This summer, I am partaking in an internship that involves researching a global issue that will be discussed in a conference early next year. The topic I was assigned happens to be torture. All I was given was the word (torture) and a list of websites that might come in handy. The direction of the research has been left up to my judgement. These are my initial thoughts on torture…
Torture is a complex issue. On one hand, torture can be seen as an easy way accomplish certain goals of a powerful party (i.e. a government, military power, etc.). On the other, it degrades the tortured, dehumanizes the torturer, and could possibly have no yield. I do not believe the “advantages” of torture outweigh it’s disadvantages.
I do not believe torture can ever be justified, but what alternatives are there? This is where the difficulty comes up. It is a moral dilemma that could potentially weigh one human life against others. I can, however, see where the motivation to torture would come from.
Through my research, I would like to learn mostly about alternatives to torture and the ethics of torture. If you are interested, you can follow me and even suggest some resources.
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