Torture Essays

Foucault's Theory Of Torture
For Foucault you cannot understand imprisonment without looking at torture first and how they both
correlate to one another. Throughout this essay I will assess Foucault's theories about torture and
his views of how it has come about. I will look at how torture is a technique and the forms of
disciplinary techniques that accompany torture. I will assess the power structures and how it
manifests into other institutions in today's society. Lastly how torture is needed to understand
imprisonment. Torture was used as a scare tactic in the past to keep individuals under control.
Society was aware of what may occur to them if they disobeyed the law. This initiated power and
discipline over citizens which helps us to understand power relations today in terms of imprisonment.
...show more content...
Surveillance was used by the sovereign as a form of power "that it was more efficient and
profitable in terms of the economy of power to place people under surveillance than to subject them
to some exemplary penalty" (Foucault, 1977, p. 38). For Foucault individuals had more freedom in
the past even though people were tortured in comparison to today, he explains to us that in the past
people knew that if they committed a serious crime torture would ensue. In the prison system,
prisoners are being watched at all times, everything is regulated and documentations are filled out on
regular and irregular behaviour. In order to watch inmates at all times, Bentham's architectural
structure called the panoptican was used in prisons. This enabled officers to watch inmates without
them knowing. All cells could not be watched at the same time but inmates did not know if they
were bring observed or not so they behaved as if they were being observed. Prisoners are confined in
their cells with no engagement with other inmates. Watchmen can see in but prisoners cannot see
out. They are in total confinement. (Spierenburg,
Get more content on HelpWriting.net

Why Torture Should Be Avoided
Torture: Why It Should Stop
Torture, the most extreme form of human violence, resulting in both physical and psychological
consequences. A technique of interrogation that has been proven time and time again to not only be
ineffective but also a waste of time. Studies have shown that not only does torture psychologically
damage the mind of the victim, but also can hurt the inflictor. If there is proof that torture is useless,
why do we still use it? Torture should not be used to get information out of prisoners because of the
risk of false information, enemy resistance and utter uselessness.
Tortured prisoners give false information. One writer writes "Many survivors of torture report that
they would have said anything to make the torture...show more content...
Also, People who would like to "leak" information about what they know, may feel scared to do so,
because of what they think might happen to them. This is why torturing ANYONE is not effective.
It complicates further operations and puts a strain on your relation. As one writer puts it "Winning
the "hearts and minds" of communities around the world is a key objective in combating violence
against civilians" ("Why Torture Makes Us less Safe"). However, that relationship doesn't work
when you torture civilians or people of interest because you think they know something! If people
are tortured and it is later found out that they are innocent, what type of country would we look like?
Or what happens when we accidentally kill someone with information during torture? Torture
messed up our relations with other countries, and makes further operations two times harder.
Last but not least, Torture is a slow gruesome process that causes the prisoner to shut down and
conjure up false memories.it is not as effective or glamou. As a former FBI agent says torture
techniques used by the Bush administration were ""ineffective, slow and unreliable" and caused the
prisoner to stop talking. ("EX–FBI Interrogator Torture "Ineffective"). Methods like sleep deprivation
take almost 180 hours to complete and certain situations that amount of time won't be available. In a
"tick tock" situation, you can't afford to waste 180 hours waiting

Summary Of The Poem Torture
The poem Torture by W. Szymborska sends a powerful massage to the reader. Although the world has
changed the practice of torture remains the same. The body parts used, the tools, the injuries, the
reason, and the reaction to defend it remain the same from the time of Christ to now. Humans are
more aware of it but do nothing. Torture is a constant part of human society even with the world
changing throughout the centuries it remains the same. The first stanza focuses on the human body
itself. What it needs to survive and what parts are best used to conduct torture. The human body
is fragile. Knowing what will cause the most pain is vital when trying to hurt someone the first
stanza makes it clear noting "a goodly of teeth and nails, its bones are brittle, its joints extensible.
In torture, this is all taken into account." (p. 46) To survive, it "must eat, breathe air, and sleep."
(p. 46) All of which are easy to take away or damage. Images of old practices come to mind. How
long thick sharp needles are pushed between the fingernail and skin. The reader cannot help feel
their nails are in tacked while feeling chills. How the lack of sleep can cause the individual to lose
him or herself and be easily manipulated to give the torture what they want. The images are chilling
but affective. The second stanza switches over to humanity and its failure to change. For as long as
humanity can remember torture was there along history it was there "before and after the founding of

