A madman who has threatened to explode several bombs in crowded areas has been apprehended. Unfortunately, he has already planted the bombs and they are scheduled to go off in a short time. It is possible that hundreds of people may die. The authorities cannot make him divulge the location of the bombs by conventional methods. He refuses to say anything and requests a lawyer to protect his fifth amendment right against self-incrimination. In exasperation, some high level official suggests torture. This would be illegal, but the official is sure that it will make him tell the truth in time for you to find and defuse the bombs. What should you do? What if you know that the bomber can withstand torture himself, but would talk if you were to torture his innocent wife instead?
Discuss this case, using a different ethical system than you used in a previous discussion question.
Identify the facts, including all parties involved. Indicate the rights and responsibilities of each party.
Identify relevant values, concepts, social constraints, and any additional information necessary for an accurate understanding of the case.
Identify all possible ethical dilemmas for each party involved.
Decide what is the most immediate ethical issue facing the decision-making individual.
Describe one ethical system.
Apply that ethical system to this case. Do not use your default ethical system. Think about the ethical system you selected. How would that ethical system decide what is right and wrong in this case?
Describe one concept of justice.
Apply that concept of justice to this case. That is, do not default to what you think should be done to correct this situation. What would the concept of justice you selected say about how to achieve justice in this situation?
Sum it up – Resolve the ethical or moral dilemma by using the ethical system and concept of justice you described. Since you’ve describe an ethical system defining right and wrong and a concept of justice defining how to remediate this situation, what should you do?
The facts of the case are as follows:
The rights and responsibilities of the parties involved are as follows:
The relevant values, concepts, social constraints, and any additional information necessary for an accurate understanding of the case are as follows:
The possible ethical dilemmas for each party involved are as follows:
The most immediate ethical issue facing the decision-making individual is whether or not to torture the bomber.
One ethical system that can be applied to this case is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is a consequentialist ethical system that judges the morality of an action based on its consequences. In other words, an action is considered moral if it produces the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
According to utilitarianism, the authorities would be justified in torturing the bomber if it would save the lives of hundreds of people. The suffering of the bomber and his wife would be outweighed by the good of saving hundreds of lives.
Another ethical system that can be applied to this case is deontology. Deontology is a non-consequentialist ethical system that judges the morality of an action based on its duty or obligation. In other words, an action is considered moral if it is done out of a sense of duty, regardless of the consequences.
According to deontology, the authorities would not be justified in torturing the bomber, even if it would save the lives of hundreds of people. Torture is always wrong, regardless of the consequences.
A concept of justice that can be applied to this case is retributive justice. Retributive justice is based on the idea that criminals should be punished for their crimes. The punishment should be proportional to the crime.
According to retributive justice, the bomber should be punished for his crimes. However, the punishment should not be torture. Torture is a cruel and unusual punishment that is not proportional to the crime of planting bombs.
In conclusion, the ethical dilemma in this case is a difficult one. There are no easy answers. However, I believe that the authorities would not be justified in torturing the bomber, even if it would save the lives of hundreds of people. Torture is always wrong, regardless of the consequences.