Torture can be morally acceptable?

Comrade_
Comrade_: Can choose to turn this into a discussion or a debate, anything you prefer. All for exchanging ideas.

Clarity:
1) Torture - 'the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty'.
[This can also applied both physically and mentally]

2) Morally acceptable - Acceptable/permissible when viewed from a moral standpoint [Moral: 'concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of human action and character']

Is it that you view torture as a general No-no, not in any circumstances should this be used or do you think that there are circumstances where this will be morally acceptable as being a just method. Example, to gather important information that will serve to save lives, etc. It may not necessarily work but will it be acceptable is the question.

(Edited by Comrade_)
10 years ago Report
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Aura
Aura: Nope. It should never be acceptable.
Understandable, is an other story, specially when we get to the punishment/revenge part. But that's personal. It should not be acceptable for those who remain not effected by whatever actions occurred, as a form of social check.
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Paulo The Cat
Paulo The Cat: Never.....never....never....not even to save lives.....once ya open Pandora Box ya cant close it.....
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pinkphenomenon
pinkphenomenon: Regardless to it being acceptable or not, torture happens.
Why does it happen? In order for the victim to break, to coward, to reveal and to feel until there's nothing left.
The army use it, Robert Mugabe's regime significantly use it to gain power and control. I'm just using two examples....

It's human nature to hurt or wish pain upon those who harm us.
It doesn't mean we are right to feel that bitter anger and to yearn for " an eye for an eye" type of punishment.
In fact I'm certain two wrongs don't make a right.
We do however make choices on what makes us feel better, some go to extremes in order to vent their inner frustrations and anger towards the evil..
I can understand immensely as to why armies use such forces, if one had caused tremendous amount of pain and torture to the human race, has inside information as to how to prevent future attacks and they are unwillingly to co operate the nice way, then Yeh sure as hell hit them where it hurts.
But with every action there's a consequence.
Morally, that's something the two wrongs will have to deal with for the rest of their days.
For others, they will be facing the effects of their actions every day.
So is it worth as the above mentioned to open up the Pandora box?
10 years ago Report
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pinkphenomenon
pinkphenomenon: I think that's a question we dare not to ask out loud in fear of the reaction...
If my child was in crazy danger by an evil person I would do whatever it takes to get them back safe to me and to make sure they stay clear of my family.
Verbal communication only goes so far. And as we all know, actions speak louder than words...
However, I would never kill, I would never harm a person significantly not through violent force.
I would seek sly revenge though.
Something that wouldn't get me arrested and jailed but something that gave them the message to back off.
Psychological methods go further than violence.
Does that make me a bad person? I guess so.
Everyone has ying and yang in them.
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Dennae
Dennae:
I didn't think so ... and then I watched:
Unthinkable with Samuel L. Jackson and
Tortured with Laurence Fishburne.

Both, truly disturbing
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deuce916
deuce916: Nelson Mandela didn't agree to it.
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jelapi23
jelapi23: there was a docu called something like "Torture: We Have Ways' in which actual totured persons and the torturers both spoke. It showed also the results the effects doing that and being tortured did to both parties, really important to see.
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michael empathy
michael empathy: tourture is NEVER on.
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Insouciant FiLTH
Insouciant FiLTH: Not sure if "Nelson Mandela didn't agree to it" means much, seems as an appeal to authority, but it's ok I think I get what you mean.
I'm interested in that documentary, I'll check it out.
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jelapi23
jelapi23: Great !

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Ms_Mafdet_The Great
Ms_Mafdet_The Great: I would have to say: Since morals are a relative construct, "Yes", torture can technically, be morally acceptable.. It would depend on "what" your morals are..
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michael empathy
michael empathy: mafdet, your logic is confused darl,..so because somthing is relative, then a extreme is somehow acceptable, ??


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Ms_Mafdet_The Great
Ms_Mafdet_The Great: Think about what you just typed.....

In short, the person who has a moral code which reflects that point of view, "yes" it is..

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Ms_Mafdet_The Great
Ms_Mafdet_The Great: All truth is relative - individual.
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michael empathy
michael empathy: so a person with a moral code finding tourture acceptable is thus acceptable???
its all relative mafdet,including truth but is it right
get tourtured darl, then come back and awnser that question for me
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Ms_Mafdet_The Great
Ms_Mafdet_The Great: I am only answering the topic question in my statement - not yours
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Ms_Mafdet_The Great
(Post deleted by Ms_Mafdet_The Great 10 years ago)
orkanen
orkanen: Based on the clarifications in first post, not the title itself, I'd say a definite no. One can simply argue that the victim, making every effort to make the torture stop, will say anything to satisfy the torturer, be it admitting to tilting the Tower of Piza, or giving the order to kill Caesar.
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michael empathy
michael empathy: ok, the truth..again mafdet, morality is not a relitive thing ,because it is grounded in behaviour ,and while it is subject to the extreems of behavoiur, it is also subject to almost universal understandings of the truth and moral behaviour, so to think of any morality as being equal to any other is incorrect
and of course your assertion that evil moral codes are aceptable because they have a 'moral code' is false totally ,and abit of a worry
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orkanen
orkanen: michael empathy: Morality _is_ relative. One can be raised to believe that everyone not in ones own group is inferior, and are thus subject to different rules and standards. Typical examples for this are found in various Religious groups, where outsiders, in worst case, are killed for not belonging, or for leaving that group.
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michael empathy
michael empathy: but is it still generally understood to be moral?
are the beliefs moral, in the general wotld??...no
are the beilefs of these religious groups not 'outsiders'
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orkanen
orkanen: According to the group, outsiders are immoral for not accepting the truths of the group. As such, from the individuals of the groups stand point, their moral is universal. Similar groups will approve of their standards. If everyone belonged to the group in question, their moral definitions would be universal, would they not?
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ghostgeek
ghostgeek: I think that before one can realistically answer this question one must first be tortured. Only then can one have the requisite authority to speak and be listened to.
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chattypaddy
chattypaddy: if there was a guy ready to bomb an area and kill lots of people and you caught him before they set it off and you had 12hrs to find out when and where? you bet you arse i'd torture him. it's something i'd have to live with but i'm ok with that.
if someone killed someone i loved and the courts let him walk you bet you arse i'd be waiting.
long before jesus said love your neighbor and forgive those who trespass against you. god said an eye for an eye. i guess i depends on what part of the book you wish to believe.
moral or not sometimes doing nothing let's evil live while the innocent continue to die. how is that moral?
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orkanen
orkanen: The problem with torture is that the victim may say anything they believe will make the torturer stop. This doesn't have to be the truth, though. If the mind of the victim is set thus that one must suffer to reach Nirvana, or what ever, they can endure long enough for the bomb to go off.
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