The Ethics And Ethics Of Torture Essay
Amidst the many controversial topics circulating around our world today, ethical arguments have
emerged about torture that question its mere value in society. One can assume that the use of torture
may involve intentionally inflicting psychological or physical pain to a being in exchange for some
sort of gratification, information, or action. Although torture has been prominent from ancient to
modern days, it has seemed to be noticeably sanctioned by individuals or groups of the government
in the name of justice. With that said, the question may arise: should it be permissible or
condemned? That very well may be answered by philosophically indulging oneself in the roots of
both the Utilitarian and Aristotelian views. Even though both views are aimed towards the
achievement of happiness, they seem to collide theoretically on the idea of torture via their textual
precedence. If a modern–day philosopher were to hypothetically ask either of the two about the
extremity, one could formulate an objective and theoretical response. With Aristotle's views
embracing the philosophical world first, his Nicomachean Ethics provides a consistent and logical
framework that helps address the morality of contemporary issues, such as torture. In Book II of his
works, Aristotle claims that the practitioners of virtue are the ones who achieve ultimate happiness
and that virtue is either intellectual at birth or a trained habit. Virtues are simply dispositions to act
in the correct way in

Torture Essay
Ronald D. Cretlinsten contends that torturers acquire the ability to cope with the moral dilemmas of
inflicting pain upon and murdering their fellow humans primarily through the processes of
"routinization" and "dehumanization", and also through the notion of "authorization" (191). With
such as the case, an individual adept in the art of torture would necessarily have learned to be cruel,
however, that argument neglects the very reality that many engaged in such activities are
intrinsically perverse, and in fact willingly and happily do harm to others. The prevalence of torture
throughout the world can be accounted for in part by the process of "routinization" in which a
regime, in essence, desensitizes a given torturer to the atrocities...show more content...
. . comes a moment when you [no longer] feel [anything] about what you are doing" (191). The
"dehumanization" of one's victims does wonders to calm any qualms or misgivings an individual
may experience about injuring another man. By evoking fear in the torturer and therefore, a sense
of being threatened by a given enemy, the regime in power causes the torturer to feel obliged to
defend against such a threat. Consequently, he will torture his fellow man to procure some valued
piece of information and in doing so remove himself from a precarious position and subdue his
enemies all at once. Such enemies are viewed as evil and little more than monsters. A victim is
rarely referred to by his or her name or by any other humanizing characteristic, rather a victim is most
often referred to as some base, nonhuman creature or beast. The notion of "authorization" as
permitting the existence of torture is apparent in the fact that though an individual may
"theoretically, . . . [have] a choice" to refrain from such activity, "given the situational context . . .
the concept of choice is not even present"; disobedience to the dictates of authority means
"punishment, disgrace, humiliation, expulsion, or even death" (196). Therefore, one is freed from
moral unease by the fact that he may feel trapped and unable to act against his superiors, as
retaliation would be imminent. In some instances, as was demonstrated by

Morals on Torture Essay
Morals on Torture Throughout modern history, morals is questioned when torture is involved.
Torture should be a black and white, yes or no question. It is acceptable to do an immoral act, as
long as the act itself is legal, to create a good outcome. In the case of Mr. Wolfgang Daschner, it does
not matter that it was uncertain whether using torture gets the required information. To threaten to
use torture is the same as actually torturing, both legally and morally. Should torture and the threat
of torture be morally and legally acceptable, then in all levels involving local, state and federal
systems should be able to use torture techniques. To commit an immoral act is not the same as
committing an illegal act. Actions could be legal...show more content...
Therefore, it does not matter that the threat of torture caused the police to get the information to
find the boy. To threaten to use torture is the same as actually torturing, both legally and morally.
Torture as defined under the United Nations Torture Convention of 1984 as: Any act by which
severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionallyinflicted 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. To threaten to use torture is to cause
suffering through mental intentions, therefore the threat is the same as actual performing torture.
Should torture and the threat of torture be morally and legally acceptable, then in all levels
involving local, state and federal systems should be able to use torture techniques. If something is
acceptable for one legal system, then all legal systems should be able to perform the same task. If
there is restrictions on which legal systems can use torture, then there would not be any checks and

