Depends on the circumstances. Torture is wrong in most situations and should never be legalised or institutionalised. For example, the Catholic church used inquisitor priest to torture people during the Spanish Inquisition. This was a horrible, immoral, unethical act! And the church claims that it defines morality?! Morals and ethics were established, long before Christianity, by the Greek philosophers. Our moral code of conduct was created by ancient civilizations thousands of years ago. Much has been written about how men ought to behave. It can be difficult to determine because of unlimited and shifting situations.
Moral decisions cannot be made on the basis that some actions are right and some actions are wrong. These decisions must be made in view of the specific situation. It can get complicated! In some extreme emergencies, torture can be justified. A terrorist can force us to choose between two evils. Should we torture the terrorist or allow thousands of innocent lives to be lost? If torture could force him to disclose the location of a ticking bomb, we have a moral obligation to torture him. We are forced to choose the lessor of two evils. To not take action would be very wrong! In this case, the ends justify the means. In light of this, we should support our public officials when they are faced with these kinds of choices.
Since morality is in the eye of the beholder, I tend to consider utility more. I don't think torture is utilitarian. You can't have confidence in the "information" gained thusly. What I don't understand is why even consider it when chemicals work so much better.
ReplyDeleteTsar Patrovich
I agree with what patrick said about why torture when you have truth drugs. If any country is still using torture tactics when they have chemicals, I think it is because the people who do it enjoy it. Also, If someone had glued electrodes to sensitive parts of my body, I would tell them any and everything they wanted to hear. How valuable or dependable is that type of information?
ReplyDeleteInteresting comments from Patrick and Georgia. In the case of a ticking bomb, when time is of the essence, and one can easily and quickly determine if the "information" is accurate, I would still favor the use of torture. However, I would certainly try the drugs as well. What ever works would be utilitarian and moral. I would even play loud rap music if it would make the terrorist talk!
ReplyDelete