On the Fair Use of Torture, or, How Democracies Justify the Unjustifiable
Publisher
:
La Découverte
Parution date
:
2008
EAN
:
9782707149831
Number of pages
:
216
Description
The moral condemnation of torture has failed to prevent the exacting challenges of its theoretical legitimization as a “lesser evil.” In this audacious essay, Terestchenko dissects the arguments of thinkers, philosophers, and judicial authorities for whom torture, in its various incarnations and in varying circumstances, can be justified. In a thorough refutation of the school of thought known as the liberal ideology of torture, he explains how the use and legitimization of torture creates a deeply corrupting poison for civil society and its institutions.
First Terestchenko presents a genealogy of new torture practices, from their origins in the 1950s to their present-day forms. He shows how such practices as “sensory disorientation” and “self-inflicted pain,” among others, have evolved over time. Then he examines the legal aspect, giving the example of the way the United States justified, or refuted, what went on in Guantánamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. He goes on to debunk the myth of the noble torturer, illustrated by the fictional counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer in the TV series 24, and vigorously refutes the liberal ideology designed to show that even perfectly compassionate citizens might justify torture to find a ticking bomb. Developing the notion of abuse of public trust, he argues that this dangerous fallacy will turn our democracies into illegitimate states.
Author
Michel Terestchenko : Michel Terestchenko teaches philosophy at the University of Reims and the Institute of Political Studies of Aix-en-Provence. He is the author of several books of moral and political philosophy, among which Un si fragile vernis d'humanite: Banalite du mal, banalite du bien (Such a Fragile Veneer of Humanity: The Banality of Good and Evil; La Decouverte, 2005) has been hailed by critics as one of the most outstanding and noteworthy contemporary works.
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