Drunk With Ink

The “Ticking Timebomb” scenario suggests that in circumstances where lives are at stake, and we have no other means at our disposal, we may, and should, torture a person if doing so produces information that would save lives. It assumes that torture is an effective means of gaining information and the pain and suffering inflicted on the individual tortured is of far less importance than the loss of benefit to those who will die if we do not torture. Therefore, we are not only morally justified in using torture, we must do so.