Can it Be Ethical to Use Bad Means (torture) to Achieve a Good End?
Simple ethical questions are easy to answer. Is torture wrong? Of course it is. But simple ethical questions aren't really questions. It reminds me of the old Coaches Versus Cancer tournament, whose proceeds go toSadly, most people's thinking stops there. Is torture wrong? Yes. I'm an ethical person. I'm done. I'd like to pose a real ethical question.
Is Torture Wrong?
Consider this hypothetical. You're a law enforcement agent and you get a tip that there's a plan to blow up the Earth. You expect that they'll detonate a set of nuclear weapons, destroying the world in a couple days. Then you catch somebody who knows about the plan, and knows how to stop it. But the person refuses to divulge the details. For clarity, let's say this plan is 100% sure. There is no doubt.
If you torture this person, you will be able to get the information from them, foil the plan, and save the world.
Should you torture this person to save the entire world? This question is as easy as the simple "Is torture wrong?" question. Of course you should. But wait, I thought torture was bad. In this scenario, we might even say that not torturing would be wrong. How's that for turning the tables?
Ethics: Bad Means for a Good End
What gives? If torturing is wrong, how were we able to find a situation when not torturing is wrong? It's because ethical questions are not as simple as people make them. We've uncovered a situation where you need to use bad means for a good end.
To measure the ethics, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis and compare the bad means and the good end.
First, there's the bad means, the torture. Are you doing something wrong by torturing this person? Yes. Torture is bad, and you are doing a moderately bad thing. If you want to quantify, we'll call it a -4.
Second, there's the good end, the saving the world. If you don't take action, the world ends. But if you torture, you save the world. That's a very good end. We can quantify that as a +10.
The Business of War: Torture - is it the American Way?
Detainees of Guantanamo Bay have been tortured by methods that were once used to resist torture. We are slowly making the world safe for the justification of torture.
The Torture of Maher Arar
The story of Maher Arar has been largely ignored by the media and, in the wake of this ridiculous "compromise" on the McCain-Graham-Warner proposal, this is just the thing to illustrate the destructive and malicious n...
Torture is Wrong
The House Armed Services Committee has passed HR 6054 which allows secret evidence to be used against detainees and which guts U.S. compliance with the Geneva Convention's ban o...
Torture is a Problem, Not a Solution
On January 15, 2005, the BBC quoted outgoing U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge as saying that the U.S. did not condone the use of torture to extract information from terrorists, but that under an "extreme set...
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- Is torture wrong? Of course it is.
- Would you torture one person to save 100? Most likely, yes.
- Ethical issues aren't as simple as people make them.
Type in Your Comments Below
Scott Schlimmer
04/17/2007
Thanks Jennifer, I love to hear that. Too often people don't really consider the issues. Their opinions then end up simplistic and rhetorical. I don't want to convince anybody, but I want people to realize why people hold the opposing opinion. Thanks for the comment!
Jennifer Thompson
04/15/2007
I love that you'll take on those topics of blurry moral question. Kudos for your insight and your bravery.
Murielle Stephenson
04/04/2007
Scott, taking the life of another is wrong. I know that we live in a world in which things have gotten so blurred that we would like to justify whatever choice we make. Obviously being raped is something that no one wants and hopefully if it happens to a woman, she does not have to deal with such an awful consequence. I cannot imagine how I would feel is I were in that position. Nevertheless that child is innocent. As far as the death penalty is concerned, let us hope that when such a decision is made, as imperfect humans we have all the necessary facts to say that the right person was put to death. Otherwise well... otherwise, we are no different than the murderer.
Scott S
04/04/2007
Interesting. I think you're plenty ethical to kill a murder who's trying to kill you. I'd like to hear your ethics thoughts on two other cases: 1) Aborting a fetus if the woman was raped. 2) The death penalty.
Murielle Stephenson
04/04/2007
Yes killing in self defense is killing. Humanity might wink at it and say " she was only defending herself" but the outcome is the same. I hope that susty fellow comes back; unless you have actually managed to scare him off. That coward.
Scott S
04/04/2007
Rusty: If you're still paying attention, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Death Penalty.
Scott S
04/04/2007
I'm actually not commenting on the rape case. That's hazier. I'm commenting on the Kill Someone Who's Trying to Murder You question I asked you. "To answer your question, Self defense is a very different matter and the scenario would also be different." To be fair, you didn't explicitly say you'd kill to defend yourself from a murderer, but if you didn't imply that, then I don't know it answered my question.
Murielle Stephenson
04/04/2007
NO WAY. I'M NOT AGREEING THAT MURDER IS RIGHT. THERE IS NEVER A JUSTIFICATION FOR IT. THOUGH IT WOULD HAVE VBEEN AN ACCIDENT,I DID ACCTUALLY KILLED THE RAPIST AND MY LOVED ONE. IN BOTH SITUATIONS I SHOULD PAY FOR MY ACTIONS BY WHATEVER LAWS GOVERNING THAT COUNTRY OR WORLD. AND YES, IN THAT MOMENT I WOULD HAVE SHOOSEN TO DISREGARD MY ETHICS AND WOULD HAVE ACTED UNETHICALLY.
Scott S
04/04/2007
I'm going to take this one step further. If a person knows that torturing one person will save many other people, and then chooses not to save those people...I'll go as far as saying that that person is acting unethically by not torturing. That person is indirectly responsible for many deaths by sticking stubbornly to rigid beliefs and by choosing not to prevent the deaths.
Scott S
04/04/2007
So you can justify murder, but not torture? You've contradicted yourself. "Either murder is wrong or it isn't. An ethical person cannot diviate from his or her beliefs." By your own definition, you aren't ethical. Don't worry, I still say you're ethical.
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