Understanding Torture

J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Published by Edinburgh University Press 2010

Understanding Torture

J. Jeremy Wisnewski

In the series Contemporary Ethical Debates

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780748643301

Overview
Contents

About this book

Despite Victor Hugo's 19th-century proclamation that torture no longer exists, we still find it even now, even in those nations that claim to be paradigms of civility. Why is it that torture still exists in a world where it is routinely regarded as immoral? Is it possible to eliminate torture, and if so, how? What exactly does it mean to call something 'torture', and is it always morally reprehensible?

Arguments in favour of torture abound, but in this important new book, J. Jeremy Wisnewski examines and explains the moral dimensions of this perennial practice, paying careful attention to what lessons torture can teach us about our own moral psychology. By systematically exposing the weaknesses of the dominant arguments for torture, drawing on resources in both analytic and continental philosophy and relevant empirical literature in psychology, Wisnewski aims to provide an over-arching account of torture: what it is, why it's wrong, and why even the most civilized people can nevertheless engage in it.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Series Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Acknowledgments Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Chapter 1 The Persistence of Torture: An Affliction That Won’t Go Away Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2 The History of Torture: A Sketch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	16
Chapter 3 The Wrongness of Torture: Identifying Torture’s Unique Despicability Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
Chapter 4 How Torture Unmakes Worlds Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
Chapter 5 Thinking through Torture’s Temptations Part One: Arguments For Torture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	92
Chapter 6 Thinking through Torture’s Temptations Part Two: Arguments Against Torture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	128
Chapter 7 The Psychology of Torture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	184
Chapter 8 The Politics of Torture: Orwellian Themes in the Bush League Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	200
Chapter 9 Hope Amid Pessimism: Concluding Reflections on Ending Torture Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	227
Selected Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	239
Selected Useful Websites Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	258
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	260

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Audience: College/higher education;
Pages
- Main content: 288
Keywords: Philosophy

eBook

Published: September 13, 2010
ISBN: 9780748643301