On the Uses and Disadvantages of the Ticking Bomb Case for Life

International Journal of Applied Philosophy 26 (1):19-28 (2012)
  Copy   BIBTEX

Abstract

The ticking bomb case is meant to challenge absolute prohibitions on the use of torture. In “Imaginary Cases,” Michael Davis attempts to show that such cases can only be legitimately employed within certain limited parameters. In this paper, I explain how the ticking bomb case, suitably revised, does not run afoul of Davis’s prohibition on impossible content. The fact that torture could elicit the necessary information is enough; we need not stipulate a guaranteed result. I also defend philosophers’ use of the case to identify our moral intuitions and to evaluate our theoretical assumptions. Although our responses to actual events are better at mapping our actual commitments, imaginary events can also reveal our pre-theoretic intuitions. Ultimately, however, I reject the use of the ticking bomb case on practical grounds, because the imaginary case distorts our moral reasoning in actual cases and leads to our acceptance of torture more generally.

Links

PhilArchive



    Upload a copy of this work     Papers currently archived: 90,616

External links

Setup an account with your affiliations in order to access resources via your University's proxy server

Through your library

Similar books and articles

Why torture is wrong.Bob Brecher - 2012 - In Brecher Bob (ed.), Contemporary Debates on Terrorism. Routledge. pp. 159-165.
The "ticking bomb": a spurious argument for torture.Bob Brecher - 2012 - Torture: Asian and Global Perspectives 1 (1):30-38.
Defusing Dangers of Imaginary Cases.Joseph Spino - 2012 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 26 (1):29-37.
The Moral Justifiability of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment.Michael Davis - 2005 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 19 (2):161-178.
Dirty hands and the romance of the ticking bomb terrorist: a Humean account.Christopher J. Finlay - 2011 - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 14 (4):421-442.
Tortured Knowledge.Eric M. Rovie - 2009 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 23 (2):315-333.
Tragic Choices.Christopher W. Tindale - 2005 - International Journal of Applied Philosophy 19 (2):209-222.

Analytics

Added to PP
2013-10-30

Downloads
50 (#282,682)

6 months
3 (#447,120)

Historical graph of downloads
How can I increase my downloads?

Author's Profile

Matthew Altman
Central Washington University

Citations of this work

No citations found.

Add more citations

References found in this work

No references found.

Add more references