TestenGOLD- Free

Torture & Ticking Bombs

Philosophy Now|December 2023 / January 2024
Edward Hall is sceptical about this infamous ethical example's usefulness.
- Edward Hall
Torture & Ticking Bombs

Philosophers love thought experiments, and few have been as influential in contemporary moral and political philosophy as ‘the ticking bomb’. The idea was famously employed by Michael Walzer in his seminal treatment of the problem of dirty hands (Political Action, 1973), and has been the topic of heated discussion ever since.

Walzer considers the case of a newly-elected politician asked to authorise the torture of a captured rebel leader who knows the location of a number of bombs that have been hidden in buildings around the city. If they detonate, they will cause enormous suffering. According to Walzer, in this case, the politician should violate the moral prohibition against torture, even though they accept that ‘‘torture is wrong, indeed abominable, not just sometimes, but always.’’ The unfortunate reality is that political leadership sometimes demands morally tragic decision-making, and leaders who refuse to authorise torture in these circumstances display a dishonourable kind of squeamishness unbefitting their role.

The ticking bomb is commonly invoked to justify torturing terrorist suspects, and the thought experiment pervades media discussion of this issue. It has also been invoked by holders of high office. For example, when giving evidence to the Intelligence and Security Committee of the UK Parliament, a number of prominent British politicians, including former Prime Ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May, and former Senior Ministers Phillip Hammond and Amber Rudd, invoked ticking bomb scenarios in defence of the possibility of authorising torture and other forms of cruel and degrading punishment, under some circumstances.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2023 / January 2024-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2023 / January 2024-Ausgabe von Philosophy Now.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 9.500 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS PHILOSOPHY NOWAlle anzeigen
Affirmative Action for Androids
Philosophy Now

Affirmative Action for Androids

Jimmy Alfonso Licon asks, when should we prioritise android rights?

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Welcome to the Civilization of the Liar's Paradox
Philosophy Now

Welcome to the Civilization of the Liar's Paradox

Slavoj Žižek uncovers political paradoxes of lying.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
June/July 2025
The Importance of the Purple
Philosophy Now

The Importance of the Purple

Massimo Pigliucci looks for threads of integrity in a morally compromised world.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Ethics for the Age of AI
Philosophy Now

Ethics for the Age of AI

Mahmoud Khatami asks, can machines make good moral decisions?

time-read
10 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Anand Vaidya (1976-2024)
Philosophy Now

Anand Vaidya (1976-2024)

Manjula Menon on the short but full career of a 'disciplinary trespasser'.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Studying Smarter with AI?
Philosophy Now

Studying Smarter with AI?

Max Gottschlich on sense and nonsense when using AI in academia.

time-read
5 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Excusing God
Philosophy Now

Excusing God

Raymond Tallis highlights the problem of evil.

time-read
7 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Stephen Fry
Philosophy Now

Stephen Fry

Perhaps unshockingly for someone who is an actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer, Stephen Fry has a deep interest in words and how we use them. After hearing him lecture on that subject, Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis asked him about Artificial Intelligence and how it connects with the extraordinary lure of language.

time-read
8 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
Is VR Meaningful Escapism?
Philosophy Now

Is VR Meaningful Escapism?

Amir Haj-Bolouri enquires into possible meaning through technology.

time-read
9 Minuten  |
June/July 2025
What Simone de Beauvoir Got — And Didn't Get – About Motherhood
Philosophy Now

What Simone de Beauvoir Got — And Didn't Get – About Motherhood

Nura Hossainzadeh argues that motherhood is both physical and transcendent.

time-read
10+ Minuten  |
June/July 2025

Wir verwenden Cookies, um unsere Dienste bereitzustellen und zu verbessern. Durch die Nutzung unserer Website stimmen Sie zu, dass die Cookies gesetzt werden. Learn more