The Art Of Torture Essay
The Art of Torture
Going by the title of this paper you are probably asking yourself "How in
God's name can torture be seen as an art, were these people mentally ill?" well it was, but I talk about
that later, let me tell you a little about the history of torture. Torture has been around since the times
of Ancient Greece and is still around today, usually in the Mafia. Other than the mob, torture isn't
very common in our society. Punishments aren't near as harsh as they used to be back in medieval
times. The only punishments we have now are jails, the punishments there were in medieval times
were numerous and downright inhuman.
Torture would keep criminal from doing something wrong again, assuming he lived through the
...show more content...
From the 14th to 18th centuries in Europe, torture was a very common thing of the legal process of
a majority of the European countries and even the Roman Catholic church. The Roman Catholic
church used torture as a way of punishing heretics at the order of inquisitors. The Inquisition played
a big part in the world of torture. The inquisition was a church founded in medieval times that was
setup to find and prosecute heretics. The punishments for being a heretic were extreme punishments,
stuff you would cringe at thinking about, such as the vise. You might have seen this device on the
movie Casino. The victims head would be put in the vise and then the executioner would begin to
tighten a little screw at the top of the vice, causing the victims head to start to compress. This
technique was used a lot for getting people to confess.
The Inquisition was greatly defended during the middle ages. People saw it as okay, since it was a
religious thing. Father Saint Augustine perceived Luke
14:23; "So the master said to the servant, Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people
come in, so that my house will be full.", as biblical proof of endorsing the punishment of heret ics.
The Art of Torture:
Believe it or not, torture was considered an

Persuasive Essay On Torture
people will look at scenarios differently when one scenario is a bombing mission where the soldier
is on the plane dropping bombs and the other is to hear that same soldier killed five innocent girls
and their mother (Harris). There is no doubt there will be women and little girls killed from those
bombs dropped at such high points in the sky (Harris). It is just a matter of perspective and how
it may sound to the people of the world. Also, it is a fact that the terrorist group, Al Qaeda tells its
detainees to accept torture regardless of what happens to them in U.S (Harris). Al Qaeda knows
America tries to hold their morals and standards very high and America's greatest weapons are their
freedom and mercy (Harris). With this type of policy in place, America will always have a
weakness against terrorist groups such as Al– Qaeda (Harris). So, with the enforcement of torture
warrants, there will be no weaknesses against any type of terror group because America can issue
a warrant whenever it deems necessary. Also, with the audience of people that think torture
should never be accepted because of how people generally behave in their torturing session, this
can be avoided pharmacologically (Harris). The drug used in the interrogations are called paralytic
drugs which makes the one being tortured never to be seen screaming or writhing in pain (Harris).
For all who oppose torture, an image of a dungeon or prison with a chair in the middle of the room
and straps on it should not

Torture Against Women
Violence and torture against women is an accepted form of submission that is institutionalized and
encourages the assault of the body, mind and sexuality. During the time of civil war and the Taliban
regime, the extremist took the role of enforcing repercussions resulting from disobedience in the
form of rape, gang rape, public beatings, mutilation, and torture (Sharif, 2015). The society promotes
men – husband, father or brother, to decide how the women in their family will look, dress, marry,
the activities she will engage in, and if she is allowed to pursue education. This absence of choice
is reflective of the patriarchal society which still exists within Afghanistan. For any disobedience of
a women towards the men in her life brings...show more content...
Ignorance on behalf of nation states to provide a solution to social calamity across the globe caused
the marginalized and racialized to be removed, displaced and exiled. When they found refugee in a
new host country, they are likely to become re–victimized and re–traumatized. For, the critical social
theory analyzes and addressed the reoccurance of re–victimization of individuals who have already
experienced

