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Confronting Torture
Essays on the Ethics, Legality, History, and Psychology of Torture Today
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Edited by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2018
About this book
Torture has lately become front page news, featured in popular movies and TV shows, and a topic of intense public debate. It grips our imagination, in part because torturing someone seems to be an unthinkable breach of humanity—theirs and ours. And yet, when confronted with horrendous events in war, or the prospect of catastrophic damage to one’s own country, many come to wonder whether we can really afford to abstain entirely from torture. Before trying to tackle this dilemma, though, we need to see torture as a multifaceted problem with a long history and numerous ethical and legal aspects.
Confronting Torture offers a multidisciplinary investigation of this wrenching topic. Editors Scott A. Anderson and Martha C. Nussbaum bring together a diversity of scholars to grapple with many of torture’s complexities, including: How should we understand the impetus to use torture? Why does torture stand out as a particularly heinous means of war-fighting? Are there any sound justifications for the use of torture? How does torture affect the societies that employ it? And how can we develop ethical or political bulwarks to prevent its use? The essays here resist the temptation to oversimplify torture, drawing together work from scholars in psychology, history, sociology, law, and philosophy, deepening and broadening our grasp of the subject. Now, more than ever, torture is something we must think about; this important book offers a diversity of timely, constructive responses on this resurgent and controversial subject.
Confronting Torture offers a multidisciplinary investigation of this wrenching topic. Editors Scott A. Anderson and Martha C. Nussbaum bring together a diversity of scholars to grapple with many of torture’s complexities, including: How should we understand the impetus to use torture? Why does torture stand out as a particularly heinous means of war-fighting? Are there any sound justifications for the use of torture? How does torture affect the societies that employ it? And how can we develop ethical or political bulwarks to prevent its use? The essays here resist the temptation to oversimplify torture, drawing together work from scholars in psychology, history, sociology, law, and philosophy, deepening and broadening our grasp of the subject. Now, more than ever, torture is something we must think about; this important book offers a diversity of timely, constructive responses on this resurgent and controversial subject.
Author / Editor information
Scott A. Anderson is associate professor of philosophy at the University of British Columbia. Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago. She is the author of many books, including most recently Anger and Forgiveness: Resentment, Generosity, Justice.
Reviews
“Scott Anderson and Martha Nussbaum’s Confronting Torture is an excellent, fresh, diverse, and unusual collection, with a number of chapters that consider topics rarely examined in books on torture.”
— Henry Shue, University of OxfordTopics
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Frontmatter
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CONTENTS
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
vii -
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Introduction
1 - PART I. A Triumph over Torture, Told by a Survivor
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ONE. Tales of Terrorism and Torture: The Soft Vengeance of Justice
21 - PART II. Psychological Perspectives on Torture
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CHAPTER 2. The Many Faces of Torture: A Psychological Perspective
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CHAPTER 3. Stoic Equanimity in the Face of Torture
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CHAPTER 4. Gender Performance Requirements of the US Military in the War on Islamic Terrorism
87 - PART III. Torture in Historical Context
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CHAPTER 5. The Fragility of Evidence: Torture in Ancient Rome
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CHAPTER 6. US Torture of Prisoners of War in Historical Perspective: The Role of Delegitimization
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CHAPTER 7. Police Interrogation and Coercion in Domestic American History: Lessons for the War on Terror
146 - PART IV. The Ethics of Torture
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CHAPTER 8. The Ticking Bomb Hypothetical
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CHAPTER 9. Torture and Method in Moral Philosophy
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CHAPTER 10. Torture, Self- Defense, and Fighting Dirty
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CHAPTER 11. Torture as Unjust Means of War: To Squelch the Sirens’ Singing
231 - PART V. Torture in US Law and Policy
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CHAPTER 12. Torture and Positive Law: Jurisprudence for the White House
257 -
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CHAPTER 13. In Defense of Lawfare: The Value of Litigation in Challenging Torture
294 -
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CHAPTER 14. Tortured Prosecutions: Holding Private Military Contractors Accountable
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CONTRIBUTORS
345 -
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INDEX
347
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
October 21, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9780226529554
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9780226529554
Keywords for this book
torture; ethics; history; legal system; psychology; pop culture; capital punishment; police; criminal justice; terrorism; bad guys; vengeance; violence; pain; vigilante; war; law; sociology; stoicism; gender; soldier; military; army; united states; islam; religion; ancient rome; prisoners; coercion; terror; interrogation; self defense; mercenaries; contractors; white house; legislation; ticking bomb; necessity; moral
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
