Explain the position a deontologist would take on torture, and the reasoning that supports it.

In the Ancient Greek world (the world of Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle, often regarded as the birthplace of philosophy) a “symposium” was a
banquet held after a meal, an “after party” of sorts that usually included
drinking, dancing, recitals and engaging conversations on the topics of the
day.
For
our purposes in this course, the Symposium discussions will not involve
dancing, recitals or a banquet, but they will provide food for thought on
current ethical issues and direct application of the ethical theory discussed
in each of these weeks.
It
is almost impossible these days to turn on the news or log onto social media
without encountering a controversy that cries out for ethical discussion. For
these Symposium discussions, your instructor will choose a topic of current
ethical interest and a resource associated with it for you to read or watch.
Your task is to consider how the ethical theory of the week might be used to
examine, understand or evaluate the issue.
This
week, you will consider how deontology applies to a controversy, dilemma,
event, or scenario selected by your instructor. It is a chance for you to
discuss together the ethical issues and questions that it raises, your own
response to those, and whether that aligns with or does not align with a
deontological approach. The aim is not to simply assert your own view or to
denigrate other views, but to identify, evaluate, and discuss the moral
reasoning involved in addressing the chosen issue.
Your
posts should remain focused on the ethical considerations, and at some point in
your contribution you must specifically address the way someone with a
deontological view would approach this issue by explaining and evaluating that
approach.
If
you have a position, you should strive to provide reasons in defense of that
position.
In our second symposium we’re focusing on the question of whether torture can ever be ethical. Before you begin work on this assignment, please read the sections at this BBC Ethics website called “Introduction”, the “Ticking Time Bomb” and “Why is Torture Wrong”:
BBC Ethics Guide: Torture
(Links to an external site.)
Address these questions in your main post:
Explain the position a deontologist would take on torture, and the reasoning that supports it. Do you think the deontologist’s position is always right, mostly right or often mistaken? That is, do you agree with the deontologist that there can be no exceptions to this moral rule?
If you disagree, are you convinced by the consequentialist arguments against torture in the “Why is Torture Wrong” section of the BBC website? (Note that utilitarianism is the best known form of consequentialism, so you are free to use those terms interchangeably in your posts.)
When debating this difficult issue with classmates, focus on the reasoning they provide for their positions. Do you think your classmates are correctly applying the ethical theories? And what it is that leaves you convince or unconvinced about the reasoning for the conclusion?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/torture/

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