Association for the Prevention of Torture. “Defusing the Ticking Bomb Scenario.” Current Issues and Enduring Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking and Argument, with Readings. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2011. 836-851. Print.…
Boom! Suppose a terrorist in custody has hidden a bomb in a very populated city, it is scheduled to go off in an hour and he is the only one that knows the location. He will not disclose the location unless his outrageous demands are met, it would be left to the assumption there is only one option left to save millions, that is, torture. Although this invented instance is effective it is just one tactic to get a readers attention and agreement. In the two essays, “Yes, It Should Be “On the Books”” by Alan M. Dershowitz and “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin, being evaluated, the authors use not only this technique but also many others to persuade the readers to take on their views. Dershowitz uses real examples to support his points and is direct on where he stands on the matter, but sometimes he seems a little pushy and cold. Levin on the other hand fascinates us with his hypothetical cases while griping the reader’s attention throughout his essay, but assumes agreement on the reader’s part and uses tactics of fear to persuade. The styles of both essays differ greatly just as much as the personas and methods of persuading do, but the purpose of both essays are very similar, which is to persuade the audience to accept that torture is permissible under certain circumstances. These topics will be discussed and evaluated while ethos, logos, and pathos are being emphasized. And this will be done in order with article 1 then article 2.…
Getting your teeth pulled and fingers snapped for not letting the enemy know where the rest of your brigade is hiding, is a common torture tactic. In most cases you just want the pain to stop, so you give false information. This is why I feel ,no, torture should not be a tactic to retrieve information and should be abolished in this country. In the essay The Torture Myth written by Anne Applebaum, torture is discussed and evaluated by the writer. Applebaum focuses on whether torture is a good vice to gain information from a person and it is insinuated that she does not, based on her arguments in the essay. I too believe torture is not a humane nor moral way to obtain truthful information.…
Levin also mainly uses the persuasion method of answering the opposition but he uses more examples than Iacopino does. Levin begins his essay by stating that “it is generally assumed that torture is impermissible, a throwback to a more brutal age” he also questions the oppositions and answers to defend his opinion when he states “torturing the terrorist is unconstitutional? Probably. But millions of lives surely outweigh constitutionality”. This is effective because he shows that he is aware of the questions of the opposition but feels strong enough that torture can be justified to go against the majority of people who think torture is immoral and can never be used, he uses this to show that he has a good enough argument to go against what most people think or feel. He also states “if you caught the terrorist, could you sleep nights knowing that millions died because you couldn’t bring yourself to apply to electrodes?” he uses this example to make it personal, to show people that torture can be used in some situations. By making it personal he makes people think about the idea that torture can be used if it is…
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 people who see it the same way but also believe it could be necessary in extreme circumstances. We’re going to look at two different points of torture: When it is acceptable and when it is not acceptable.…
In “The Truth about Torture,” Charles Krauthammer critically analyzes the John McCain, an individual with tremendous moral influence who was tortured by the North Vietnamese, amendment. This amendment would prohibit all forms of torture from being executed on war prisoners of America. In response, Krauthammer states that in certain scenarios, torture is not “just permissible, but also morally required.” He divides the war prisoners into the following three classifications: ordinary soldiers arrested on the battlefield, captured terrorists, and finally, terrorists who possess information. With regards to the ordinary soldiers, McCain’s amendment is justified because although these war prisoners are on the opposite side of the conflict, they are nonetheless lawful fighters who committed no crime. On the contrary, Krauthammer believes that the terrorists are not worthy of the same protection and privileges since they intend to harm innocent citizens.…
Very brief summary: The article ‘Using torture is illegal and never justified’ argues against torture by mainly focusing on the fact that the information gained from torture is highly unreliable because the prisoner could be lying to get the torture to stop. Who makes the decisions is also called into question.…
None of these studies except Hanns Scharff`s have not been studied why we need to torture and not just have a conservation with trickery and deceitfulness instead of torturing people that may or may not have anything to do with what is happening between countries and have no information about the topic in hand therefore will be tortured until death because of the lack of information that they have.Most people are just pons playing in a king's battle that have no information even if they joined their…
Is the intentional pain that an individual experiences justified by the possibility of preserving the lives of many? Torture is the used as a weapon, but in reality does it work? The purpose of this essay is to identify what the motives are for using torture, the effectiveness of torture, and important issues or flaws with the entire process of torture.…
We are put under a time crunch that affects how we deal with situations. Michael Levin wrote in his essay “The Case for Torture” that we should use torture because it is better to torture one person who is obviously guilty. This would help insure that thousands of lives could be saved at the expense of just one or a few people. In a brief statement about terrorist’s rights, Levin says “torture is barbaric? Mass murder is more barbaric” (532). In this simple statement, Levin argues that torturing is the lesser of two evils. And it is true. Would we rather sacrifice many lives for one that is potentially guilty? Most would say no. In fact, if we allow torture to become legal, we might get results that many have not thought of. If torture was made legal, it could potentially intimidate future terrorists into thinking twice about their plans. Still, nothing is for…
Torture continues to be a subject of great debate in this country. The question as to whether Torture is an acceptable and justifiable method to coax a confession from a criminal has been brought to the forefront by recent events, such as the September 11th and Boston bombing. Although there are laws established to punish criminals, the criminal must first be found guilt for punishment to be rendered as stated by the U.S constitution. However, using torture to coax a confession is in direct conflict with the rights given to the all people by the constitution, therefore, it should not be practiced to any extend. Torture violates the essence of our democracy by tearing away an individual’s rights and subjective them to cruel punishment, a clear violation of the 8th amendment. Advocated of torture believe that it is a…
"Torturing Prisoners in the War on Terror Is Never Justified."At Issue: How Should the United States Treat Prisoners in the War on Terror?. Lauri S. Friedman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale.…
Justifying the needs of implementing various methods of torture is strongly a recommended option to protecting America’s security and American citizens. While the debate of whether the use of torture is valid to protect the United States of America overall, supporters of the argument strongly argue that interrogating terrorists is only useful when various torture methods are involved. During one of the United States of America’s darkest periods in the nation’s history, the terrorists attack of September 11, 2001 rebooted the discussion of how various methods of torture are a justifiable means to not only place vengeance on the terrorists involved in the attacks on America’s soil. In the course of the aftermath of the horrific attacks of September 11, 2001, supporters of using various methods of torture during the interrogation process observed a central argument to prove their case. For example, if America’s security becomes unfortunately at risk of another terrorists attack, the nation could potentially protect Americans by implementing various methods of torture to only not question terrorists’ against their willpower.…
In discussions of ticking time bombs, one controversial issue has been how to deal with the alleged guilty terrorist once he is captured. On the one hand, some people, including Michael Levin, a libertarian writer and educator, argue that it is in the US government’s right to torture the guilty terrorist because his knowledge could be used to save the lives of millions. On the other hand, others, such as Philip Heymann, who is a writer that had worked in the government field, firmly states that torture should never be used because the chance that it will produce true and useful information is nearly impossible and it is vastly more crucial to preserve the international bans on torture. Shirley Jackson elaborates on Heymann’s view when she…
As Americans, as a nation founded on the basis of fundamental human rights, and equality for all, torture is an unacceptable and inexcusable act that degrades us as a nation and as individuals. It debases us and makes us scarcely better than those we condemn. Just as a rose by any other name will smell just as sweet, torture by any other name remains just as deplorable.…