Effects Of Torture
only a supporting role to the Police and Metropolitan Guards in the counterinsurgency, was ordered
into action. They relied on mass arrests, torture to allegedly gain info on Tupamaros, and large
cordon–and–search operations, where warrants weren't needed. This was done to those allegedly
accused of politically motivated crimes. The tortures consisted of: deprivation of water and food,
prohibition to take care of psychological needs in the usual places, wrenching of limbs, use of
handcuff and even having their heads submerged under water until they began to suffocate. The use
of electrical needles, burning genital organs and anus, with cigarettes, were other accounts of torture.
These brutalities had been practiced on innocent people who had yet to be tried in court....show more
content...
Many did not survive and went insane. Others told Weschler that they survived by dreaming.
Imagination was their only hope at staying alive and somewhat sane. A victim of these abuses,
Marcelo Vignar, describe his experience/imprisonment as terrifying. There was no telling how long
he'd be held for nor what to expect all because he allegedly gave medical assistance to a Tupamaro.
In 1976, Amnesty International calculated that Uruguay had more political prisoners per capita than
any other nation on earth (Wechsler 1990, 88). The incarceration rate illustrated how much control,
over civilian day to day life, the military held. Others were fired from their government jobs for
political reasons. This preventive repression strategy by the Uruguayan military regime was intense.
Although, saturation tactics captured most of the guerrillas and forced the remainder to flee the
country, approximately 10 percent of Uruguay's population emigrated for political or economic

Research Paper On Torture
Torture At some point everyone has heard of torture. It could have been in a movie or on the
news, but they have heard of it. In this day and age, people would like to have believed it was all
behind us in the past. Then 9/11 happened, everyone's lives were changed with one simple act of
cruelty. Before 9/11 hit the U.S. in a wave of pain, panic, and anger, our viewpoints on torture
would probably have been less likely that it should be allowed. The decision to torture people who
are suspected of being part of terrorist groups has always been decided by the government, for the
simple reason that it is required to keep us safe from harm. Some people believe that torture is cruel,
unsightly and just inhumane. On the other hand there are...show more content...
In some situations, this works wonders for the interrogator. On the other hand this can backfire
because the detainee could tell the interrogator what he wants to hear, just to make the torture stop,
whether or not the information given is the actual truth. So what are the good reasons and the bad
reasons to torture? Some of the positive things that come out of causing mental and physical pain
to a subject are: The subject gives up information, the information is acquired quite quickly
compared to normal means of interrogation, and the only person who is harmed is the detainee. It
is understand that some people would believe these choices are not valid enough reasons to harm
another human being. If it is seen from the side of the family member whose child's life is on the
line, then, yes, these are quite valid reasons. If a football stadium full of fans lives were at stake,
than, yes, these would be considered to be valid reasons. The reasons some see torture as a vile thing
to do to another human could be as follows: It is against our 8th amendment of the United States,
"cruel and unusual punishments inflicted," as well the information gathered could be false if the
detainee just wants the torture to end, so they tell the interrogator anything. There is the possibility it
degrades the mental stability of the interrogator. This can cause them to become cruel and narrow
sighted.
There are a few who would bring religion into the debate. Sadly, this

Arguments For Torture
Torture Is there a case for torture? Throughout the world for many centuries torture has been a
highly debated and very controversial topic. It all started in Greece when slaves would get
tortured to collect evidence for trials, crimes against the state, and treason. Not long after, the
Roman Catholic Church and the Nazis' began to use torture as well. During this time witnesses
noticed what was going on and did not agree with it but had no way of stopping it. All across the
world, a group of nations came together to make an agreement in opposition to torture. Not all
nations were agreeing to not allow torture in their country, yet the majority of countries did agree.
Even today it is hard to make the whole world agree to not doing something but making these
agreements allow individual countries to comprise a support system. Many public figures and
educators have made their opinion public but it has not yet evoked a change in the agreements
originally set by the Geneva Convention. Torture is still today a very controversial topic with
compelling arguments for both sides of whether to torture or to not. According to Michael Levin's
article, "The Case for Torture," his view on torture is that there are many situations in which torture
would be against the law but would be obligatory for someone's conscious. One common example
used is the ticking time bomb situation. The situation is that if there was an atomic bomb located
somewhere in Manhattan ready to detonate soon, and

