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The case for torture analysis
The case for torture analysis
The case for torture analysis
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In his essay “The Case for Torture” Michael Levin makes the argument that although torture is often thought of as barbaric and a primitive way of information extraction in today’s modern world, it is however in actuality a viable means of preventing terrorist attacks and should be used as such. Levin acknowledges that using torture as a means of interrogation is probably unconstitutional however that the lives of millions should outweigh the constitutional morality of the issue. He goes on to state that although he does not condone the use of torture as a means of punishment he does however consider it a logical solution to drawing terrorist plots out. I disagree with Levin because it would be unjust to subject prisoners to torture based on the thought process that they might have information about terrorist plots. If in today’s modern world, we as the United States of America where to sink to such primitive methods of interrogation we would be putting the very foundation of democracy at risk. Levin himself has always been known for his extremist opinions and is no stranger to controversy, Levin’s strongly based options on controversial subjects has left him with a reputation for stirring the pot, other than his essay “The Case For Torture” Levin has published many controversial articles such as “In Defense of Scrooge”“Why Race Matters: Race Differences and What They Mean” and “Feminism and Freedom” as well as many others.Although his courage for daring to write so strongly on taboo topics such as homosexuality, feminism and torcher must be admired. Many of his arguments seem almost reminiscent of the delusional way of reasoning that the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud employed. Often times with almost no true facts to back up ... ... middle of paper ... ...m or against it one thing that cannot be denied is that as human beings we are flawed individuals from the start. Furthermore no matter what kinds of procedures are put in place to help prevent the innocent individuals from being subjected to torture, if it were to become a reality there would undoubtedly be innocent victims. Therefore I think the real question is whether the health and safety of those innocent individuals that are wrongly accused should be sacrificed in order to obtain possible information from a suspected terrorist? Works Cited Levin, Michael, “The Case for Torture” The Norton Reader.13th ed. EDS. Linda Peterson, et.al. New York: Norton, 2012. Pg 647. Print Hersh, Seymour M. "Torture at Abu Ghraib." The New Yorker. Cond é Nast, 10 May 2004. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. "Michael Levin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.
Who wouldn’t have agreed? Yes, torture is cruel but it is less cruel than the substitute in many positions. Killing Hitler wouldn’t have revived his millions of victims nor would it have ended war. But torture in this predicament is planned to bring no one back but to keep faultless people from being sent off. Of course mass murdering is far more barbaric than torture. The most influential argument against using torture as a penalty or to get an acknowledgment is that such practices ignore the rights of the particulars. Michael Levin’s “The Case for Torture” discusses both sides of being with and being against torture. This essay gets readers thinking a lot about the scenarios Levin mentioned that torture is justified. Though using pathos, he doesn’t achieve the argument as well as he should because of the absence of good judgment and reasoning. In addition to emotional appeal, the author tries to make you think twice about your take on
Although she always denied claims of having a distinct Jewish calling, being a second generation German Jewish immigrant, she has always been associated with Jewish New York. Wald has never laid claim to being a crusader for the Jewish people, and yet most of the information published about her comes from the Jewish community trying to sell her as an activist for the Jewish cause. Marjorie N. Feld gives readers a critical look into the life and work of woman dedicated to revealing the similarities of people not their differences. Lillian Wald’s story is an important one because she spent her life working towards a universal vision that would group people together and yet remembered by her difference from other progressive reformers of the time, being Jewish. In this book Feld describes Wald not as person fighting for a particular group, but a person fighting for humanity's equality.
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited “About Simon Wiesenthal.” – Simon Wiesenthal Center. N.p., n.d. Web.
Alan Dershowitz challenges the legitimization of non-lethal torture in his essay, “Should the Ticking Bomb Terrorist be tortured?” He claims that torture should indeed be legitimized for specific scenarios that require such action. The ticking bomb terrorist gives the example of a terrorist withholding time-sensitive information that could result in the death of innocent citizens, if not shared. Not only does Dershowitz challenge the idea of torture, but he also gives a probable solution that favors the legitimization the torture. He mentions three values that would have to be complied with by all three branches of government if it were to be legitimated, which Dershowitz does endorse. The arguments of the two perspectives discussed in the
Upon further analysis of Expelled: No Intelligence allowed, we can see that the documentary is tied up in fallacies of ethos, pathos and logos, misrepresentation of facts, and the deviation from the main theme of the documentary. With this in mind, Ben Stein fails to persuade the active viewing audience, but succeeds in persuading the inactive viewing audience. The inactive viewing audience will be convinced from Stein’s use of appeal to ethos, pathos and logos, and will overlook the fallacies in the documentary. Stein uses appeals that are rooted in fallacy, incredible information, and misguided reasons to persuade us of this. Stein wants us to raise our voices to bring down the wall between academic freedom, but we must look at his motives and reasons he takes to instill us with these notions.
