How effective can torture be if terrorists are already willing to give up their lives? In the article, “The Case for Torture” Michael Levin claims that “there are situations in which torture is not merely permissible but morally mandatory.” What is torture? Torture, by definition, is a knowing and intentional act of inflicting severe pain on someone to force them to do or say something. Levin describes how torture is the only way to prevent and extract information from terrorists.Many believe that being interrogated by American intelligence should not be a pleasant experience for enemy combatants such as terrorists.Levin presents torture as the only method to safeguard civilians,but this is a violation against human rights and inhumane.Although
My opposition to torture fall under the beliefs of the absolutist Kant, who states that no matter what the circumstance is, something that is wrong will always be wrong (Boothe 2006, 12). Therefore, concerning the issue of torture, in this world or any other world, torture is immoral. In this paper, I will employ the ethical frameworks of virtue, rights, and fairness to argue against torture when viewed from the perspective of the victim, the torturer, and any outside source. Furthermore, I will dismantle the ticking-bomb scenario by deducing the incapability to achieve full certainty deeming these scenarios unrealistic.
In Michael Levin's The Case for Torture, Levin provides an argument in which he discusses the significance of inflicting torture to perpetrators as a way of punishment. In his argument, he dispenses a critical approach into what he believes justifies torture in certain situations. Torture is assumed to be banned in our culture and the thought of it takes society back to the brutal ages. He argues that societies that are enlightened reject torture and the authoritative figure that engage in its application risk the displeasure of the United States. In his perspective, he provides instances in which wrongdoers put the lives of innocent people at risk and discusses the aspect of death and idealism. The author believes that the thoughts of enlightened societies are unwise and ascertains that there are situations whereby torture becomes morally mandatory in dealing with terrorists.
"Enhanced Interrogation" is a term that was introduced by the George W. Bush administration. This type of investigation includes physically forcible interventions, such as waterboarding, sleep deprivation, facial slapping, forced standing for days and so on. Torture has been an argument for a long time to fight terrorism, but it is a bigger issue, especially after the incident of September 11, 2001. And still, it is not over that we should use "Enhanced Interrogation" or not. The techniques that are utilized in this type of investigation they are unethically and morally wrong, but they work. In my opinion "Enhanced Interrogation" means torturing someone to get information, and that information can save thousands of lives. And it is also important
Imagine helping your country out of debt, or helping innocent people and save them from years and years of trauma. The history of torture goes all the back to before Christ was born, and yet people still use it to this day like the United States, China, North Korea, and Mexico. From country to country people torture other humans for information and services. The definition is the same worldwide which means to inflict severe pain on another human to force them to say something or provide a service. The topic is so controversial because every human has the same rights as other humans and no human should be put through terrifying torture experiences.Torture does work sometimes, but most of the time it only angers the other person. Which gives them false
To prevent the danger of tired driving, drivers should get the sleep needed at night. Some people only sleep for six hours which is not enough, even for a grown adult. Studies have shown that a healthy adult requires seven to nine hours of sleep every day. People underestimate the dangers of fatigued driving, so a solution to this is that the government could address this dangerous activity to the public by educating them by using advertisements, or even a catchy billboard to remind drivers not to drive while tired. This could lessen many injuries and even deaths as people would not be falling asleep while driving so they would not
The discussion of torture is a touchy one in regards to its place in the justice system. People struggle to find a place for it between what is morally right and what is realistically necessary. In the state that the world is in today, due to frequent terror attacks, the topic is more crucial and controversial than ever before. In Michael Levin’s “A Case for Torture”, he presents his beliefs on how accommodations can be made for torture in order to uphold the safety and well-being of the world. Levin’s main argument explains that in order to maintain morals, the use of torture must be evaluated on a case-to-case basis. Though a valid idea, his proposal is supported by examples that only make it weaker. Because of this, Levin’s argument lacks
Schiemann, John W. "Interrogational Torture: Or How Good Guys Get Bad Information With Ugly Methods." Political Research Quarterly 65.1 (2012): 3-19. Academic Search Complete. Web. 08 Feb. 2016. This source explains that torture is actually one of the last methods used when they are interrogating someone since many know that it has a very low success rate. If the person is not willing to cooperate, they go down a list. Many people thought to use the top methods as they are not as immoral. Getting to the end of the list thought means they have nothing else to make the person talk which is why they use
The use of torture has long been a method of getting information in different types of situations. Perhaps governments use torture for the purpose of attaining information of the oppositions forces or plans. Or, perhaps the young boy down the street is torturing another boy to do his homework. In any case, both of these types of torture are forms of interrogation, which is the act of questioning to get information. However, after further looking into torture, many questions arise. For example, how effective is torture? Is torture a humane way to attain information? Are there other more effective and humane ways to get information? These are some questions out of many that come from a big debate on torture. In this paper, I will explore these
Terrorism in America is a sophisticated problem in the United States that affects everyone in some form. To help prevent terrorism from being an intense problem and to protect the people within the country, terroristic torture has been controversial topic. Terroristic torture can save lives and prevent future acts of terrorism within America.
Sleep deprivation is known as a condition of not getting enough sleep that can affect the brain and cognitive functions. "It occurs when a person sleeps for fewer hours than necessary over multiple days or week" (Eanes, 2015). When we think of nurses we are reminded of people who promote the health of others. However, many are unknowingly compromising their own health by working those 12-hour shifts. Many times, its more than 12 hours when they are finally able to go home. These long hours and minimal amount of sleep can be associated with learning, judgement, and memory impairments. Knowing the symptoms, effects/ risks, and management of sleep deprivation can help nurses and physicians address and be aware of the problem early on.
In “The Case for Torture,” Michael Levin’s argument points out his beliefs in thinking that torture is justified in most cases. His statements throughout the article are pointed to more of a one sided approach in saying that it is barbaric, but is really supporting in the ways torture can be useful. To people that would disagree with the author’s points in the argument, Levin provides a good outlet to both sides that are pro-torture and non-torture, but, he goes more into thinking that it is unwise. To Levin’s understanding torture can only be used to save innocent people’s lives. His article has many provocative statements that make you question whether or not torture is a good way to find out about lifesaving intel or just to be used for
These two issues can go hand in hand because if torture is abused, it will be easier to torture the wrong person; and if the wrong person gets tortured, it can cause more abuses of torture because of the practice of targeting the wrong person. As in all forms of punishment torture can become abused and as such human rights will be violated, and so a question is needed to be answered: when does an action violate a right? Because even when torture is being used for the sake of security and when it is being abused they are both exercising the same
Torture is definitely a public health issue because it creates health concerns in individuals in many different ways, such as mental health and physical health. It is also a public health concern because we have seen large number of tortured victims that are traumatically affected by their past. This trauma leads to a life of mental health, a life of discomfort and distrust in the world. Torture takes many forms that ends up with the same outcome in tortured survival and that is physical and mental instabilities that greatly affects their health and life. With the desire to ensure the protection of the public, torture is an issue that has to be addressed and prevented to ensure that people are living a life of comfort in the trust they have
Intimidation, threading, humiliation, discomfort and pain are all different practices of torture. Torture is usually used to extract information and confessions from prisoners and suspects detained by the government. The government permits specific groups and individuals the authority to utilize these techniques to accomplish objective. [Provide examples so that the reader can better understand who gets to do this and who has authority to allow it to happen.] In other circumstances, torturing someone is merely criminal. [Provide example]The Amendments to the United State constitution and to the international and multinational treaties defines [subject/verb disagreement.] basic rights in other liberal democratic states forbid the use of torture