Argumentative Essay On Torture
Torturing has been around for ages, from ancient Egypt with their slaves up to this date. Torturing
can sometimes be described as interrogation so to disguise the harsh implications that we know as
torturing. Even when it is called interrogation it does include some sort of physical and mental
infliction and damage. We know torture these days to get information from captives, especially in
the war against terrorism. With all the research, I did for this argument in this class I change my
belief as against torture where I was for it in the beginning. With the research, I did it just seems as
an unreliable tool to extract information from captives because under extreme pain the human mind
will say anything to make it stop no matter if it's...show more content...
Also, "the prohibition against torture is well established under customary international law as jus
cogens; that is, it has the highest standing in customary law and is so fundamental as to supersede
all other treaties and customary laws (except laws that are also jus cogens)" (https://www.hrw.org).
Premise 3 and 4 has a lot of research you can gather to support it because there is so many
scientific research in it. An example is coming from a 6,000–page study of the CIA program that was
inflicted on terrorism suspects after 9/11. The study states, which was released in December 2014,
"That the agency's harsh methods failed to glean any intelligence not available through softer
tactics" (google.com). Shane O'Mara, a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College
Dublin states, "Torture can produce false information by harming those areas of the brain
associated with memory" (google.com), therefor torture is an ineffective way of gathering intel.
Since torturing involves heavy inflicted pain, this causes the person to be in a state of "do anything
to get out of it". Meaning the victim will give any information valid or invalid just to have them
stop, even if it is for just for a few minutes. Premise 5 has to do with the lasting

Lingering Effects Of Torture Essay
In the first place, putting someone through the experience of being tortured can cause them to be left
with long–term damage both physically and mentally. These victims are isolated from society and
kept prisoners, the kind of torture they are often put through is unbearable. In the article, The
Lingering Effects of Torture written by Devin Powell talks about a man by the alias Adeel who
was a prisoner for four years, first at the Bagram Theater Internment Facility in Afghanistan and then
at Guantanamo Bay. Adeel explains how he was kept isolated in a chilled cell, blasted with loud
music which prevented him from falling asleep and being forced to stand motionless in the hot sun
for hours. And how even years after being released he still...show more content...
McCain stated that "If you inflict enough psychical pain on someone they will tell you anything
they think you want to hear". In fact, detainees can also become confused, due to the insufficient
amount of sleep and the trauma they're undergoing. Not to mention the possibility of having the
wrong person in custody. Evidence or clues may often lead to people being wrongfully convicted
of a crime they did not commit. For example, a Brooklyn man named David McCallum was only
16 years old when he was sent to 25 years to life behind bars for the supposed kidnapping and
murder he did not commit. There was no DNA nor handprints found at the scene of the crime
matching McCallum. The DA Thompson stated, "their convictions hinged on untrue confessions,
made by teenagers, rife with inaccuracies and peppered with details seemingly supplied by
police"(Saul, Josh, and Leonard Greene). There's no clear data on how many innocent people have
been wrongfully convicted. The Innocence Project, citing multiple studies, estimates from 2 percent
to 5 percent of prisoners are actually innocent. The U.S., which leads the world in the incarceration
of its citizens, has approximately 2 million people behind bars.That means a wrongful conviction
rate of 1 percent would translate to 20,000 people punished for crimes they didn't commit. On death
row, 1 in 25 are likely innocent, according to a recent study (Ferner, Matt.) Equally important,

