(October 24, 2014 at 6:18 pm)lifesagift Wrote: So you have the guy who has you daughter..... she's in a shed somewhere, hooked up to a bomb... it's going off in 2 hours....
You want the guy to tell you where..
But no torture?
If I were that guy, I'd send you to a place that took two hours and five minutes to get to, end my torture early, and still get to laugh as you learn of your daughter's death.
The problem with these scenarios is that they all assume that the detainee is always truthful.
And setting aside any utilitarian considerations (thin though they are), it's morally reprehensible. (For the theists whetting their words about moral absolutism in an atheist, I'll just refer you to the Golden Rule and let you figure it out.) Torture is morally reprehensible and ought not be practiced at any time on any person. It is sanctioned sadism which dehumanizes both participants.
