Torture: Moral Absolutes and Ambiguities

Not so long ago, the only respectable question for philosophical, legal and political scholars to ask about torture was how to ensure its effective legal prohibition. Recently, however, some leading lawyers and legal theorists have challenged those who are absolutely opposed to torture, arguing that in some circumstances torture may be morally permissible or even required. This has provoked a range of responses, from outraged dismissal to cautious concessions that the law has to adjust to new realities.
This volume contains contributions by some of the leading contributors to these debates. Distinctively, however, it supplements these direct contributions to debate about the morality of torture – and the morality of discussing torture – with essays which provide important legal, sociological, historical analyses of this appalling human practice and of attempts to control it.
With an international and interdisciplinary authorship, “Torture: Moral Absolutes and Ambiguities” will be essential reading for legal and political theorists, philosophers, sociologists, historians and indeed anybody interested in serious and informed thinking about this most disturbing phenomenon.