In an email with ScienceInsider, Metin Basoglu, head of the Trauma Studies section at the Institute of Psychiatry of King’s College London criticized the paper.
’Torture does not work’ type of arguments ignore an important moral question. What if it did work? Would it then have justified its use in the name of ‘national security’ for example? By engaging in these discussions scientists implicitly acknowledge the moral validity of the latter position. Indeed, it is this position that has made possible arguments such as ‘light torture’ being acceptable under some circumstances...International law categorically prohibits torture under all circumstances and that's it! Torture is first and foremost a moral issue and this should always be remembered.O’Mara replied in an email to ScienceInsider:
The job of the scientist (excuse my pomposity here) is to describe the world as it is. One could generate an infinite number of counterfactuals for the sake of the discussion. However, the moral arguments stand anyway, as does the legal position. I do note (I was allowed only 1500 words) that there are strong ethical and legal objections. But what I want to do in the paper is examine the lay psychology and lay neurobiology which holds that torture is efficacious, and show that the evidence is against the lay position: that Psych 101 classes teach already - extreme and sustained stressors have a deleterious effect on the brain systems supporting memory.
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posted by shmegegge at 11:55 AM on September 22, 2009 [2 favorites]