Unit 2 Government and Political Philosophy - David Luban

What did Luban say

he states that the start of classical liberalism is when people wrote about human cruelty and condemned it

What does Luban say about torture

Torture overwhelmed us and disregarded the bombs and missiles that killed people because torture stripped people of their dignity and bombs didn’t

(torture is a different kind of act)

For Luban, what was the purpose of liberalism

its to go against torture

this creates the need to go against torture and get rid of it

What are the 4 illiberal reasons for torture

victor’s pleasure/ Cruelty

terrorizing people into submission

torture as a form of criminal punishment

torture was used for extracting confessions

What is victor’s pleasure in torture

seeing trophies or victory in torturing someone

What was the purpose of using torture to terrorize people into submission

it was a scare tactic

torture was used to show power and overwhelming force and get people to stay in line

How was torture used as a form of criminal punishment

Luban was influenced by philosopher Foucault

he wrote a book called discipline and punishment

• focused on a prison in which prisoners were surrounded by mirrors so the guards had constant surveillance

• introduced the idea of constant surveillance

What was the idea of constant surveillance

believed surveillance would cause prisoners to stay in line and “discipline” themselves

• they feel like they are being watched and observed so they feel anxious

What does Luban say about torture in prisons

we don’t have to torture people in prison, you can just put them in a cell

Under what circumstances is torture okay

ticking bomb theory

What is the ticking bomb theory

Luban says torture is justified in a liberal society if getting information stops a catastrophe

What do our individual rights allow for in the ticking bomb theory

we can use our natural rights to exploit the rights and get away with it

Does luban believe torture is ever justified

no because it sparks the concern of the exceptional becoming the normal

• there is no way to properly regulate torture because there will always be a risk of torture getting out of hand

In a hierarchical pov, what does luban say

people in a higher power are the ones sending order to torture people but those in lower places are the ones that actually have to do the torturing

• shows with torture, everyone is hurt while the system is meant to protect everyone

What is torture an example of

limits on authority