Torture

Is torture ever permissible? 

It is generally assumed that torture is impermissible. It is an artefact of a more barbaric age and enlightened societies should reject it outright. 

‘Torture’ is a somewhat vague term as it includes various purposes such as: 1) the extracting confessions of guilt; 2) legally authorized punishment for criminals; 3) for extracting information; and 4) illegally, for sheer vengeance, sadistic pleasure, or intimidation.

To most people, (1), (2), and (4) are outright prohibited, though some will allow (3) in some cases – namely the extreme ‘ticking time bomb’ scenarios. 

It seems to me that once you concede that torture is justified in extreme cases, you have admitted that the decision to use torture is a matter of balancing innocent lives against the means needed to save them. 

Some think that torture is wrong because it violates the human rights of the one being tortured. Though that may be true in most cases, in cases like 3) it seems that letting innocents die in deference to one who flaunts his guilt is moral cowardice. Sometimes one has to get their hands dirty in order to do the right thing.