{"product_id":"torture-and-the-ticking-bomb-isbn-9781405162012","title":"Torture and the Ticking Bomb","description":"This 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.  \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eArgues that the respectability Dershowitz's arguments confer on the view that torture is a legitimate weapon in the war on terror needs urgently to be countered\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eTakes on the advocates of torture on their own utilitarian grounds\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eTimely and passionately written, in an accessible, jargon-free style\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eForms part of the provocative and timely \u003ci\u003eBlackwell Public Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e series\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003ePreface ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e1 Introduction 1\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat is Torture? 3\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDershowitz on Interrogational Torture 6\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy Write about Torture? 8\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Agenda 11\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e2 The Fantasy of the Ticking Bomb Scenario 14\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDershowitz’s Argument and the Ticking Bomb 14\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWho Tortures? 21\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEffectiveness and Time 24\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eKnowledge and Necessity 31\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Ticking Bomb Scenario: Conclusion 38\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3 The Consequences of Normalizing \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eInterrogational Torture 40\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSome Clarifications 41\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThree Positive Claims about the Consequences of Legalizing Interrogational Torture 52\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Institutionalization of Interrogational Torture 57\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA Torturous Society 72\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 Torture, Death and Philosophy 75\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTorture 76\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTorture, Death and Interrogation 79\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhy No Decent Society Can Torture 84\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTorture, the “War on Terror” and Intellectual Irresponsibility 85\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBut What if Torture Really is the Only Possible Way to Avoid Catastrophe? 86\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo Final Points 88\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotes 89\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBibliography 109\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 117\u003c\/p\u003e  “Bob Brecher has accepted the challenge of the defenders of torture in this excellent book.” (\u003ci\u003eNotre Dame Philosophical Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, February 2009)  \u003cp\u003e\"(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.\" \u003ci\u003e(Red Pepper, March 2008)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A splendid attack on the appalling idea of legalising torture.\" \u003ci\u003e(Will Podmore)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“A salutary antidote to those who would waver on the issue [of torture]…Brecher opens up the wider utilitarian implications that arise.” \u003ci\u003e(Planet Magazine)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e“Brecher … does not reflexively dismiss the advocates of torture … .He carefully cites the errors of their arguments, using logic, expert opinion, and moral reasoning.” \u003ci\u003e(PsycCritiques)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eBob Brecher\u003c\/b\u003e is Reader in Moral Philosophy at the University of Brighton, UK and Director of its Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics and Ethics. He is the author of two previous books, \u003ci\u003eAnselm's Argument: the Logic of Divine Existence\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eGetting What You Want?: a Critique of Liberal Morality\u003c\/i\u003e (1998). He has published widely in ethics and social and political philosophy and was the founding editor of the journal \u003ci\u003eRes Publica\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cb\u003eDo you really think torture is acceptable in any circumstances?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe controversial arguments of Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz supporting the legalisation of torture in so-called “ticking bomb” scenarios represent the most sophisticated and visible of recent attempts to make torture an accepted weapon in the war on terror.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStates and other agents engage in torture, as both sides of the debate accept. According to Bob Brecher, it is precisely because the general public are taking the “new realism” of Dershowitz and others seriously that there is a pressing need to expose the fundamental flaws in their arguments, lest the peoples of democratic societies lose their moral compass and fail to be vigilant in holding their governments properly to account.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis timely and passionate book is the first to address itself directly to the arguments for legalising the limited use of interrogational torture. Brecher confronts those arguments head-on, examining the efficacy of torture and drawing out the practical implications for policy as well as the ethical implications of these proposals for the kind of society we live in.\u003c\/p\u003e  \"Brecher relentlessly deconstructs the most misleading hypothetical of our time. His lively and valuable book shows that even 'noble cause' torture is always counterproductive.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e–\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eGeoffrey Robertson QC\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e, Doughty Street Chambers\u003c!--end--\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cp\u003e\"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!\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003e–\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eGabriel Palmer-Fernandez\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e, Youngstown State University\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47990396715237,"sku":"NP9781405162012","price":105.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781405162012.jpg?v=1761787662","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/torture-and-the-ticking-bomb-isbn-9781405162012","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}