Torture Research Paper
Torture has been practised for several centuries. Whether it was the Iron maiden or waterboarding,
its goal, inducing pain on a certain victim, has stayed the same. Despite all of our social
advancements, this heinous and barbaric act is continually defended and justified. Torture is a crime
against all living things and should never be practised.
Torture leaves psychological scars on the victim. These scars come when the tortured is faced with
the internal realization that they are causing their pain. This realization can force the victim to
"[embrace] the faith of their captors" in exchange for better treatment (Callimichi 2). The captors
could believe in something that the victim absolutely abhors, but because he is in such a dire
situation, he is willing to do whatever it takes to end his suffering. The scars also inhibit growth and
keep the victim from ever being able to move on. Even after the victim is in a safe place and away
from his tormentors, 'he will never again be at ease with the world'(VorbrГјggen and Baer 1). This
paranoia will lead the tortured to live a secluded live because the victim has had their faith in
humanity shattered (VorbrГјggen and Baer 1). Unfortunately, the...show more content...
It not only inflicts damage to the tortured, but also to torturer. The torturer becomes desensitized
and sees his actions as "a job" and "feels no guilt" (Wolfendale 9). This lack of empathy is not
caused by sadism, on the contrary, there is "no significant psychological difference" between a
torturer and a normal soldier (Wolfendale 4). This professional detachment is instead a barrier
formed by their psyche to stop them from being broken. The organization that tortures will also be
hurt. Because of the controversial nature of torture, the government will view their operations as
risky and "a subjective process" instead of viewing it as a basis of certifiable intelligence. Based on
this evidence, torture causes more harm than its potential

Morally Wrong To Torture Essay
The Wrongful Doing of Torture
Torture now, is looked as an old and brutal way of treating someone, in spite of origin, public
standing, or any criminal acts carried out; it has remained for ages. Torture is frequently used to
discipline, to get facts or a confession, to get payback on an individual/individuals or to generate
intense fear within the public. Moreover, it may perhaps be just pure evil or dislike for that specific
person. Some of the most generally known ways of torture consist of beating, sexual assault,
suffocating, burns, raping and etc. It is morally wrong to torture because it violates the human rights
and dignity, and treats the victim as a means to an end and not an end in themselves, however it may
beneficial.
Aftermaths, in any case good or bad can't support torture, it's unlawful to torture and it may carry
discipline across many countries. According to Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,...show more content...
For examples the ticking bomb scenario, once said that to protect many people lives it is necessary
to instantly obtain some information from an individual who does not want to disclose it. Act
utilitarian's supposed that "whenever we are deciding what to do, we should perform the action that
will create the greatest net utility" (Nathanson 1) . They also feel that that principle of account must
be used individually from others of the same act. Bagaric and Clarke claimed that the guilty should
only get torture in order to draw out information. Torture may help to protect lives or whatever is in
jeopardy, but two wrongs do not make a right. Furthermore, torture doesn't always work successfully.
Lying can sometimes save you! A victim being tortured may provide wrong information just to end
the suffering, imprisoning themselves for something they probably didn't

To Torture Or Not Torture Essay
To Torture or Not Torture, That is the Question Should torture be used by police and the United
States military? Some say yes, law enforcement should use all means available to apprehend
terrorists and other dangerous criminals. They believe public safety and national security trump
individual safety, and that some people are not worthy of humane treatment. The increasing
amount of mass shootings and terrorist attacks happening in our country prove torture tactics
should be used. People who commit serious acts of violence should be subject to serious methods
and our military should be able to execute without hesitation. Some argue that torture shouldn't be
used the police and US military because it will undermine our value as Americans, puts innocent
people at risk, and believe that everyone deserves the same punishment. However, if it is wrong to
torture a terrorist or a criminal for the right reasons (i.e. saving civilian's life) then some risk is
worth taking. For example, "the CIA believes that the intelligence acquired from these
interrogations has been a key reason why al Qaeda has failed to launch a spectacular attack in the
West since September 2001" (Washington Post). This is a good example of using torture as a way
of learning about a planned terrorist attacks so they...show more content...
If a person is so secretive or criminal that they can't own up or say why or what they did, what they
are keeping hidden must be bad and dangerous. If it's that unspeakable then they are most likely not
worthy of humane treatment – they are a risk to the country, including themselves. Using torture
doesn't undermine our value as Americans. In fact, torture does the opposite. They, U.S. Military
and the police, would be using torture for us not just for any reason on anyone. They would do it to
gather data, location, etc. It would only be used to ensure the safety and protection of the

