggested that it is not quite black and white to determine if torture is right and wrong. There is space for arguments to determine to what extent torture can be accepted as the right choice of action and to what extent this is not applicable.

In Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture”, he uses many cases of emotional appeal to persuade the reader that torture is necessary in extreme cases. There are many terms/statements that stick with the reader throughout the essay so that they will have more attachment to what is being said. Levin is particularly leaning to an audience based in the United States because he uses an allusion to reference an event that happened within the states and will better relate to the people that were impacted by it. The emotional appeals used in this essay are used for the purpose of persuading the reader to agree that in extreme instances torture is necessary and the United States should begin considering it as a tactic for future cases of extremity.

In Defense of Torture “Because It Is Wrong:” A Meditation on Torture Rules Should Govern Torture, Dershowitz Says

My interest in being a part of the CUNY Law Review was peaked when I came across a CUNY Law Review article as I was preparing my research paper on police violence. G. Flint Taylor’s “The Chicago Police Torture Scandal: A Legal and Political History,” put into prospective the continuous outcries of the citizens of Chicago regarding police violence against people of color as well as the cover-up by the local political and legal systems. Particularly with the recent decision by the Chicago District Attorney’s office to charge a police officer for the execution of 16-year old Laquan McDonald after withholding video evidence for over a year. Though much has changed in Chicago since the torture scandal, it is clear that a lot more has to be done as there continues to be an issues of accountability and swift action when officers step across the line from public servant to criminal.

In discussions of torture, one controversial issue has been whether torture is an effective mean to gain information from terrorists. On the one hand, many people would argue that torture is a very effective mean to gain information. On the other hand, there is a large amount of people who contends that torture is not the only means to gain the same information. My own view is that there are better ways to gain information from terrorists other than torturing them. I disagree with torture being an effective mean to gain information because; as recent research has shown it can be ineffective.

After finding some torture tactics, it helped me research about the negative effects of torture. In his article, “Torture is a Crime”, Curt Goering listed the negative effects of torture. He argues that torture is illegal, ineffective, immoral and makes those around us unsafe. Curt uses ethos in his piece to back up his main argument. For example, he mentions that in 1984, the UN adopted the Convention against torture and it was ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1990. In addition, he informs the reader about a CIA Detention and Interrogation Program which was a study that proved interrogation techniques were not effective. This is important because he uses many statistics and poll results to back up his argument. He also mentions a poll that was

Has anyone ever heard of something extremely dangerous and life-threatening and thought that, “Hey, let’s try that!”? Would they still want to try it if they knew it was a form of torment? Christopher Hitchens decides to endure a torture technique called “waterboarding” to learn more of its use among Americans. In Hitchens’s Believe Me, It’s Torture, he describes his experience enduring “waterboarding” to discourage use of it in America with use of the persuasive techniques ethos and logos.

According to psychologist Steven Reisner, physical torture affects the brain, but “psychological torture undermines the very ability to think, and it doesn’t leave any marks.” “Slavery” is a word that many people immediately cringe to when the seven letters are processed through their brains. This epoch in America’s history is one that this nation wishes it could forget, but this obviously cannot be done. The physical pain and mental suffering that slaves went through can never again be paralleled. This paper will mainly discuss the topic of psychological and physical torture that took place during the slavery era in the United States of America. Based off of valid and credible scientific evidence, the inhumane treatment that slaves

Moskalenko, Sophia. "Great Minds Think Alike: Psychology Of An Effective Interrogation." Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 4.1 (2011): 21-32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. In this article the author explains that there is not many studies about the real efficiency on torture. This is due to people seeing it as an immoral action. Many people still decide that it is the best way to get

The specific technique that convinced him that he had been using torture was the Palestinian chair technique. This involved tying a person to a tiny chair, which drives them to move all weight onto their leg muscles for a considerable length of time. This