that the individual had committed. Overtime, public torture began to be marked by celebrations and huge crowds. The number of women who were considered as the most delicate of the human species, began to grow in leaps and bounds. The act had lost its initial ‘shock factor’. The feeling of fear that was supposed to prevent future crimes was lost. The collective reverence of the human body especially under religion, began to ebb away due to overexposure to these public executions. This attitude began to change in the second half of the 17th century. Philosophical Debate Regarding the use of Torture According to Lyn Hunt, Author of ‘Inventing Human Rights’, once debates and arguments against torture and cruel punishment began to be commonplace, …show more content…
The most notable case of torture that prompted this new wave was that of Jean Calas, a man who was sentenced to ‘breaking on wheel’ for allegedly murdering his son. The French Philosopher, Francois- Marie Arouet, commonly known as Voltaire championed the campaign against this sentence by writing ‘the treatise on tolerance on the occasion of the death of Jean Calas.’ In this letter, he argued against religious intolerance but not against torture. He stated that “it is in the interest of mankind to examine whether the true religious spirit is more consistent with charity or with cruelty” (Voltaire, Masters, & Harvey, 2004). However, over time Voltaire began to publicly condemn Torture and a new wave of intellectual debates began. The Italian Philosopher, Cesar Beccaria, in his essay on crimes and punishment, limited criminal punishment to “what is absolutely necessary to defend the public wellbeing” (Harcourt, 2013). Beccaria opposed torture and punishment that was carried out in private. He opined that privacy made punishments lose their deterrent value. William Blackstone, following in Beccaria’s footsteps, made a resounding statement that has transcended its time. He states that criminal should always be "conformable to the dictates of truth and justice, the feelings of humanity, and the indelible rights of mankind." (Hunt,
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. Through more logical reasoning McCain Argument is more valid than Levin.
The Holocaust-related plays, movies and books that have been read and watched thus far in the semester have left us, the students, with more questions than answers. By depicting the events as accurately as these playwrights and filmmakers have, the reader/viewer is then able to understand, in detail, the horrific acts of torture that the victims had to endure. With an accurate picture of the events of the Holocaust in their mind, the reader/viewer then can start to question how can a human being can commit such horrific acts of cruelty upon their fellow man or how a divine entity can allow something so terrible happen to the people that believe in them the most; questions with virtually impossible answers. For instance, in Amen, the filmmaker focuses on the unwillingness of Pope Pius XII to speak out against Hitler and the Third Reich even though several reputable individuals made him aware of the extermination and the forced labor that the Jewish people had to experience.
In order to better understand how torture is used in the Salem Witch Trials, it is necessary to examine the usage of torture and interrogation in the modern
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.
Annotated Bibliography-“How effective is torture in obtaining information?” “Brown Note” Myth Busters. Discovery channel. Artarmon 16 Feb. 2005. Television.
In the novel “1984” by George Orwell, the Inner Party uses cruelty in a politically and socially effective way by using methods such as torture, starvation, imprisonment, and room 101 as crucial motivation for those being tortured to not only confess but repent of their sins against the party. Furthermore, the use of cruelty by the Inner Party unveils both the victim and perpetrator’s inner conscience. The use of cruelty throughout “1984” by the Inner Party and O’Brien reveals how cruelty functions in the work as a means of oppression and a catalyst of subservience.
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.
Crime and Punishment in the Medieval Period The Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from 476 CE to the 1453 CE. It began with the fall of the Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is divided into three main periods, the Dark Ages, the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages. To a significant extent the nature of crime and punishment, it was very different between social classes during the Medieval Period. This can be seen through the significant groups that were involved in medieval crime and punishment, the effects of a person’s social class on crime and punishment and the punishments given out to different social classes between the Medieval Period and today.
Crime and Punishment in the Elizabethan Era In the Elizabethan Era there was a lot of punishments for the crimes that people did. There were some punishments that people can live through, and there were some punishments that could lead people to death. During this time people just could not kill somebody and just go to prison, you will go down in painful and sometimes slow death.
Lastly, there are some errors in Foucault’s claiming of the changing timing in the Western penal system. It shows that the number of crimes punished by the death penalty increased to the early 19th century not fell as well as corporal punishment was still often used in 19th
Foucault argues, that the function of punishment is not to deter crime, rather it is to illustrate the power of the state. In 1700s executions were common public spectacles where torture was used to humiliate and inflict pain and suffering. In contemporary society, Foucault argues new forms of punishment are used, such as discipline based surveillance. The purpose of the technique is used to gain similar ends, by managing and controlling offenders in a more humane
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. One major eye catching factor of this essay is the repetitive use of words that imply certain stigmas.
In Jeff Jacoby’s “Bring Back Flogging,” he compares the punishments for crimes in the 17th Century to the punishments for crimes in the present. Jacoby suggests in his essay that “the Puritans were more enlightened than we think, at least on the subject of punishment. Their sanctions were humiliating and painful, but quick and cheap.” Jacoby makes a good argument to bring back an old punishment policy. He points out that “a humiliating and painful paddling can be applied to the rear end of a crook for a lot less than $30,000 (per year).”
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.
In the case of the death penalty, it has the added bonus in guaranteeing that the person would not offend again. Supporters of harsh punishments argue that the would-be criminal would consider the costs versus the benefits of committing a crime. If the costs outweigh the benefits, then it is assumed that he would stop what he is doing, effectively ‘deterred’. Furthermore, the usage of harsh punishments to effectively deter crime is ethically justified as it prevents more people from falling victim to crime. However it is extremely difficult to judge a punishment’s effectiveness based on its deterrence effect, consequently we must consider other variables that would entail a person to commit a crime.