| Topic: | Re:Support from David Cameron | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 12/11/10 14:13:00 |
| Malcolm, I don't think you should be so dismissive of hypothetical examples as they can clarify basic principles or at least give pause for thought to some of those with fixed mindsets. Despite some very eloquent and interesting posts in this thread (and in the case of Fraser Pearce quite eye-opening) I still believe that most people have missed the point. Torture is evil and shouldn't be condoned but torturers are not necessarily evil people with evil motives. If you accept, as I do, that if you find yourself in a position where the only way to prevent a greater evil is to commit a lesser one you are morally bound to act then you also accept that torture is something you would have to do. My example is purely theoretical. In the real world of course there are uncertainties, the intelligence is never that reliable, you won't know for sure the nature or scale of the attack, you won't know whether your suspect has the information, the issues are never going to be so clear cut that your options are plain. Most people replying to this thread have avoided answering the original question which excluded these uncertainties which leads me to believe that they would do the same as me but are not prepared to admit to it. |