(no subject)
I recently posted a question from a quiz that I thought was a really good one and I got some really good responses.
"Would you allow torture if a captive knew something that could save someone/something you love (wife/husband/children/country/fellow soldiers/innocents) from an otherwise inevitable death?"
I feel that it is only fair that I post my own answer to this little problem.
Now, there are those that said that they would do this, if push came to shove. I can respect that. The need to survive is a basic trait of living things and the love we have for our children can be overwhelming. This is a tough question.
That being said, philisophically I must firmly disagree with them.
Torture is one of the basic evils. To cause someone torment of this sort (pain for pain's sake) is to twist his mind and soul. This is, to me, a most heinous crime and should never be allowed to happen under any circumstances. As was pointed out in the comments to the post, "There always has to be another way." I agree with this. There are countless other ways of gathering information about and from someone. These can include - but are not limited to - moral appeals, trickery, and bribery with freedom.
But there is a most basic concern that must be considered. This is the opinion of the subject of the information.
Say your child is in danger. You have the situation above in which a person in your custody has information that could save that child. Do you torture him?
What about the child? Would the child appreciate your actions on his or her behalf? Now? Ten years down the road? I don't think that any moral person who has given torture any thought will say that the child would want to be saved in such a fashion. I certainly would not wish to be "saved" by torture.
Let's go to the other end of the spectrum and look at saving a country. Is any country worth the torture of a single man? Can it be said that any country could be saved through the torture of men? I think not. Once blood is spilled in torture for any nation, that nation is doomed, as it should be. A nation based on torture is no nation worth fighting. Blood spilled in righteous battle can be considered honorable and most any nation should hail and reward its soldiers who keep its borders secure. However, the country that condones torture enslaves the mind of man, and should be condemned and forced to pay for its crimes. It should be destroyed. Any just citizen should stand against such tyranny and face torture and imprisonment himself before allowing his own nation to commit this evil.
For Evil it is. There is none lower. Murder is simply ending someone existence as a living creature on this world. It snuffs out the life but does not twist the soul. While it is evil, it is simple. When someone is tortured, and that would include psychological torture and rape, he is affected at his deepest level and is twisted, forced into another state by someone who has no right to dominion over him. His basic soul is affected in such a way that the changes can not even be understood by someone who has not been the victim of something like it. No amount of study will ever let us truly understand the victims of torture until we are able to actually step into their minds, thus experiencing the event ourselves.
I, for one, would be most proud of my children if they would revile my name forever if I would stoop to torturing someone for their sakes. I would not lightly insult my children by doing such a thing. Justice is desirable. Torture does not equate to justice.
"Would you allow torture if a captive knew something that could save someone/something you love (wife/husband/children/country/fellow soldiers/innocents) from an otherwise inevitable death?"
I feel that it is only fair that I post my own answer to this little problem.
Now, there are those that said that they would do this, if push came to shove. I can respect that. The need to survive is a basic trait of living things and the love we have for our children can be overwhelming. This is a tough question.
That being said, philisophically I must firmly disagree with them.
Torture is one of the basic evils. To cause someone torment of this sort (pain for pain's sake) is to twist his mind and soul. This is, to me, a most heinous crime and should never be allowed to happen under any circumstances. As was pointed out in the comments to the post, "There always has to be another way." I agree with this. There are countless other ways of gathering information about and from someone. These can include - but are not limited to - moral appeals, trickery, and bribery with freedom.
But there is a most basic concern that must be considered. This is the opinion of the subject of the information.
Say your child is in danger. You have the situation above in which a person in your custody has information that could save that child. Do you torture him?
What about the child? Would the child appreciate your actions on his or her behalf? Now? Ten years down the road? I don't think that any moral person who has given torture any thought will say that the child would want to be saved in such a fashion. I certainly would not wish to be "saved" by torture.
Let's go to the other end of the spectrum and look at saving a country. Is any country worth the torture of a single man? Can it be said that any country could be saved through the torture of men? I think not. Once blood is spilled in torture for any nation, that nation is doomed, as it should be. A nation based on torture is no nation worth fighting. Blood spilled in righteous battle can be considered honorable and most any nation should hail and reward its soldiers who keep its borders secure. However, the country that condones torture enslaves the mind of man, and should be condemned and forced to pay for its crimes. It should be destroyed. Any just citizen should stand against such tyranny and face torture and imprisonment himself before allowing his own nation to commit this evil.
For Evil it is. There is none lower. Murder is simply ending someone existence as a living creature on this world. It snuffs out the life but does not twist the soul. While it is evil, it is simple. When someone is tortured, and that would include psychological torture and rape, he is affected at his deepest level and is twisted, forced into another state by someone who has no right to dominion over him. His basic soul is affected in such a way that the changes can not even be understood by someone who has not been the victim of something like it. No amount of study will ever let us truly understand the victims of torture until we are able to actually step into their minds, thus experiencing the event ourselves.
I, for one, would be most proud of my children if they would revile my name forever if I would stoop to torturing someone for their sakes. I would not lightly insult my children by doing such a thing. Justice is desirable. Torture does not equate to justice.