[lit-ideas] Hare On Torture

From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:49:00 EDT
In a message dated 4/23/2009 10:47:01 P.M.  Eastern Daylight Time, 
john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx writes:
"We do not torture"  are held to be universal in application. In the other, 
the patriarchal family  model typically associated with those of a 
conservative or reactionary  orientation, 
----

Bravo.

The passage by Anscombe R. Paul  quoted from, I believe, is in a blog on 
Hudson on torture. OTOH there's R. M.  Hare on torture. The first discussion I 
found on 'torture' by Hare is, I believe  in his Practical Inferences. His 
example:

My little brother is torturing  the cat.

I think it's Hare's point that that cannot be _good_ because  'torture' 
already has a _EVIL_ semantic load attached to it. My moral professor,  O. N. 
Guariglia, would say the same thing about 'kill'. I'm not so sure, "Two  men 
were killed in a storm". It turns out the storm was 'vicious', etc., and it  
was mainly accidental. I wouldn't say 'kill'.

I'm not sure the Greeks  used 'torture'. Who were the first torturers? And 
torturees? In Graeco-Roman  civilisation, I mean.

The waterboarding technique is ascribed to the  "Spanish Inquisition" but 
they were savage. Cfr. 'burning' people. Was Joan of  Arc _tortured_?

Cheers,

JLS  

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[lit-ideas] Hare On Torture

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