In her novel called “Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center” one of the many areas bell hooks speaks of is the perpetual racial confinement of oppressed black women. The term double-bind comes to mind when she says “being oppressed means the absence of choices” (hooks 5). The double-bind is “circumstances in which choices are condensed to a few and every choice leads to segregation, fault or denial” Therefore, this essay will discuss how hooks’ definition of oppression demonstrates the double-bind in race relations, forcing the socially underprivileged minority to “never win,” and as a result allowing the privileged dominate “norm” to not experience perpetual segregation.
Levin wants to change the negative views that society placed on torture so that, under extreme circumstances torture would be acceptable. He begins his essay with a brief description of why society views the topic of torture as a negative thing. He disagrees with those views, and presents three different cases in which he thinks torture must be carried out with provides few reasons to support his claim. He uses hypothetical cases that are very extreme to situations that we experience in our daily lives. From the start, Levin makes it perfectly clear to the reader that he accepts torture as a punishment. He tries to distinguish the difference between terrorists, and victims in order stop the talk of terrorist “right,” (648). Levin also explains that terrorists commit their crimes for publicity, and for that reason they should be identified and be tortured. He ends his essay by saying that torture is not threat to Western democracy but rather the opposite (Levin
Ross, Brian and Richard Esposito. “CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described.” 18 Nov. 2005. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.
In today’s society there are many issues surrounding the topic of torture. There are two sides to this argument. One side would be that torture should never be used, the other side would be that torture should be used if it is absolutely necessary. Many times when torture is used it is used to get information out of an individual. On many occasions people hear of torture being used on terrorists that have been captured. Torture is also used on Soldiers that have been captured during war. During times of war torture is often used by both sides to gain an advantage over the other side. The use of torture is a widely debated topic in today’s world.
Torture may be an inhumane way to get the information needed to keep the citizens of the United States safe from the attacks that are threatened against them, but there is rarely a course of action that will ensure the safety of a nation’s citizens that doesn’t compromise the safety of another group of people. Nevertheless, we must conserve as much humanity as possible by looking at the situation we are in and ensure that we are approaching the torture in an ethical manner. Although torture is valid on moral grounds, there are many who oppose it, such as Jamie Mayerfeld as he states in his 2009 article “In Defense of the Absolute Prohibition of Torture”.
Torture is the act of inflicting severe physical or psychological pain, and/or injury to a person (or animal) usually to one who is physically restrained and is unable to defend against what is being done to them. It has ancient origins and still continues today. The torture debate is a controversial subject to modern society. Because it is such a complex subject, many debatable issues come from it. For example, many have debated whether torture is effective in obtaining the truth, affects the torturers, threatens the international standing of the United States, or undermines justice. Others include what qualifies as torture, or whether or not the United States should set an example by not torturing. The two opposing claims to this topic would be: (a) that torture should always be illegal because it is immoral and cruel and goes against the international treaties signed by the U.S. and torture and inhuman treatment, and (b) yes, torture is acceptable when needed. Why not do to terrorists what they are so good at doing to so many others?
"Terrorism and Civil Liberty: Is Torture Ever Justified? | The Economist." The Economist - World
Until there is a credible way to determine whether or not torture is in fact effective, I pass judgment that the practice should be discontinued. The question as to if the torture policy is a human rights violation or if it holds crucial necessity, is not answered in the essay. Applebaum explores the reality that torture possesses negative implications on the inflictor. After presented with the compelling stance and evidence, Applebaum raises the interesting question as to why so much of society believes that torture is successful. I agree that the torture policy is wrong, a point emphasized by Applebaum, contrary to the popular attitude surrounding the topic.
Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief (2005), and Steven Spielberg, director of Schindler’s List (1993), both use their works to portray the theme of racism in Nazi-era Germany. Racism today affects millions of people daily, with 4.6 million people being racial discrimination in Australia alone. However, in Nazi-era Germany, Jewish people were discrimination because they weren’t part of the ‘master race’, causing millions to suffer and be killed. To explore this theme, the setting, characters, conflicts and symbols in both The Book Thief and Schindler’s List will be analysed and compared.
America’s Use of Torture in Interrogations of Suspected Terrorists Violates Human Rights by Lisa Hajjar