[lit-ideas] Semantics -- Idle? Defining 'torture'
- From: Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 19:22:50 EDT
In a message dated 4/24/2009 5:13:16 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
mr.eric.yost@xxxxxxxxx writes:
that many nations
torture.
---
And many individuals.
Since we are intelligent, we can start 'defining' as per philosophical
analysis of necessary and sufficient clauses, what counts as agent A
torturing, I take, agent B.
I submit:
--- A provokes pain.
-- with the goal of extracting information (But cfr. "My little brother is
torturing the cat").
In the context of "War is War" (a tautology that Grice favoured, since it
generates 'funny' (no haha implicatures) I would assume that the context:
war _is_ necessary.
--- i.e. B is A's _enemy_ as per a 'declared' war (hence the reason why
Argies refer to the Falklands' as a 'conflict' not a war -- it was never
declared -- _de facto_ does not count).
Then the utilitarian principle _needs_ to be invoked.
If you are going to _justify_ torture (or again, justify its universal
'moral condemnation) a reference to the preference of 'boiling one baby' (the
'torturee', figuratively speaking) over the unhappiness of a greater
number.
Julio Cortazar, the renowned Argentine writer, has this novel, which was
said to be a 'flop' if novels can be flops -- though my father enjoyed it --
"El libro de Manuel", "Many's book". Behind that silly title, it tells the
story of torture in the 'dirty' war of Argentina, and makes use of lots of
press releases. I always found it too strong for me.
Oddly, my PhD thesis advisor in Buenos Aires was Eduardo Rabossi. Most of
the time I needed him as a thesis advisor, he was busy with much more
important issues, he would say. His role in Argentine history, indeed, is that
he was the first Sub-secretary of Human Rights. That was his field of
expertise, and, oddly enough, he was an expert on Grice, too. He was a
naturalist
when it comes to human rights, vis a vis Carlos Santiago Nino -- another
philosopher of law who was more of a Kantian.
Cheers,
JLS
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