PHIL 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Intellectual, Fail-Safe, Alan Dershowitz
8 Oct 2015
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Phil 200 - lecture 10 - torture cont. One reason why torture is so morally repugnant: It violates the principle at the basis of justice in war: fair fight . This is true even if torture is conducted on enemy combatants. It is an attack on people who are completely defenseless and who have no chance to resist, and it comes with no risk to the perpetrator. Shue is arguing against the permissibility of torture. He is going to address the devil"s advocate argument: What if the state wants information from the enemy and gives them the option to reveal the information in order to prevent the torture, then they"re not defenseless. Grim reality: torture is often used by governments and organizations around the world not to get information but as a means of terrorism. Terrorism: making an example out of the few to strike fear into the hearts of the many, and dissuade any would-be dissidents or opponents.