Ethical Use Of Torture Essay
The thin line between humanity and safety has been blurred. The world stood in shock on
September 11th 2001 when a terrorist group known as al–Qaeda hijacked four airliners and
successfully flew two of them into the World Trade Centers in New York and one into the Pentagon.
These atrocities resulted in the death of more than two thousand and seven hundred victims,
including citizens from over eighty nations (9/11 Report). The magnitude of these attacks was
unprecedented in the history transnational warfare and elicited security implications worldwide.
Only a few hours after the attack, American President George W. Bush declared a United States led
war on terror in order to the security and life of citizens from future terrorist attacks. The war on
terror brought a novel form of combat, posed new issues to the United States and the international
community, and lead to the...show more content...
For instance, when British officers interrogated a group of terrorist suspects, they confessed while
being tortured and said they had got their training from al–Qaeda soldiers in Afghanistan, when in
actuality, they were taught in the United Kingdom (Bellamy). In order for an interrogation to be
successful the essential information must be elicited within the first few hours of the terrorists'
arrest or else the terrorist group will alter their plans once they find out one of their own has been
arrested, subsequently the information given by the captured terrorist becomes worthless. Also, the
abuse of human rights through torture techniques will add further hate–sentiment between the
United States and the Islamic people

Essay about The Ethics of Torture
In the United States legal system, torture is currently defined as "an act committed by a person
acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or
suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his
custody or physical control." as defined by Office of the Law Revision Counsel, U.S. House of
Representatives (US Code, 1) Though this is a seemingly black and white definition, the conditional
"...other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions..." have led many to question what
precisely this entails. In other words, what are the lawful sanctions that permit such acts? Are they
ethically right? Where is the line drawn as torture...show more content...
(Stanford 1) Also, one might be able to analyze the cost–benefit analysis in a specific situation, but
what about the next time? Known as 'the calculation problem', it states that because we cannot
always weigh the 'prerequisite to outcome' ratio the same in all situations, it is impossible to
make a morally permissible universal rule, in this case, regarding torture. (Jason 5.8; 2) Next up
is Ethical Egoism. Similar to Utilitarianism, it states that an act is procedurally or morally right.
However, it is so only if it benefits the specific individual committing the act at that moment.
(Jason 5.2; 1) Would it benefit an individual to torture someone? The individual could gain
something from it such as prestige for diverting a threat or knowledge otherwise not obtained. But
is it worth it? According to Joe Navarro of the F.B.I. "Only a psychopath can torture and be
unaffected." (NY 1) This is a question of good over bad for each specific individual to decide if
they would or not torture. It cannot therefore be universalized. Enlightened Egoism on the other
hand refers not to immediate effects but to long term effects. With this theory one might consider
torture regarding the ticking time bomb scenario for a number of reasons. Perhaps because in the
long run, in would be an inconvenience to live in a nuclear waste land, or because they

Essay On Psychological Torture
It is illegal for American soldiers, military personnel, and other agents to inflict physical torture
upon anyone. As a result, America has turned to psychological torture, where the rules are more
hazy and undefined. Unfortunately, psychological torture often will affect the victim in ways that
will last much longer than most forms of physical torture. One of these methods of psychological
torture is music, and it is used to inflict pain in several different ways. The FBI has previously
used "music and other noise in order to disorient members" of the opposing side during sieges in
1993, and also used music "in interrogation, especially in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay" during the War
on Terror following 9/11 (Johnson and Cloonan, 151, 2009). Music...show more content...
If music is played to prisoners for hours on end at volumes that are tremendously loud, it doesn't
just break down their willpower. Music as torture disorients a person so much that "the victim is
reduced to an infantile state of psychic helplessness" (Lingis, 152, 2017), and "is not simply reduced
to impotence, helplessness, but to a state of ever–greater dependency on his or her torturer" (Lingis,
153, 2017). The victim is left with a total loss of identity, and completely relies on his torturer.
Despite there being no physical contact, this form of torture will greatly affect the victim
psychologically, in ways that are arguably much worse and longer lasting than nearly anything that
could physically be done to them. The fact that this form of torture is done in the name of
American citizens puts a weight on American's shoulders they should not have to bear. If an
American citizen would not want to be victim to this form of torture by music, they should not
have to carry the weight of this act being done to someone else. Music as violence is more likely to
leave lasting psychological problems, and thus makes it worse than physical

Torture Essays

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from Cheap Paper Writing Service

More from Cheap Paper Writing Service (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Torture Essays