Scott A. Anderson
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226529387
- eISBN:
- 9780226529554
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226529554.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
The introduction to this volume gives a brief overview of the recent history of torture, and how the American “War on Terror” changed the U.S. from being a key critic of torture to one of its users ...
More
The introduction to this volume gives a brief overview of the recent history of torture, and how the American “War on Terror” changed the U.S. from being a key critic of torture to one of its users and defenders, putting it at odds with international law and much global opinion. It then surveys some of the complex issues that arise in thinking holistically about the nature of torture, its ethical aspects, its place in war, and its cultural significance. It then previews the fourteen chapters of the volume, noting many of the connections that appear when thinkers from different disciplines address the subject in its broader context.Less
The introduction to this volume gives a brief overview of the recent history of torture, and how the American “War on Terror” changed the U.S. from being a key critic of torture to one of its users and defenders, putting it at odds with international law and much global opinion. It then surveys some of the complex issues that arise in thinking holistically about the nature of torture, its ethical aspects, its place in war, and its cultural significance. It then previews the fourteen chapters of the volume, noting many of the connections that appear when thinkers from different disciplines address the subject in its broader context.
Scott A. Anderson and Martha C. Nussbaum (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226529387
- eISBN:
- 9780226529554
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226529554.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This book gathers fourteen essays on torture, addressing its complexities from the perspectives of psychology, history, philosophy, law, and cultural commentary. It appears in the wake of the ...
More
This book gathers fourteen essays on torture, addressing its complexities from the perspectives of psychology, history, philosophy, law, and cultural commentary. It appears in the wake of the American “War on Terror,” and the apparent evaporation of a broad consensus in international law, the U.S. legal community, and public thinking that torture is never an acceptable act, even in war. The chapters of the book seek to understand the historical and cultural roots of torture; to assess its impacts on survivors, their societies, and those who engage in it or with its victims; to consider philosophical arguments about its justification; and to consider how law and lawyers should confront the problem of torture. While there is no single message or thesis running throughout the book, all of the chapters seek to bring out the complexity of torture as a social, psychological, legal and ethical problem. The introductory chapter, by torture survivor Albie Sachs, who went on to become a justice on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, demonstrates many of the challenges that torture creates for a society, and for conceiving justice in the wake of torture. Many of the subsequent chapters address the possibilities and difficulties for law and social institutions to respond effectively to torture by creating legal frameworks and structural barriers to guard against the temptations that torture offers. While none of the chapters defend using torture, many grapple with the difficulties of explaining convincingly why ethics absolutely prohibits torture.Less
This book gathers fourteen essays on torture, addressing its complexities from the perspectives of psychology, history, philosophy, law, and cultural commentary. It appears in the wake of the American “War on Terror,” and the apparent evaporation of a broad consensus in international law, the U.S. legal community, and public thinking that torture is never an acceptable act, even in war. The chapters of the book seek to understand the historical and cultural roots of torture; to assess its impacts on survivors, their societies, and those who engage in it or with its victims; to consider philosophical arguments about its justification; and to consider how law and lawyers should confront the problem of torture. While there is no single message or thesis running throughout the book, all of the chapters seek to bring out the complexity of torture as a social, psychological, legal and ethical problem. The introductory chapter, by torture survivor Albie Sachs, who went on to become a justice on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, demonstrates many of the challenges that torture creates for a society, and for conceiving justice in the wake of torture. Many of the subsequent chapters address the possibilities and difficulties for law and social institutions to respond effectively to torture by creating legal frameworks and structural barriers to guard against the temptations that torture offers. While none of the chapters defend using torture, many grapple with the difficulties of explaining convincingly why ethics absolutely prohibits torture.
