The Ethics of Interrogation

Toward the end of his book Democracy and Tradition, Jeffrey Stout argues that the virtues necessary to sustain traditions of democratic practice in the United States will be sorely tested in the coming years by the struggle against terrorism. Fear and resentment are the enemy of critical self-reflec...

Full description

Main Author: Paul Lauritzen
Format: eBook
Language: Bahasa Inggris
Published: Georgetown University Press 2013
Subjects:
Online Access: http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52521
PINJAM
id oai:lib.umy.ac.id:52521
recordtype oai_dc
spelling oai:lib.umy.ac.id:525212021-06-16T13:06:21ZThe Ethics of InterrogationPaul LauritzenTorture—Moral and ethical aspects, Terrorism—PreventionToward the end of his book Democracy and Tradition, Jeffrey Stout argues that the virtues necessary to sustain traditions of democratic practice in the United States will be sorely tested in the coming years by the struggle against terrorism. Fear and resentment are the enemy of critical self-reflection, and democracy cannot flourish where self-reflection and the virtues that sustain such scrutiny are absent. Yet terrorism is designed precisely to induce fear, and fear can paralyze thought. I agree with Stout on this point, as well as with his contention that we had better be prepared to demand from our leaders and our fellow citizens reasons for actions taken in the “war” against terror, if we are to have any hope of prevailing in this struggle.1 Fear not only paralyzes thought; it breeds violence and division. This volume takes seriously Stout’s argument that democracy is a tradition in which asking for and being prepared to give ethical reasons for our own and each other’s actions is central. You may know a prophet by his fruits, but you will know a democrat by how he reasons in addition to how he behaves. How, then, are Americans doing in critically engaging terrorism with the resources of democracy? In raising this question, I am not asking how the US military is faring in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nor am I questioning how, say, the Department of Homeland Security is doing in preparing to deal with terrorist attacks. Instead, I am asking about something more amorphous, but no less important. How are citizens thinking and reasoning about the struggle against terrorism, and how is this reasoning manifest in their actions?Georgetown University Press2013eBookebook 247Bahasa Inggrishttp://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52521
institution Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
collection Perpustakaan Yogyakarta
language Bahasa Inggris
topic Torture—Moral and ethical aspects, Terrorism—Prevention
spellingShingle Torture—Moral and ethical aspects, Terrorism—Prevention
Paul Lauritzen
The Ethics of Interrogation
description Toward the end of his book Democracy and Tradition, Jeffrey Stout argues that the virtues necessary to sustain traditions of democratic practice in the United States will be sorely tested in the coming years by the struggle against terrorism. Fear and resentment are the enemy of critical self-reflection, and democracy cannot flourish where self-reflection and the virtues that sustain such scrutiny are absent. Yet terrorism is designed precisely to induce fear, and fear can paralyze thought. I agree with Stout on this point, as well as with his contention that we had better be prepared to demand from our leaders and our fellow citizens reasons for actions taken in the “war” against terror, if we are to have any hope of prevailing in this struggle.1 Fear not only paralyzes thought; it breeds violence and division. This volume takes seriously Stout’s argument that democracy is a tradition in which asking for and being prepared to give ethical reasons for our own and each other’s actions is central. You may know a prophet by his fruits, but you will know a democrat by how he reasons in addition to how he behaves. How, then, are Americans doing in critically engaging terrorism with the resources of democracy? In raising this question, I am not asking how the US military is faring in Iraq or Afghanistan. Nor am I questioning how, say, the Department of Homeland Security is doing in preparing to deal with terrorist attacks. Instead, I am asking about something more amorphous, but no less important. How are citizens thinking and reasoning about the struggle against terrorism, and how is this reasoning manifest in their actions?
format eBook
author Paul Lauritzen
author_sort Paul Lauritzen
title The Ethics of Interrogation
title_short The Ethics of Interrogation
title_full The Ethics of Interrogation
title_fullStr The Ethics of Interrogation
title_full_unstemmed The Ethics of Interrogation
title_sort ethics of interrogation
publisher Georgetown University Press
publishDate 2013
url http://oaipmh-jogjalib.umy.ac.idkatalog.php?opo=lihatDetilKatalog&id=52521
isbn ebook 247
_version_ 1702748763581317120
score 14.79448