Description
Book SynopsisThis timely and passionate book is the first to address itself to Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz's controversial arguments for the limited use of interrogational torture and its legalisation.
Trade Review"Brecher relentlessly deconstructs the most misleading hypothetical of our time. His lively and valuable book shows that even 'noble cause' torture is always counterproductive."
Geoffrey Robertson QC, Doughty Street Chambers "(Dershowitz's) premise is subjected to a withering scrutiny in this brilliant deconstruction by the moral philosopher Bob Brecher. In a comprehensive critique of the 'ticking bomb' hypothesis, Brecher exposes the moral and intellectual flaws in Dershowitz's arguments and shows how easily such pragmatic rationalisations can open the door to the creation of a 'tortuous society'. It's a task that Brecher accomplishes with grace, moral passion and unswerving logic."
Red Pepper, March 2008
"Quite simply, this book is the most powerful and comprehensive challenge available to a piece of intellectual fraud having wide commerce today – that under some hypothetical situation the infliction of pain to break another’s will is morally justifiable. The ticking bomb, in Brecher’s analysis, is a fantasy that hardly yields grounds sufficient for the employment of interrogational torture. Here the philosopher’s role towards that fantasy is quite clear: debunk it!"
Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez, Youngstown State University
"A splendid attack on the appalling idea of legalising torture."
Will Podmore
“A salutary antidote to those who would waver on the issue [of torture]…Brecher opens up the wider utilitarian implications that arise.”
Planet Magazine
“Brecher … does not reflexively dismiss the advocates of torture … .He carefully cites the errors of their arguments, using logic, expert opinion, and moral reasoning.”
PsycCritiques
Table of ContentsPreface ix
1 Introduction 1
What is Torture? 3
Dershowitz on Interrogational Torture 6
Why Write about Torture? 8
The Agenda 11
2 The Fantasy of the Ticking Bomb Scenario 14
Dershowitz’s Argument and the Ticking Bomb 14
Who Tortures? 21
Effectiveness and Time 24
Knowledge and Necessity 31
The Ticking Bomb Scenario: Conclusion 38
3 The Consequences of Normalizing Interrogational Torture 40
Some Clarifications 41
Three Positive Claims about the Consequences of Legalizing Interrogational Torture 52
The Institutionalization of Interrogational Torture 57
A Torturous Society 72
4 Torture, Death and Philosophy 75
Torture 76
Torture, Death and Interrogation 79
Why No Decent Society Can Torture 84
Torture, the “War on Terror” and Intellectual Irresponsibility 85
But What if Torture Really is the Only Possible Way to Avoid Catastrophe? 86
Two Final Points 88
Notes 89
Bibliography 109
Index 117
