ipl-logo

Techniques Used In Michael Levin's The Case For Torture

515 Words3 Pages

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. Levin uses words that will automatically create a feel of moral and the lack there of. He …show more content…

The word terrorist attaches to every part of this essay so that the reader will view them in a negative light and become persuaded to believe that torture is a necessary action to perform on them (terrorists). The word innocent also attaches to every part of this essay to make the reader become a defender to those “who never asked to be in danger”. This word (innocent) also connects with the word baby because whenever a person thinks about a baby the adjectives that are associated with it are helpless, unknowing, innocent, and unaware to the danger that surrounds them. This connection is made because the one thing any (moral) human being would care about over their own self would be their children. Levin uses this connection so that it is very relatable to the audience’s everyday life and the emotional appeal is able to have more influence since it is a scenario any

Show More
Related
185 Words | 1 Pages

In the article “The Case for Torture”, Michael Levin argues that the use of torture as a way to save lives is justifiable and necessary. Levin draws a series of cases where torture might be acceptable so as to set certain precedent for the justification of torture in more realistic cases. HoweverLevin illustrates three cases where torture might be justifiable.he describes a terrorist keeping city of millions hostage to an atomic bomb, the second, a terrorist who has implanted remote bombs on a plane and the third, a terrorist who has kidnapped a baby. torture and its consequences have been recorded in countries around of world over a vast span of time, and for a variety of reasons. Levin makes no such attempt to expand his article beyond

Read More
1694 Words | 7 Pages

Many have said that they would want nonlethal torture to be used in such cases but “did not want torture to be officially recognized by our legal system.” Similar statements have posited that while “torture might be necessary in a given situation it could never be right.” This approach, that of keeping torture off-the-books, is in direct conflict with the necessity for accountability and transparency in a democracy. A democracy cannot work if the public is kept in the dark. The public must know what is going on in order to approve or disapprove.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

In " Torture's Terrible Toll", an essay written by John McCain, the topic of torture is highly discouraged. McCain feels very strongly that it should not be allowed except in only a very high risk and time sensitive situation. McCain makes six claims throughout the rest of the essay. They are that the abuse of prisoners harms the war effort, that prisoner abuse has a terrible toll and threatens our moral standings, that mistreatment of prisoner harms us more than our enemies, that we shouldn't have to compromise our values to get information, that torture is torture whether physical or mental, and that we should not compromise our values and lose the sense of honor that we hold. Basically, he is saying that the United States should show that they are different from other nations.

Read More
699 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
1743 Words | 7 Pages

Thus, the brainlessness and dependence on the thoughts of others of Eichmann again bubbles to the surface. He is a man that has wrapped himself in self-deception, lies, and

Read More
686 Words | 3 Pages

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. Levin uses many hyperbolic situations that he uses to explain when and why torture would be acceptable.

Read More
295 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

Mr. Nance has played a part in the attacks of al Qaeda since the early 1990s and Hitchens states the many points that Mr. Nance makes to persuade anyone to believe waterboarding is torture. The author brings in special forces to argue that waterboarding is a punishment used for special forces not U.S. citizens. Accordingly, Hitchens demonstrates imagery, metaphors, and tone to persuade the audience waterboarding is indeed

Read More
989 Words | 4 Pages

In Christopher Hitchens, “Believe Me, Its Torture”, Hitchens describes his experience with waterboarding with the purpose of convincing society that this practice is indeed a torturous punishment. The maltreatment practice of “waterboarding” has been controversial for many years; therefore, in order to convince the audience that waterboarding is torturous, Christopher Hitchens undergoes this practice not only once, but twice. The author uses his personal experience to illustrate the mental, physical, and emotional stress he goes through during the process. In Christopher Hitchens, “Believe Me, Its Torture”, Hitchens effectively uses pathos and logos as well as many different rhetorical strategies to persuade society that waterboarding is not acceptable; that it is cruel and unusual punishment.

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
545 Words | 3 Pages

Jeff Jacoby provides a strong argument in “Bring Back Flogging”, suggesting that we should adopt a few of the punishments of the Puritans. This argument is built on logical appeal, emotional appeal, and his own personal credibility as a writer. Providing statistics and information, Jacoby creates the logos, or logical appeal, and ethos, or personal credibility. In Addition, he uses ethos, or emotional appeal to force the reader to think about what they believe is morally worse. In “Bring Back Flogging”, Jacoby says Puritan forefathers punished crimes with flogging, including whipping and branding; however, in current times we tend to put a person in jail, no matter the crime.

Read More
1050 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
1109 Words | 5 Pages

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.

Read More
962 Words | 4 Pages

Annotated Bibliography-“How effective is torture in obtaining information?” “Brown Note” Myth Busters. Discovery channel. Artarmon 16 Feb. 2005. Television.

Read More
764 Words | 4 Pages

Torture on Prisoners of War Through the years torture has been used repeatedly. Torture is the infliction of severe physical and mental trauma for the use of acquiring information or for the use of punishment. Although there has been call for reform at many stages in history, torture remains. Even the Geneva Convention outlawed torture, however, torture is still used by many nations, such as the United States.

Read More

More about Techniques Used In Michael Levin's The Case For Torture

Related Topics

Open Document