Torture

Definitionally, torture is the intentional infliction of suffering on a defenceless person against their will. This may be done out of cruelty for the satisfaction of causing harm, or as a means to some other end. The former is uncontroversially wrong, but the latter has been the subject of moral debate with some arguing that it is permissible, and perhaps even required in circumstances of extreme emergency, to use torture to extract information or secure cooperation from someone. A familiar scenario of this sort is where a terrorist has information on the location of a bomb intended to kill innocent civilians (see for example the US film Unthinkable (2010)). Apart from those who hold that any form of violence is wrong, others who, though not pacifists, are opposed to torture in all circumstances argue that it is a direct intentional violation of human dignity and rights. Defenders of torture appeal to utilitarian considerations, and/or to the idea that rights may be forfeited.