The Pros And Cons Of Torturing Children

To decide what's right and wrong is always controversial especially when you are facing a situation where universal moral rules have to be broken. That's the scenario we are are presented with where the master mind of a terrorist attack who is call KSM has been captured by the CIA. He posses valuable information that could prevent another terrorist attack. However, he is not cooperating even under coercive interrogation methods. As a result, one of the agents suggests torturing his two kids who are under their custody. As unethical as torturing kids is this was one of their only options in order to try to make KSM talk. By doing this they would hope to save countless lives by preventing any future attacks. In order to make such a difficult
The formula of humanity would also denied permission to torture. However this two ideologies have very different reasons for disagreeing. While the principle of utility focuses in a more consequentialist approach the formula of humanity looks more into a humanitarian reasoning. They look at the action in two very distinct perspectives, even though they both agree that torturing the kids is not the right solution. Kant's formula of humanity states, “act in such a way that you treat humanity, wether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply as a means”(429). This refers to the idea that one must never use someone as a mean because of their humanity. By humanity Kant refers to the rational nature or the power of choice not as a human race. Kant explains that this is due to the unconditional value humans posses, a person's value is found in themselves not in any other means. Kant insists that “every rational being, exists as an end in himself and not merely as a means to be arbitrarily used by this or that will” (428). Humanity has an absolute value that doesn't depend from some aim. According to Kant there is only one exception to this rule, which states that you can only use a person as a mean if you have their consent. Certainly we would not have the consent of the children to torture them hence this exception does not apply to our case. For this reasons the formula of humanity would not consider torture the children acceptable. The children are human beings who deserve respect to their rational nature and their absolute