Ethics Of Torture Essay

The practice of using torture is one of the ethical controversies of all time, especially in obtaining information from suspected terrorists. According to Arthur .F. Holmes, individuals will have different decisions, which depends on the theories they stand for. Based on the definition, utilitarianism maximizes the benefits of people and considers the consequence of the whole community. In other words, utilitarian would give their decisions after examining whether the specific issue fits their standard of good and/ or right. From this perspective, one might believe that torture is the most ethical choice as prisoner should deal with what they deserve, and it would give a high degree of probability that prisoner's resolve will be broken. In contrast, Kant duty-based ethics strongly regards the moral law and duty principles. If the performance of torture is instructed by higher positions, they must "act out of regard for duty", and respect the law as well. Virtue ethics theory, one of the major approaches in normative ethics, emphasizes more morality rather than right things. Thus, the decision of torturing performance relies on the key element which the motives lies- each individual's heart. For instance, one will not commit to do it due to the strong feelings of wrong act; otherwise, he or she probably thinks torturing should be done to help other people. Like the …show more content…
Inevitably, humans us do have different standard of being right and wrong, but it, somehow, is still based on something related to universal statement. The whole process of examining the benefits of a large group of people and right0 wrong definition would give individuals the most concise answer without feeling guilty to make decisions. Additionally, if the prisoner deserves being torture because of his committed crime, he should get it accordingly, and utilitarianism is the ethical decision instead of self-centered